Psychopathology Flashcards

1
Q

Give the 4 definitions of abnormality

A

Deviation from social norms
Deviation from ideal mental health
Failure to function adequately
Statistical infrequency

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2
Q

Define deviation from social norms

A

Behaviour that goes against expectations of a community or culture, or what most people do

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3
Q

Define deviation from ideal mental health

A

Jahoda produced a criteria for good mental health:
Self-attitude- high self esteem
Perception of reality- seeing life how it really is
Autonomy- being independent
Resistance to stress- able to cope with stressful situations
Self actualisation- full capabilities
Environmental mastery- adjusting to new environments

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4
Q

Define failure to function adequately

A

Rosenhan and seligman proposed signs of failing to cope with the demands of everyday life:
Personal distress
Observer discomfort
Unpredictability
Irrationality
Violation of moral and ideal standards

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5
Q

Define standard infrequency

A

Numerical unusual behaviour or characteristic. Extreme ends of the normal distribution curve

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6
Q

Examples of deviation from social norms

A

Drinking alcohol with breakfast
Cheating on an exam

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7
Q

Examples of deviation from ideal mental health

A

Negative self worth
Being dependent on others
Not able to deal with daily stresses

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8
Q

Examples of failure to function adequately

A

Washing hands religiously
Not sleeping

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9
Q

Examples of statistical infrequency

A

IQ
Height
Weight

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10
Q

Evaluation of deviation from social norms

A

+ RLA- disorders like antisocial personality disorder can be assessed and diagnosed
- Reductionist- doesn’t consider factors such as distress
- cultural relativism- what is normal in one culture may not be normal in another
- Poor temporal validity- social norms have changed over time

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11
Q

Evaluate deviation from ideal mental health

A

+ comprehensive definition- includes all the reasons why someone might seek help
- cultural relativism- ideas like self- actualisiation are specific to western cultures
- unrealistically high standards- few people will achieve all/ most ideals
- subjective
-

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12
Q

Evaluation of statisitical infrequency

A

+ objective and simple to assess
- unusual characteristics can be positive (e.g very high intelligence)
- not everyone ‘unusual’ benefits from a label
- ignores individual differences

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13
Q

Evaluation of failure to function adequately

A

+ recognises individuals perspective
+ can help to explain mental disorders
- difficult to distinguish from deviation from social norms- extreme sports could be both
- based on subjective judgements by psychiatrists

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14
Q

What are the 5 categories of depression

A
  • major depressive disorder- severe but often short-term depression
  • persistent depressive disorder- long-term/ recurring depression, sustained major depression
  • disruptive mood dysregulation disorder- childhood temper tantrums
  • premenstrual dysphoric disorder- disruption to mood prior to and/or during menstruation
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15
Q

What are the 3 sections of characteristics of depression +define

A
  • behavioural characteristics - ways in which people act
  • emotional characteristic- ways in which people feel
  • cognitive characteristics- ways in which people process information
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16
Q

Examples of behavioural characteristics of depression - activity levels

A

Change in activity levels
- energy levels reduce= withdrawal from work, education and social life (extreme cases= not being able to get out of bed)
- occasionally opposite effect- psychomotor agitation= struggles to relax= pacing up and down room

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17
Q

Examples of behavioural charactertics of depression- disruption to sleep and eating behaviour

A
  • reduced sleep (insomnia) and premature waking
  • or increased need for sleep (hypersomnia)
  • appetite / eating increase or decrease= weight changes
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18
Q

Examples of emotional charactertics of depression- aggression and self-harm

A
  • irritability, physical/ verbal aggression
  • can lead to relationships ending or quitting a job
  • physical aggression may be directed towards self (self-harm and suicide attemps)
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19
Q

Examples of emotional charactertics of depression- lowered mood

A
  • more than just feeling lethargic and sad
  • patients often describe themselves as ‘worthless’ and ‘empty’
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20
Q

Examples of emotional characteristics of depression- anger

A
  • can be directed at the self or others
  • on occasion, such emotions lead to aggressive or self-harming behaviour
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21
Q

Examples of emotional characteristics of depression- lowered self esteem

A
  • sufferers of depression tend to like themselves less than usual
  • may describe a sense of self- loathing i.e hating themselves
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22
Q

Examples of cognitive characteristics of depression-poor concentration

A
  • find it hard to stick with a task or make decisions they would normally find straightforward
  • likely to interfere with person’s work
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23
Q

Examples of cognitive characteritics of depression- attending to and dwelling on the negative

A
  • sufferers pay more attention to negative aspects of a situation and ignore the positives (glass half-empty)
  • have a bias towards recalling unhappy events rather than happy ones
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24
Q

Examples of cognnitive charactertics of depression- absolutist thinking

A
  • situatios are either all-good or all-bad (black and white thinking)
  • this means that when a situation is unfortunate- the tend to see it as an absolute disaster
25
Q

What are 2 theorys for cognitive explanations of depression

A
  • Becks cognitve theory of depression
  • Ellis ABC model
26
Q

Describe Becks cognitive theory

A
  • 1967 suggested a cognitive approach to explaining why some people are more vulnerable to depression than others
  • persons cognition (thinking) creates this vulnerability
  • 3 parts to this vulnerability
    1. Faulty info processing
    2. Negative self- schemas
    3. The negative triad
27
Q

Explain the first part of becks theory

A

Faulty info processing
- when depressed we attend to the negative aspects of the situation and ignore positives
- blow small problems out of proportion- think in black and white terms

28
Q

Explain the second part of becks theory

A

Negative self- schemas
- act as a mental framework for the interpretation of sensory info
- self schema - package of info we have about ourselves
- we use schema to interpret the world so if negative self schema interpret ourselves in a negative way

29
Q

Define schema

A

Package of ideas and info developed through experience

30
Q

Explain the third part of becks theory

A

The negative triad
- a person develops a dysfunctional view of themselves bc of 3 types of negavtive thinking0 occurs auto
A) negative view of the world
‘The world is a cold, hard place’
There is no hope
B) negative view of the future
‘The economy will not get better’
Reduces hopefulness
C) negative view of the self
‘I am a failure’
Enhances exisitng depressive feelings as it conforms exisitng emotions of low self-esteem

31
Q

Explain Ellis theory

A
  • 1962 prposes good mental health is the result of rational thinking
  • thinking in ways that allow people to be happy and free of pain
  • conditions like anxiety and depression result from irrational thoughts (thoughts that interfere with us being happy or free of pain)
  • uses ABC model to explain how irrational thought affect our mental health
32
Q

Explain the first part of Ellis ABC model

A

A) Activating event
- irrational thoughts are triggered by external events
(Unlike becks focuses on auto thoughts)
- we get depressed when we experience negative events= trigger irrational beliefs
- events like failing an important exam or ending a relationship trigger irrational beliefs

33
Q

Explain the second part of Ellis model

A

B) Beliefs
- irrational beliefs
- musturbation- belief that we must always succeed or achieve perfection
- ‘i-cant-stand-it-itis’ - the belief that it is a major disaster whenever something does not go smoothly
- utopianism- beleif that life always meant to be fair

34
Q

Explain the third part of Ellis ABC model

A

C) consequences
- when activating events triggers irrational beliefs there are emotional and behavioural consequences
- for example if you believe you must always succeed and then you fail at something- may trigger depression

35
Q

Pros and cons of becks theory

A

+ supporting evidence
+ practical application
- blames the patient
- becks theory is reductionist

36
Q

Pros and cons of ellis theory

A

+ practical application
- correlational issues
- a partial explanation
- it doesnt explain all aspects of depression
- ellis theory is reductionist

37
Q

What is the cognitive approach to treating depression?

A

CBT- cognitive behaviour therapy

38
Q

What is CBT

A

A method for treating mental disorders based on cognitive and behavioural techniques
Therapy aims to deal with thinking- challenging negative thoughts
Behavioural activation

39
Q

What is the procedure for CBT therapy

A
  1. Patient and therapist work together to clarify patients problems
  2. Jointly identify goals then plan to achieve them
  3. Identify where a negative though or irrational belief may be that will benefit from challenge
  4. Work on changing negative and irrational beliefs- put more effective behaviours into place
40
Q

Describe cbt becks cognitive therapy

A
  1. Identify automatic thoughts about world, future and self
  2. Thoughts are challenged
  3. Aims to help patients test reality of their negative beliefs
  4. Set homework- record when enjoyed an event
  5. Patient as scientist
41
Q

What is ellis cbt therapy called

A

REBT - rational emotive behaviour therapy

42
Q

Describe rebt

A

Extends ABC.- D- dispute E- effect
- identify and dispute irrational thoughts
- eg patient talk about how unfair something is- rebt identify examples if utopianism - challenge irrational belief
- invlove vigorous argument
Empirical argument - disputing whether actual evidence to support negative belief
Logical argument- disputing whether thought logically follows facts

43
Q

What is behavioural activation

A

Cbt encourage a depressed patient to be more active and engage in enjoyable activities

44
Q

Pros and cons of cbt

A

+ it is effective
- may not work for severe cases
- success may be due to the therapist- patient relationship
- ignores the past
- overemphasis on cognition

45
Q

What is OCD

A

Obsessive- compulsive disorder
Characteitised by either obsessions or compulsions.

46
Q

Wha is the cycle of ocd

A

Obsessive thought—> anxiety—> comulsive behaviour—> temporary relief

47
Q

3 categories of charactertics of ocd

A
  • behvioural
    -emotional
    -cognitive
48
Q

Ocd characteritcs

A
  • behavioural
    Repetitive compulsions
    Anxiety- reducing compulsions
    Avoidance
  • emotional
    Anxiety and distress
    Accompanying depression
    Guilt and disgust
  • cognitive
    Obsessive thoughts
49
Q

Behavioural ocd- repetitive compulsions

A

Repeat behaviour
E.g hand washing , counting

50
Q

Behavioural ocd- anxiety-reducing complusions

A

Performed in an attempt to mange the anxiety produced by obsessions
E.g compulsive hand washing response to fear of germs

51
Q

Behavioural ocd- avoidance

A

Avoid situations that trigger their anxiety
Eg avoid contact with germs - not emptying bins affect life

52
Q

Emotional characteritics ocd- anxiety and distress

A

Obsessive thoughts are unpleasant and frightening- anxiety that goes with it can be overwhelming
The urge to repeat a behaviour creates anxiety

53
Q

Emotional characteristics ocd- accompanying depression

A

Ocd often accompanied by depression means anxiety accompanied by low mood and lack of enjoyment in activities
Compulsive behaviour tends to bring some refief from anxiety- but this is temporary

54
Q

Emotional characteristics ocd- guilt and disgust

A

Irrational guilt eg over minor moral issues
Disgust- self or dirt

55
Q

Cognitive characteristics- ocd

A

Recur over and over again
Unpleasant
Eg implulses to hurt somone
Eg worried of being contaminated by dirt or germs

56
Q

What does hypervigilant mean ocd

A

Maintain constant alertness and keep attention focused on potential hazards

57
Q

What are the 2 explanations for ocd

A

Genetic
Neural

58
Q

What are the 4 ways to explain ocd genetically

A

Ocd runs in family
Candidate genes
Ocd ploygenic
Different types of ocd

59
Q

What are the 2 different neural ways we can explain ocd

A

Neurotransmitters
Brain area