Psychopathology

Question 1

Defitions of abnormality

Answer 1

Statistical deviation
Deviations from social norms
Failure to function adequately
Deviations from ideal mental health

Question 2

Statistical deviation

Answer 2

Characteristics that can be reliably measured,
Normal distribution, average score
Below or above is known as abnormal
2 standard deviations

Question 3

Deviation from social norms

Answer 3

A person behaves in a way that is different to what we expect
Breach social norms

Question 4

Stat deviation evuals

Answer 4

Real life apps - diagnosing, all experts will say the same, clinical assessments
Unusual characteristics can be desirable - IQ scores over 130, few people having that trait doesn’t make it undesirable, doesn’t require treatment. Limitation bc stat dev would never be used alone to make a diagnosis
Not everyone benefits from a label - happy fulfilled life no need for label. Low IQ but capable of living. May effect how they or others view them

Question 5

Dev from social norms evuals

Answer 5

Cultural relativism - social norms vary drastically, hearing voices is normal in some cultures, but a sign of mental issues in some,
Can lead to human rights abuses - systematic abuse of human rights. Historical examples nymphomania. Maintain control of minority ethnic groups and women

Question 6

Failure to function adequately

Answer 6

Can no longer cope with the demands of everyday life
Standard level of nutrition or hygiene
Chat hold down a job or relationships

Question 7

Deviation from ideal mental health

Answer 7

Jahoda suggested this criteria :
No symptoms of distress
Rational and perceives ourselves actually
Self actualise
Cope with stress
Realistic view of the world
Good self esteem and lack guilt
Independent of other people
Successfully work, love and enjoy leisure

Question 8

Failure to func adequately evuals

Answer 8

Patients perspective - attempts to include patients subjective exp, acknowledges all have different exps
Subjective judgements - someone has to judge, different experts may say different things

Question 9

Dev from social norms evuals

Answer 9

Cultural relativism - specific to the west, emphasis on individual not family or community, collectivist cultures. Much if the world would see independence as a bad thing
Unrealistically high standard - very few people attain all of Jahoda criteria, makes most people abnormal,

Question 10

Behavioural characteristics of phobias

Answer 10

Panic in the presence of the stimulus, crying, screaming
Avoidance, go to effort to avoid contact with the stimulus
Endurance, sufferer remains in the presence, experience high levels of anxiety

Question 11

Emotional characteristics of phobias

Answer 11

Anxiety - unpleasant state of high arousal, prevents relaxation
Unreasonable emotional responses - wildly disproportionate to the danger

Question 12

Cognitive characteristics of phobias

Answer 12

Selective attention - hard to look away from the stimulus
Irrational beliefs - increases the pressure in the sufferer, social phobias May think they must be the most intelligent
Cognitive distortions - perceptions of the stimulus

Question 13

Behaivoral characterises of depression

Answer 13

Activity levels - reduced energy, knock on effect on work, education and social life. Opposite effect, psychomotor agitation - struggle to relax e.g. pacing
Disruption to sleep or eating - insomnia/hypersomnia. Increased/ decreased appetite leading to weight gain or loss
Aggression or self harm

Question 14

Emotional characteristics of depression

Answer 14

Lowered mood - lethargy and sadness
Anger - more negative emotions, lead to aggression or self harm
Lowered self esteem

Question 15

Cognitive characteristics of depression

Answer 15

Poor concentration - unable to stick to tasks, hard to make decisions, interferes with other things
Dwelling on the negative - ignore positives, bias towards recalling unhappy events
Absolutist thinking - black and white thinking

Question 16

Behaivoral characteristics of OCD

Answer 16

Compulsions - respective and reduce anxiety
Avoidance

Question 17

Emotional characteristics of OCD

Answer 17

Anxiety and distress - obsessions and compulsions
Accompanying depression - low mood lack of enjoyment
Guilt and disgust - irrational

Question 18

Cognitive characteristics of OCD

Answer 18

Obsessive thoughts
Cognitive strategies to deal - manages anxiety but appears abnormal and can distract from everyday tasks
Insight into excessive anxiety - aware they are irrational

Question 19

Behaivoral approach to explaining phobias Classical

Answer 19

Acquisition by CC
Learning to associate something we have no fear of initially (NS) to something that already triggers a fear response (UCS)
Little Albert
White rat no fear at the start, associated with loud bang
Generalised the fear to other furry objects

Question 20

Behaivoral approach to explaining phobias operant

Answer 20

Maintenance by OC
Behaivor is negatively reinforced when they avoid the stimulus
Results in a desirable consequence

Question 21

Behavioural expl evuals

Answer 21

Phobias do not always develop after a trauma - biological, genetically predisposed to have phobias of things, evolutionary past, ancient fears. People do not fear modern objects which may be more dangerous than other things, not a danger in past
Research support for CC - sue et al. asked people with phobias to recall the specific incident. Most people could say when they first got their phobia, some had forgotten. Shows the importance of CC
Incomplete expl - not all people develop phobias after experiencing trauma, e.g. bit by dog. Diathesis stress model, inherit a genetical vulnerability for developing mental disorders that are triggered by life events.

Question 22

Behaivoral approach to treating phobias

Answer 22

Systematic desensitisation
Flooding

Question 23

Systematic desensitisation

Answer 23

Gradually reduce phobia anxiety
Counter conditioning - a new response to the stimulus is learned
Impossible to be both afraid and relaxed at the same time, one emotion prevents the others, reciprocal inhibition
Three processes -
1. Anxiety hierarchy - list of situations re,aged to the stimulus that provoke anxiety(picturing a dog to petting a dog)
2. Relaxation - teaches patient how to relax
3. Exposure - over many sessions, moving through each stage of the hierarchy, only moving up when they can fully relax

Question 24

Flooding

Answer 24

No gradual build up
Only need a few sessions
No option for avoidance, and patient learns the stimulus is harmless
Extinction of learned behaivor - US is encountered without the UCS, the CS no longer produces the CR
In some cases, the patient overcomes the fear because they become exhausted by their own fear response
Ethical issues - it is unpleasant, patients have to give informed consent

Question 25

Behaivoral treating phobias evuals

Answer 25

Systematic
Accepted by patients - patients prefer it, does not the same degree of trauma, invoovles learning relaxation techniques. Low refusal rates, low attrition rates
Effective - Gilroy et al. followed up 42 patients treated for arachnophobia, Spider Questionnaire and asssing response to a spider. A control group was treated by relaxation and not exposure. Less fearful
Flooding
Cost effective - quicker than alternatives, cognitive therapies expensive. Free of symptoms sooner, treatment cheaper only a couple sessions
Treatment is traumatic - unethical, some patients unwilling to go to the end, time and money wasted
Less effective - social phobias, cognitive aspects, unpleasant thoughts about a situation as well as anxiety. Benefit more from cognitive therapies that tackles irrational thinking