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Psychology > PSYCHOPATHOLOGY > Flashcards

PSYCHOPATHOLOGY Flashcards

1
Q

Define Cultural Relativism

A

The view that behaviour cannot be judged 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)
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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)
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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)
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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
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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)
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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
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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

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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 was Ellis’ explanation for depression?

A
  • ABC three stage model
  • Stated good mental health is the result of rational thinking, allowing people to be happy and paint free
    ^— depression is the result of irrational thinking, which prevents us from being happy and pain free
27
Q

What does the A in Ellis’ ABC model stand for and explain

A
  • ACTIVATING EVENT
  • An event occurs (e.g. passing a friend in the corridor at school, they ignore you when you say hello)
28
Q

What does the B in Ellis’ ABC model stand for and explain

A
  • BELIEFS
  • Your interpretation of the event, which can be rational or irrational
    ^— e.g. rational: your friend is busy after ignoring you | irrational: you think your friend dislikes you and never wants to see talk to you again
29
Q

What does the C in Ellis’ ABC model stand for and explain

A
  • CONSEQUENCES
  • Rational beliefs will lead to emotional outcomes (e.g. talking to friend who ignored you later + asking if she’s okay)
  • Irrational beliefs will lead to unhealthy emotional outcomes (e.g. ignoring friend that and deleting their number as they clearly don’t want to talk)
30
Q

What is Beck’s cognitive triad/approach to explaining depression?

A
  • Involves the role of internal mental processes (thoughts, information processing + perception) in determining behaviour
  • Assumes that depression is a result of faulty\irrational thought processes + negative schema
31
Q

What are the three components of Beck’s cognitive triad?

A
  • Cognitive Bias
  • Negative self-schemas
  • The negative triad
32
Q

Explain cognitive bias as a component of Beck’s cognitive triad

A
  • Beck found depressed people are more likely to focus on the negative aspects of a situation, ignoring the positives
  • There are multiple cognitive biases: e.g. over-generalisations + catastrophising
  • Over generalisations: making a massive conclusion based on one incident (e.g. ‘I failed one quiz so I’ll fail all of my exams’)
  • Catastrophising: exaggerating a minor setback + believing it’s a complete disaster (e.g. ‘I failed one quiz so I’ll never study at uni or get a good job’
33
Q

Explain negative self-schemas as a component of Beck’s cognitive triad

A
  • Beck states depressed people posses negative self-schemas, which may come from negative experiences (e.g. criticism from others)
  • Ppl with negative self-schema likely to interpret info about themselves in a negative way, leading to cognitive biases
34
Q

Explain the negative triad as a component of Beck’s cognitive triad

A
  • A negative + irrational view of ourselves, our future + the world around us
  • Cognitive biases + negative self-schemas maintain the negative triad
35
Q

List the three components of the negative triad

A
  • The self
  • The world
  • The future
36
Q

Describe the component ‘the self’ as part of the negative triad

A

Negative views about oneself
^— e.g. ‘I am worthless and inadequate’

37
Q

Describe the component ‘the world’ as part of the negative triad

A

Negative views about the world
^— e.g. ‘everyone is against me because I’m worthless’ or ‘the world is an unfair place’

38
Q

Describe the component ‘the future’ as part of the negative triad

A

Negative views about the future
^— e.g. ‘I’ll never be good at anything’

39
Q

What is CBT?

A
  • Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
  • Involves both cognitive + behavioural elements
  • Cognitive: aims to identify irrational + negative thoughts which lead to depression
  • Behavioural: encourages patients to test their beliefs through behavioural experiments and homework
40
Q

List FOUR components to CBT

A
  • Initial Assessment
  • Goal setting
  • Identifying negative/irrational thoughts + challenging these (Beck’s cognitive therapy or Ellis’ REBT)
  • Homework
41
Q

What are the two strands of CBT?

A
  • Beck’s Cognitive Therapy
  • Ellis’ Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy
42
Q

Describe Beck’s Cognitive Therapy

A
  • Therapist will help the patient identify negative thoughts in relation to themselves, their world + their future using the negative triad
  • Patient + therapist will work together to challenge irrational thoughts by discussing evidence for and against themselves
  • Patient will be encouraged to to test their beliefs through validity of their negative thoughts + may be set homework to challenge + test negative thoughts
43
Q

Describe Ellis’ REBT

A
  • Main idea to challenge irrational thoughts by developing his ABC model to the ABCDE model
  • Therapist will dispute the patient’s irrational beliefs to replace themselves with effective beliefs + attitudes | Logical dispute/argument or empirical dispute/argument
  • Homework may be set after, so the patient identifies their own irrational beliefs + proves them wrong
    ^— beliefs begin to change | e.g. someone anxious in social situations may be set homework to meet a friend for a drink
44
Q

What is a logical dispute/argument in Ellis’ REBT?

A

Where the therapist questions the logic of a person’s thoughts
^— e.g. ‘does the way you think about that situation make any sense?’

45
Q

What is a empirical dispute/argument in Ellis’ REBT?

A

Where the therapist seeks evidence for a person’s thoughts
^— e.g. ‘where is the evidence that your beliefs are true?’

46
Q

What two genes have been linked to OCD?

A
  • COMT gene
  • SERT gene
47
Q

Explain the association of the COMT gene with OCD

A
  • associated with the regulation fo the neurotransmitter dopamine
  • can result in higher levels of dopamine (more common in OCD patients compared to those without)
  • may control compulsive behaviours
48
Q

Explain the association of the SERT gene with OCD

A
  • a.k.a. 5-HTT gene
  • Linked to neurotransmitter serotonin + affects the transport of it (SERotonin Transporter)
    ^— causes lower serotonin levels (associates with OCD + depression)
  • SERT plays a role in balancing mood, regulating obsessive thoughts
49
Q

What are genetic explanations for OCD?

A

Suggest OCD is inherited + individuals inherit specific genes with cause OCD

50
Q

What are neural explanations for OCD?

A
  • Focus on neurotransmitters AND brain structures
  • suggest that abnormal levels of neurotransmitters (serotonin + dopamine) are implicated in OCD
  • Also suggest that particular regions of the brain are implicated in OCD patients compared
51
Q

Explain the role of the neurotransmitter serotonin in OCD

A
  • Regulates mood + lower levels of serotonin are associated with mood disorders
  • Some OCD cases are associated with reduced serotonin levels (may be caused by SERT gene)
  • also found that drugs increasing serotonin levels are effective in treating OCD
52
Q

Explain the role of the neurotransmitter dopamine in OCD

A
  • Higher levels of dopamine are associated with some symptoms of OCD (compulsive behaviours)
53
Q

What two brain regions are associated with OCD?

A
  • Basal ganglia
  • Orbitofrontal cortex
54
Q

Explain the role of the basal ganglia in OCD

A
  • Involved with movement coordination
  • patients who suffer head injuries in this region often develop OCD-like symptoms following recovery
  • Filters panic signals sent from orbitofrontal cortex
    ^— decides if important + if action is required
55
Q

Explain the role of the orbitofrontal cortex in OCD

A
  • Converts sensory information into thoughts + actions
  • Involved with perception of the world + decision making
    ^— sends panic signals to basal ganglia
56
Q

What happens in the basal ganglia is abnormal?

A
  • occurs in OCD patients
  • Small worries are not filtered out (repeatedly decides the panic signal is important) + sends worry signal back to orbitofrontal cortex repeatedly (OBSESSIONS)

Psychology (19 decks)

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