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Psychology Paper 1 > Psychopathology > Flashcards

Psychopathology Flashcards

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1
Q

What is statistical infrequency?

A

Abnormality is defined as those behaviours that are extremely rare

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2
Q

What graph is used to show statistical infrequency?

A

Normal distribution curve

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3
Q

Give strengths of statistical infrequency?

A
  • Those being assessed are done so objectively
  • It is an appropriate measure of abnormality in certain situations (e.g IQ testing)
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4
Q

Give limitations of statistical infrequency?

A
  • Does not distinguish the difference between desirable and undesirable behaviour (e.g a high IQ is desirable but rare whereas depression is undesirable but common)
  • The cut-off point is subjective (which can cause real life implications e.g being denied support if IQ score is just above 70)
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5
Q

What is deviation from social norms?

A

Abnormal behaviour is seen as a deviation from unstated norms about how one “ought to behave”

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6
Q

Strengths of deviation from social norms?

A
  • Is not ethnocentric because social norms that vary from culture to culture are taken into account
  • Distinguishes the difference between desirable and undesirable behaviour
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7
Q

Limitations of deviation from social norms?

A
  • Lacks temporal validity (homosexuality was illegal and considered a mental disorder)
  • Deviance is related to context (e.g wearing a bikini at a beach compared to at school)
  • Inappropriate for those moving to a new culture (e.g Afro-Caribbean people have conversations with angels which is normal in their culture but viewed as abnormal in others)
  • Can be seen as a way of punishing people for expressing their individuality and repressing those who don’t conform to “norms”
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8
Q

What is failure to function adequately?

A

Abnormality can be measured in terms of not being able to cope with everyday living

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9
Q

Give examples of being able to function adequately?

A

Washing clothes, brushing teeth, going out to get a job

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10
Q

Strengths of failure to function adequately?

A
  • Easy to judge from the DSM which is an objective list of behaviours
  • Allows us to view the mental disorders from the person actually experiencing it
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11
Q

Limitations of failure to function adequately?

A
  • The decision about whether a person functions adequately is subjective because it is based on the clinicians personal opinions
  • Only looks at people who can’t cope though psychopaths can often function normally in society
  • Some people find their dysfunctional behaviour a positive thing in their eyes (e.g the attention from eating disorders)
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12
Q

What is deviation from ideal mental health?

A

Abnormality is defined in terms of mental health, coming from a humanistic perspective, focusing on positive attitudes towards the self

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13
Q

What did Marie Jahoda say?

A

That mental health should be looked at in the same way as physical health

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14
Q

What are the 6 features of ideal mental health?

A

Self-attitudes, personal growth and self actualisation, autonomy, integration, accurate perception of reality, environmental mastery

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15
Q

Strengths of deviation from ideal mental health?

A
  • It is a positive approach which focuses on the positives rather than the negatives and works to improve the wellbeing of people
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16
Q

Limitations of deviation from ideal mental health?

A
  • Unrealistic criteria (how do we measure environmental mastery?)
  • Suggests that physical and mental health are the same
  • The humanistic approach is an emic construct because it reflects a western perspective on mental health (e.g many cultures see autonomy as a high value whereas other cultures focus on the community as a whole and a collectivist society)
17
Q

What are phobias?

A

Phobias are an extreme fear of objects or situations that cause extreme anxiety

18
Q

What are the emotional characteristics of phobias?

A
  • Extreme anxiety
  • Panic - fight or flight response
19
Q

What are the cognitive characteristics of phobias?

A

Irrational thoughts

20
Q

What are the behavioural characteristics of phobias?

A
  • Avoidance (crossing the road)
  • Panic (screaming/running)
21
Q

Who invented the two-process model and when?

A

Mowrer, 1947

22
Q

What does the two-process model suggest?

A

The two-process model suggests that phobias are acquired through classical conditioning (learning through association) and maintained by operant conditioning (learning through reinforcement or punishment)

23
Q

What support is there for phobias generalising?

A

In the Little Albert Experiment, Little Albert began fearing other white furry objects (e.g Santa Clause beard) due to the similar stimuli

24
Q

Give strengths of the two-process model?

A
  • There is supporting evidence for classical conditioning from the Little Albert Experiment
  • There is supporting evidence for generalising phobias from the Little Albert Experiment
  • It has allowed for the development of treatments and therapies (e.g flooding and systematic desensitisation)
25
Q

Give limitations of the two-process model?

A
  • Mendes and Clark’s research shows that the two-process model does not explain how phobias are formed when no negative experience had occurred but the phobia had been there since day one
    -It does not explain why we are not scared of more threatening everyday objects (e.g cars and knives) but are scared of spiders and small spaces
26
Q

What technique does systematic desensitisation and flooding involve?

A

Counterconditioning where the fear response is replaced with a relaxation response

27
Q

What is systematic desensitisation?

A

Systematic desensitisation is a form of behaviour therapy used to treat phobias and other anxiety disorders. The client is gradually exposed to or imagines the threatening situation under relaxed conditions until the fear response is gone.

28
Q

Why must the patient be in a relaxed state?

A

A relaxed state is incompatible with anxiety

29
Q

What are the steps for systematic desensitisation?

A

1) The patient is taught how to relax their muscles completely (a relaxed state is incompatible with anxiety)
2) The therapist and client create a desensitisation hierarchy
3) They work through the hierarchy
4) The patient masters the feared object/situation completely

30
Q

Give strengths of systematic desensitisation

A
  • It is effective - 75% of patients respond to SD, and it has been found that learning in vivo is more successful than learning in vitro (through imagining or looking at photos)
  • It is self-controlled which makes it a more pleasurable experience for the client
31
Q

Give limitations of systematic desensitisation?

A
  • It lacks ecological validity as it’s unrealistic for someone to gradually face their fears in your own control in real life
  • It’s a slower process in comparison to flooding
32
Q

What is flooding?

A

Flooding is a form of behavioural therapy used to treat phobias and other anxiety disorders. A client is exposed to or imagines an extreme form of the threatening situation under relaxes conditions until the fear response is gone

33
Q

What are the steps for flooding?

A

1) The patient is taught how to relax their muscles completely
2) The patient masters the feared object/situation completely

34
Q

What is the difference between flooding and systematic desensitisation?

A

Flooding uses a maximum level of exposure. This immediate exposure is expected to cause an extreme panic response in the client (e.g crying/screaming). The therapist must ensure that the client does not escape the situation. The fear response takes energy, so eventually the client will calm down and will have to face the situation.

35
Q

What happens if the session ends during flooding?

A

The phobia will be reinforced

36
Q

Give strengths of flooding?

A

Flooding sessions are a lot faster than systematic desensitisation and CBT

37
Q

Give limitations of flooding?

A
  • The stressful nature means it is not appropriate for older people, children and people with heart conditions
  • If flooding fails the phobia is reinforced
38
Q

Give strengths of the treatments for phobias.

A
  • They are fast and require little effort. SD can be self-administered and doesn’t require a lot of thinking which is good for children and people with learning difficulties
  • They have led to the development of VR exposure treatment
39
Q

Give limitations of the treatments for phobias.

A
  • Lacks ecological validity - the therapist room is very different from real life
  • Systematic desensitisation and flooding don’t work for social phobias as it is difficult to construct a desensitisation hierarchy
  • Systematic desensitisation and flooding may only touch the tip of the iceberg as some phobias are deep rooted (e.g in the case of Little Hans his phobia was caused by his hatred of his father which was the underlying problem)

Psychology Paper 1 (1 decks)

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