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PSYCHOPATHOLOGY Flashcards

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1
Q

Define Cultural Relativism

A

The view that behaviour cannot be judges properly unless it is viewed in the context of the culture in which it originates

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2
Q

What is psychopathology?

A

The scientific study of psychological disorders (‘pathology’ is the study of disease). In the case of psychological disorders, the issuer is how do we identify when someone is ‘ill’ - in what way does their behaviour differ from what is normal, i.e. is it abnormal?

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3
Q

Define ‘Deviation from social norms’
Explain how deviation from social norms can be used to define abnormality

A

Abnormal behaviour is seen as a deviation from unstated rules about how one ‘ought’ to behave. Anything that violates these rules is considered abnormal

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4
Q

Define ‘Statistical Infrequency’
Explain how statistical infrequency can be used to define abnormality

A

Abnormality is defined as those behaviours that are extremely rare, i.e. any behaviour that is found in very few people is regarded as abnormal

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5
Q

Define ‘Deviation from Ideal Mental Health’
Explain how deviation from ideal mental health can be used to define abnormality

A

Abnormality is defined in terms of mental health, behaviours that are associated with competence and happiness. Ideal mental health would include a positive attitude towards the self, resistance to stress and an accurate perception of reality (Jahoda, 1958)

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6
Q

Define ‘Failure to Function Adequately’
Explain how failure to function adequately can be used to define abnormality

A

People are judged on their ability to go about daily life. If they can’t do this and are also experiencing distress (or others are distressed by their behaviour) then it is considered a sign of abnormality

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7
Q

What is Jahoda’s (1958) criteria for ideal mental health?

A
  • Self-attitudes: having high self esteem and strong sense of identity
  • Personal growth and Self-Actualisation
  • Integration: ability to cope with stressful situations
  • Autonomy: independence and self-regulation
  • Having an accurate perception of reality
  • Mastery of the environment: ability to love, function at work + in interpersonal relationships
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8
Q

Define Depression

A

A mood disorder where an individual feels sad and/or lacks interest in their usual activities. Further characteristics include irrational negative thoughts, raised or lowered activity levels and difficulties with concentration, sleep and eating

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9
Q

Define Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

A

An anxiety disorder where anxiety arises from both obsession (persistent thoughts) and compulsions (behaviours that are repeated over and over again). Compulsions are a response to obsessions and the person believes the compulsions with reduce anxiety

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10
Q

Define Phobias

A

A group of mental disorders characterised by high levels of anxiety in response to a particular stimulus or group of stimuli. The anxiety interferes with normal living

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11
Q

Outline the emotional characteristics of phobias

A
  • Persistent, marked fear
  • Emotional response - UNREASONABLE/IRRATIONAL
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12
Q

Outline the behavioural characteristics of phobias

A
  • Panic: e.g. crying, screaming, running (children may freeze or have a tantrum)
  • Avoidance: sufferers may avoid contact with phobic stimulus
  • Endurance: sufferers may remain in presence of phobic stimulus but have increased anxiety
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13
Q

Outline the cognitive characteristics of phobias

A
  • Selective attention to phobic stimulus: hard to look away
  • Irrational beliefs: e.g. social phobias involve beliefs like ‘I must always sound intelligent’ Pressure
  • Cognitive distortion: an ophidiophobic may see snakes as aliens + aggressive
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14
Q

Outline the emotional characteristics of depression

A
  • Decreased mood
  • Decreased self-esteem
  • Anger (increase in negative emotion)
    Anger —> aggression —> self-harm
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15
Q

Outline the behavioural characteristics of depression

A
  • Decreased energy (LETHARGIC) OR Increased energy (PSYCHOMOTOR AGITATION)
  • Insomnia OR Hypersomnia
  • Increased OR Decreased appetite
  • Aggression
  • Self-harm

NOT ALL OF THESE MAY BE EXPERIENCED. IT CHANGES

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16
Q

Outline the cognitive characteristics of depression

A
  • Decreased concentration (can’t stick to a task + struggles with work)
  • Dwelling on negatives (glass half empty, recalls more unhappy events)
  • Abnormal thinking (black + white thinking)
17
Q

Outline the emotional characteristics of OCD

A
  • Anxiety + Distress: obsessive thoughts are unpleasant + frightening. Urge to repeat behaviours creates anxiety
  • Accompanying depression: OCD is often accompanies by depression —> anxiety accompanied by low mood + lack of enjoyment
  • Guilt and disgust: OCD may involve other negative emotions such as irrational guilt (e.g. over minor issues)
    ^- or disgust (e.g. dirt on the self)
18
Q

Outline the behavioural characteristics of OCD

A
  • Compulsions: Repetitive - compelled to repeat behaviour (e.g. hand washing, counting, tidying)
    Reduce anxiety - compulsive behaviours performed to manage anxiety
  • Avoidance: reduce anxiety by avoiding triggering situations (sufferers who compulsively wash avoid germs)
19
Q

Outline the cognitive characteristics of OCD

A
  • Obsessive thoughts: 90% of sufferers have these
  • Strategies to deal w/ obsession: e.g. a religious person tormented by obsessive guilt may pray
  • Insight into irrationality: sufferers are aware of obsessions + compulsions are irrational
20
Q

Outline the two-process model as an explanation of phobias

A
  • Mowrer (1960)
  • A theory that explains the two processes that lead to the development of phobias
  • Acquired through classical conditioning and maintained through operant conditioning
  • A neutral stimulus (NS) that originally produced no response is paired with an unconditioned stimulus (UCS) that produced the unconditioned response (UCR) of fear
  • After the pairing, the NS now has the same properties as the UCS and produces fear which is now the conditioned response (CR)
  • The NS is now the conditioned
  • The likelihood of a behaviour r being repeated is increased if the outcome is rewarding (positive reinforcement)
  • The avoidance of the phobia reduces fear, which is reinforcing (it removes the unpleasant variable in the situation)
21
Q

Outline Little Albert/Watson and Rayner (1920)

A
  • ‘Subject’ was 11-month-old boy called ‘Little Albert’
  • At first, Albert showed no fear response to white furry objects (white rat, white rabbit, white cotton wool - NS)
  • Watson and Rayner created a conditioned response to these objects by using 4 ft steel bar
  • Albert reached for the rat they struck the bar with a hammer behind his head to startle him
  • Repeated three time and did the same a week later
  • After, when shown the rat + other furry white objects, he began to cry
22
Q

What is systematic desensitisation?

A

A form of behavioural therapy used to treat phobias and other anxiety disorders. A client is gradually exposed to (or imagines) the threatening situation under relaxed conditions until the anxiety reaction is extinguished

23
Q

What is flooding?

A

A form of behavioural therapy used to treat phobias and other anxiety disorders. A client is exposed to an extreme form of a phobia stimulus in order to reduce anxiety triggered by that stimulus. This takes place over a small number of long therapy sessions

24
Q

Outline how systematic desensitisation is used in the treatment of phobias

A
  • Joseph Wolpe (1958) developed a technique were phobics were introduced to the feared stimulus gradually
  • Counterconditioning: patient is taught a new association that runs counter to the original association. Patient is taught to associate the phobic stimulus with a new response (e.g. relaxation instead of fear)
  • Relaxation: therapist teaches patient relaxation techniques (e.g. breathing exercises, mental imagery) or drugs (e.g. Valium)
  • Desensitisation hierarchy: patient gradually makes their way through their phobia from least to most scary
25
Q

Outline how flooding is used in the treatment of phobias

A
  • Instead of gradual progression through a hierarchy, the person with the phobia is exposed to the phobia at its worst
  • The session continues until the anxiety has disappeared
  • e.g. person with clown fear placed in a room full of clowns
  • A person’s fear response has a time limit. Adrenaline naturally decreases and a new stimulus-response link can be learned
26
Q

What is Beck’s Negative Triad?

A

Beck proposed that there were three kinds of negative thinking that contributed to becoming depressed:
- negative views of the self
- negative views of the world
- negative views on the future

27
Q

What is Ellis’ ABC model?

A

Ellis proposed that depression occurs when an Activating event (A) triggers an irrational Belief (B) which in turn produces a Consequence (C)

28
Q

Outline Beck’s negative triad as an explanation for depression.

A
  • Beck (1967) proposed that depressed individuals feels as they do because their thinking is biased towards negative interpretations of the world
  • Depressed people have acquired a negative schema during childhood - a tendency to adopt a negative view of the world rather than positive. This may be caused by parental/peer rejection and criticism by teachers
  • Negative schemas activated (e.g. expecting to fail) when a new situation is encountered + lead to cognitive biases (e.g. draws a sweeping conclusion based on one piece of negative criticism)
  • Negative schemas and cognitive biases maintain the negative triad - a pessimistic +irrational view of three elements in a person’s belief system: the self, the world, the future
29
Q

Outline Ellis’ ABC model as an explanation for depression

A
  • Ellis (1962) proposed the reason for depression is due to irrational thinking.
  • In his ABC model, A refers to an activating event (e.g. getting fired)
  • B is the belief, which may be rational (e.g. the company was overstaffed) or irrational (e.g. the company has always had it in for me)
  • C is the consequence - rational beliefs lead to healthy emotions (e.g. acceptance) + irrational beliefs lead to unhealthy emotions (e.g. depression)
  • The source of irrational beliefs is in musturbatory thinking
30
Q

Define musturbatory thinking

A

Thinking that certain ideas or assumptions must be true in order for an individual to be happy

e.g.
- I must be approved of or accepted by people I find important
- I must do well or very well, or I am worthless
- The world must give me happiness, or I will die

Psychology (16 decks)

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