psychopathology Flashcards
why is it difficult to define abnormality ?
as abnormal behaviour is a subjective judgement
- as it based on a persons opinion
what can a behaviour that is describes as statistical infrequent be defined as ?
abnormal
when is something considered normal ?
when the behaviour occurs frequently
- most ppl behaviour this way
when is something considered abnormal ?
when the behaviour occurs infrequently
- not many people do it
when is a behaviour statistically infrequent ?
if it deviates from the statistical mean
what is a strength of statistical infrequency ?
has real life application in diagnosing mental illness
what are 2 weaknesses of statistical infrequency ?
- doesn’t distinguish between ‘good’ or ‘bad’ abnormality
- not everyone benefits from being labelled ‘below average’
what is social norm ?
society has certain standards and expectations about the behaviour most people adhere to
what 2 things can social norms refer to ?
etiquette
moral norms
what is deviating from social norms ?
when a person behaves differently from what society expects and this viewed as abnormal
does social norms vary from culture to culture ?
yes as the collective judgement on what is acceptable to society is different amongst each culture
- very few behaviours are universally abnormal
can social norms change overtime ?
yes
eg) sexuality
what can deviation from social norms describe ?
the symptoms of a person suffering with anti-social personality disorder
why is an example of psychopaths not following social norms ?
failure to conform to lawful or ethical behaviours
what are the strengths of deviation from social norms ?
- real life application to diagnosing mental illness eg) psychopath
- definition also takes into account the desirability of the behaviour
what are the weaknesses of deviation from social norms ?
-the definition misses out important features of what makes a person abnormal
- a major problem is the cultural relativism and how each culture is different
what is failure to function ?
when a person can no longer cope with everyday life they may be said to not be functioning adequately
what are the 3 signs Martin and Seligman (1989) proposed if a person by may failing to function adequately ?
1- no longer conforms to interpersonal rules
2- experience personal distress
3- become irrational or dangerous to self or others
what other definition would you use with failure to function to diagnose abnormality ?
the statistical infrequency definition
what is a strength of failure to function definition ?
it acknowledges the opinions of other patients
what is a weakness of failure to function definition ?
- definition is easily confused with deviation to social norms
- major problem is subjective judgments are needed
- doesn’t include if someone functions adequately but has a mental illness like depression
what is deviation from ideal mental health ?
takes a different approach
- it looks at what makes an ‘ideally mentally healthy person’
- and if deviates from it is considered abnormal
what did Marie Jahoda (1958) suggest about a mentally healthy person criteria involve ?
- positive attitude toward self
- self- actualisation
- autonomy
- resistance to stress
- environmental mastery
- accurate perception of reality
what is a positive attitude towards the self ?
high self-esteem and strong sense of identity and don’t feel guilty all the time
what is self-actualisation ?
develop to full abilities and reach your full potentials
what is autonomy ?
being independent and not relying on others
what is integration (resistance to stress) ?
being able to cope and adapt in stressful situations
what is environmental mastery ?
ability to love and function in general real world and successfully work, love and enjoy free time
what is accurate perception of reality ?
being realistic about the world
what is a strength of deviation from ideal mental health ?
very detailed criteria that covers most aspects of mental health that individuals may seek help from a mental health service
what are the weakness for the deviation from ideal mental health ?
- some of the criteria is based on western ideals
- it sets very high standards for what ideal mental health is
what are the 3 most common mental disorders ?
depression
OCD
phobias
what are the 3 different characteristics mental disorders have ?
behavioural
emotional
cognitive
what are behavioural characteristics ?
the way a person acts
what are the emotional characteristics ?
the way a person feels
what are the cognitive characteristics ?
the way a person thinks
what are phobias ?
when a fear becomes a phobia it is when an object or situation negatively affects a persons everyday life
what belongs in the same category of anxiety disorders ?
phobias
what are the 3 behavioural characteristics of phobias ?
panic
endurance
avoidance
P.E.A
what are the 3 emotional characteristics of phobias ?
excessive and unreasonable emotional responses
anxiety
triggered
E.A.T
what are the 3 cognitive characteristics of phobias ?
attention is selective
irrational beliefs
distortions in thinking
A.I.D
what are the 3 most common phobia disorders categories ?
agoraphobia
social phobia
specific phobia
what is agoraphobia ?
intense fear of leaving the home, in crowded spaces, public transports
- don’t like being in places where it is difficult to leave
what is social phobia ?
fear of social reaction with others, talking to other or drinking, eating, speaking in public
what is depression ?
a mood disorder which is a mental illness characterised by low moods and low levels of energy
what symptoms do u need to have for at least 2 weeks to be diagnosed with depression ?
- weight loss or weight gain
- in this everyday
- reduction of movement
- fatigue/ loss of energy
- worthlessness/ guilt
- cant concentrate/ indecisive
- thoughts of death
- diminished interest or pressure
what are the 3 behavioural characteristics of depression ?
- levels of activity change
- aggression and self harm
- disruption to normal sleeping and eating
L.A.D
what are the 3 emotional characteristics of depression ?
- self esteem is low
- anger
- mood is low
S.A.M
what are the 3 cognitive characteristics of depression ?
- concentration is poor
- attention to negatives
- negative thinking
C.A.N
what is OCD ?
serious anxiety related disorder where a person experiences frequent intrusive and unwelcome obsessional thoughts
- often followed by repetitive compulsions, impulses or urges
what symptoms do you need to show to be diagnosed with OCD ?
- presence of obsession, compulsions or both
- becomes time consuming
- disturbance not better explained by another mental illness
- not attribute to the psychological effects of a substance or other medical condition
what are the 3 behavioural characteristics of OCD ?
- compulsions are repetitive
- avoid situations
- reduce anxiety
what are the 3 emotional characteristics of OCD ?
- anxiety and distress
- depression
- disgust and guilt
what are the 3 cognitive characteristics of OCD ?
- obsessive thoughts
- cognitive coping strategies
- deluded about their anxiety
what does the behavioural approach propose ?
that phobias are learned
- so suggests we can unlearn a phobia
who created the 2 process theory ?
Mower 1960
what is the 2 process theory in the behavioural approach ?
1) phobias are learned in the first place by classical conditioning
2) phobias are continued/ maintained through operant conditioning
how can a phobia be learned ?
when a NS becomes associated w a fearful UCR that this overtime becomes the CS is associated w a fearful CR
how are phobias maintained ?
as it reinforced
- avoidance of the thing is negative reinforcement
what are the strength to the 2 way process of the behavioural approach ?
- can be applied in everyday life to help ppl overcome a phobia
- good explanatory power
what are the weaknesses to the 2 way process of the behavioural approach ?
- cant explain why we have phobias of things we have never bad a bad experience with
- is conditional alone can’t explain how we acquire phobia
what are the 2 behavioural treatments ?
- systematic desensitisations
- flooding
what is systematic desensitisation ?
therapy which is designed to gradually reduce phobic anxiety to a stimulus using the principles of classical conditioning
what is the idea of systematic desensitisation ?
if a patient can learn to relax when faces with their phobic stimulus they they will be cured
what response is learn in systematic desenstisation ?
to be relaxed
- not fearful or anxious
what is counter conditioning ?
learning a different or new response
what is reciprocal inhibition ?
when one emotion cancels the other one out
- impossible to experience opposite emotions at the same time
what are the 3 process involved in systematic desensitisation ?
- the anxiety hierarchy
- relaxation
- exposure
what is the anxiety hierarchy in systematic desensitisation ?
is a hierarchy of situations from least to most feared for the phobic stimulus
- put together by the patients and therapist
what is relaxation in systematic desensitisation ?
where the therapist teaches the patient to relax as much as possible
- can include breathing exercises, meditation and imaging themselves in relaxed sitautions
what is exposure in systematic desensitisation
the patient is exposed the phobic stimulus
- takes several sessions which are about 45 mins
- start at bottom of hierarchy and then when feel totally relaxed move to next step
what are 2 strengths of systematic desensitisation ?
- is a effective treatment
- is the preferred therapy when patients are given options
what are 2 weakness of systematic desensitisation ?
- might only be effect for certain phobias
- can be very time consuming
what does flooding involve ?
the patient is being exposed to the phobic stimulus very quickly without a gradual build up
- immediate exposure
what is the theory of flooding ?
that the patient got the option of avoidance behaviour
- but they then learn the phobic stimulus isn’t harmless very stimulus
why does the patient often have no choice to relax during flooding therapy ?
as they are so exhaust after their initial reaction
-so they become worn out so no choice but to relax
why do the patients of flooding have to give full consent ?
as it is a traumatic procedure
what is the strength of flooding ?
it is cost effective
what are the 2 weaknesses of flooding ?
- not as effective of some phobias
- highly traumatic experience to patients
what is a catastrophic belief in flooding ?
the worst fear
why do patients of flooding need to experience the phobic stimulus directly ?
so they can feel the emotions
what are signs of success of flooding ?
cognitive= accepting to take in the positive info
- confidence increased
- happy to go in the situation
what does the cognitive approach propose about what depression involves ?
that is involves negative thinking
what does the cognitve approach propose about the way to treat depression ?
if we can change are negative thinking them we can treat depression
what are the 2 cognitive explanations of depression ?
- Beck’s cognitive theory
- Ellis’ ABC model
what did Beck’s theory suggest ?
people are more vulnerable to depression because of the way they think
- that negative thoughts lead to depression
what idea did Beck’s build on and what was created ?
- maladaptive responses
- suggested that people with depression become trapped in a cycle of negative thoughts
What are the 3 processes created by Beck’s about the cycle of negative thoughts ?
- faulty information processing
- negative self schema
- the negative triad
what is faulty information processing ?
- only paying attention to the negative aspects of a situation and ignoring the positives
- blow small situations out of proportion
what is a negative self schema ?
- schemas is the ideas we have on the world
- and if u have depression you have a negative- self schema
- so view themselves negatively
what is the negative triad ?
developing a negative view on themselves due to 3 different elements
what are the 3 different elements of the negative triad ?
- world
- ourselves
- future
negative thoughts on these aspects
what is a strength to Beck’s theory ?
has supporting evidence by Grazioli and Terry (2009)
what are 2 weakness to Beck’s theory ?
- can’t explain all types of depression
- what comes first the negative thoughts w depression or cause
what is Ellis’ ABC model built upon ?
the work of Beck’s
what does Ellis’ ABC model suggest ?
that good mental health occurs when a person has rational thoughts
what does Ellis’ suggest depression occurs from ?
irrational thoughts
how does Ellis’ define irrational thoughts ?
‘any thoughts that interfere with us being happy or pain free’
what can cause irrational thinking ?
if beliefs are subject to cognitive bias and this may occur to produce undesirable behaviours
what are the 3 sections Ellis’ suggests in her model ?
- an activating event
- an individuals beliefs
- a consequence
what is a strength to Ellis’ ABC method ?
can explain reactive depression
what is a negative to Ellis’ ABC model ?
it can’t explain all types of depression
what is an overall strength to the cognitve approach to depression ?
practical applications of both explanations
what is an overall weakness to the cognitve approach to depression ?
argument that they may have ethical issues
what is CBT ?
it is based on cognitive and behavioural techniques
cognitve element =
challenging the patients thinking
behavioural= attempts to change the patients behaviour
what does CBT involve ?
-meeting with a therapist for 5-20 session
- 30 mins to an hour long
what are the 4 steps involved in CBT ?
step 1= assessment by therapist to identify the problem
step 2= identify the goals
step 3= change the thoughts
step 4= put positive behaviours in place of negative
what happens in CBT when it is influenced by Beck’s (cognitive triad) ?
challenging the negative thoughts
- establish a baseline to monitor the process
- asked how they perceive the future, themselves, world
-process of reality testing ( make them think of smth they were successful in)
- then give them smth to do to demonstrate the success
- made aware of negative thought and challenges them to replace them to optimistic
what happens in CBT when influenced by Ellis’ 9 rational emotive behaviour theory ?
- ABC model but extended to ABCDE
D= dispute (challenge thoughts)
E= effect ( better thoughts) - so want to identify and dispute the patients thoughts
- believe that when upset it isn’t cause of events it is beliefs we hold on the situation
- this challenges the client thoughts and replaces them with more reasonable realistic ones
what are the 3 disputes in REBT to challenge the patients thoughts ?
-empirical
-logical
-pragmatic
what is empirical disputing ?
is the demand consistent or reality ?
what is logical disuputing ?
does it logically flow that you can base your whole self upon part of yourself ?
what is pragmatic disputing ?
what are the consequences of this negative belief ?
what is behavioural activation ?
- encouraging a depressed patient to be more active and take part in enjoyable activities
why do therapist use behavioural activation ?
more evidence for the irrational nature of beliefs
what is a strength to CBT ?
effective treatment for depression ?
what are the 2 weakness for CBT ?
- doesn’t work for most severe cases
- success can be influenced by therapist-patient relationship
what does the biological approach of OCD involve ?
genetic and neural explanations
what does the biological approach of OCD suggest about treating it ?
that there should be a biological basis
what is the role of genetics in the biological approach for OCD ?
genes are suggested to be involved in OCD
- where a person inherits a predisposition to suffer from OCD
what makes a child more vulnerable to getting OCD ?
if a parent suffers from it
what is the diathesis- stress model ?
that a person is more susceptible to a disorder if it ‘runs in the fmaily’
what did Lewis (1936) discover about role of genetics ?
that 37% of his patients w OCD had parents that suffered
21% of his patients w OCD had sibling that suffered
what is candidate genes ?
individuals that carry a gene that makes them more likely to develop OCD
what is an example of 1 gene that allows a patient to more likely develop OCD ?
5HT1-D beta
- helps the efficiency of transporting serotonin across the synapse and regulating it
what can low levels of serotonin lead too ?
increased anxiety
- then can display OCD behaviours to help deal w the increased anxiety
what does it mean by OCD is polygenic ?
that OCD is caused by more than 1 gene
what did Taylor (2013) discover about OCD being polygenic ?
that there is up to 230 genes that may implicate OCD
what does the different genes in OCD affect ?
the neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine
what can cause different types of OCD ?
the different genetic genes
what is aetiologically heterogeneous ?
origin of OCD has different causes
- 1 group of genes may cause OCD in 1 person but a different group of genes may cause OCD in another person
what is a strength to the genetic explanation ?
- has supporting evidence by Nestadt et al (2009)
what are the 2 weaknesses of the genetic explanation ?
- too many candidate genes
- diathesis stress model shows that the environment plays an important role
what are the 3 different neural explanation to OCD ?
genes affecting neurotransmitters levels=
- serotonin levels
- abnormal brain functioning and structure
- Para hippocampal gyrus not working correctly
what is serotonin ?
a neurotransmitter that helps to regulate mood and anxiety
how does abnormal structure and functioning of the brain cause OCD ?
as it can be caused my impaired decision making
what part of the brain is involved in decision making and logical thinking ?
the lateral frontal lobes in the brain
what does the para hippocampal gyrus do ?
process pleasant emotions
what happens if the para hippocampal gyrus doesn’t work ?
if it cant process emotions then it may lead to OCD
what shows up on ppls w pet scans if they have OCD ?
areas of abnormality within the brain
what does the orbitofrontal cortex do ?
sends signals to the thalamus about ‘potential’ worries and the suppresses it by the caudate nucleus
what happens if the caudate nucleus is damaged ?
then the worries aren’t supressed
- creates a ‘worry current’ which leads to OCD
what is a strength to the neural explanation ?
- supporting evidence about anti depressants
what are the 2 weaknesses of the neural explanation ?
- not entirely clear which brain systems play a role in OCD
- evidence is a correlational one
what is the biological treatment to OCD ?
drug therapy
what is drug therapy ?
the biological approach that suggest that low levels of neurotransmitters are the cause of OCD
what are SSRIs ?
an anti-depressant
- it works on the serotonin system in the brain
why is SSRIs used ?
- as serotonin is released by certain neurons in the brain
- the serotonin neurotransmitter is released into the synaptic cleft
- not all will bind to the receptor sites on the post-synaptic neuron
- normally these will then be reabsorbed to be re-used for next time
- but that isn’t always the case
what does SSRIs do ?
work by blocking the absorption of
- so the synapse remains flooded w it that continues to stimulate the post-synaptic neuron
- this causes an illusion of increased serotonin
what is the alternative of SSRIS ?
SNRIs
- which realise noradrenaline and adrenaline
what are 2 strengths of drug therapy ?
- supporting research evidence by Soomro (2009)
- it is cheap to use
what are the 3 weaknesses of using drug therapy ?
- evidence can be misleading from drug therapy
- serious side affects
- high relapse rate
