psychopathology Flashcards
4 definitions of abnormality (brief)
- statistical infrequency
- deviation from social norms
- failure to function adequately
- deviation from ideal mental health
what is statistical infrequency + eval
-definition of abnormality
-behaviour/traits that are numerically uncommon eg. High IQ
Strengths: objective, based on data, clear cut-off points, easy to diagnose based on data eg. intellectual disability
Limitations: arbitrary cut-off points, ignores desirability of behaviour, some traits common but still abnormal eg. depression, cultural and historical relativism
what is deviation from social norms + eval
-definition of abnormality
-behaviour that doesnt fit societal or cultural standards eg. facial tattoos
Strengths: comprehensive, distinguishes between desirable and undesirable behaviour
Limitations: susceptible to abuse, cultural and historical relativism
what is failure to function adequately + eval
-definition of abnormality
-not being able to cope w day to day activities eg. going to work, showering
-MUST be causing distress to individual or those around them
Strengths: acknowledges experience of individual, can be viewed objectively
Limitations: some appear to be functioning normally but are mentally ill eg. Harold Shipman/sociopaths, FFA may be a normal reaction to an event eg. family death, cultural relativism
what is deviation from ideal mental health + criteria
-definition of abnormality
-absence of any of Jahoda’s 6 criteria for ideal mental heath:
1. high self-attitude/esteem and strong sense of identity
2. personal growth and actualisation
3. integration - ability to deal w stress
4. autonomy
5. accurate perception of reality
6. mastery of environment - ability to love/have relationships, go to work/school, adjust to new situations
eval of deviation from ideal mental health
Strengths: positive approach (focuses on positive traits rather than looking for negative ones - may have had influence on ‘positive psychology movement’
Limitations: unrealistic criteria, criteria is difficult to measure, cultural relativism
behavioural characteristics of phobias
-conscious avoidance that interferes w normal routines, occupation or relationships
-panic
-endurance - unavoidable situations endured w high levels of anxiety
-fight or flight response
emotional characteristics of phobias
-irrational and persistent anxiety and fear out of proportion to any real danger
cognitive characteristics of phobias
-irrational beliefs
-resistance to rational arguments
-cognitive distortions - struggle to concentrate in presence of phobic stimulus, distorted perceptions
behavioural characteristics of depression
-shift in activity level - increased or decreased
-sleep and appetite affected
-aggression
-self harm
cognitive characteristics of depression
-negative thoughts/self-concept
-negative view of world
-poor concentration
-absolutist thinking
emotional characteristics of depression
-sadness
-loss of interest
-anger
behavioural characteristics of OCD
-compulsions - repetitive behaviours that can be concealed or unconcealed that reduce anxiety caused by obsessions
-avoidance of situations that may trigger anxiety
emotional characteristics of OCD
-anxiety
-distress
-accompanying depression
-guilt
-disgust
cognitive characteristics of OCD
-obsessions - recurring, intrusive thoughts
-catastrophic thinking
-hyper-vigilance
3 types of phobia (brief)
- specific phobia
- social phobia
- agoraphobia
what is a specific phobia
-fear of a specific object or situation eg. arachnophobia, claustrophobia
what is a social phobia
-fear of HUMILIATION in public places
-afraid someone will see them expressing fear, causing avoidance of social activities/situations
what is agoraphobia
-fear of public places eg. busy streets, shopping centres
-begins w series of panic attacks, so person becomes afraid of having a panic attack in place where theyre unsafe/no one can help them
-afraid for their safety, not embarrassment
-often a fear of being away from their home
behaviourist explanation for phobias - two process model
-Mowrer
1. classical conditioning - initiation/acquisition
-phobia acquired through association by classical conditioning
2.operant conditioning - maintenance
-phobia maintained through negative reinforcement as avoidance of phobic stimulus reduces fear
eval of two process model
strengths:
-research evidence: sue et al - found ppl often do remember a specific event when their phobia appeared
-research evidence: Watson and Raynor - little albert
limitations:
-DiNardo - not everyone who has a negative experience w smth develops a phobia
-doesnt explain phobias of ppl who havent had a negative experience
what is the diathesis-stress model
-person could have a genetic vulnerability which makes them more likely to develop a mental illness after a triggering event (stressor).
-nature + nurture
what is biological preparedness
-alternative explanation for phobias
-Seligman
-adaptation to be afraid of certain things that would have challenged our ancestors eg. heights
2 treatments for phobias (brief)
- systematic desensitisation (SD)
- flooding
what is systematic desensitisation (SD)
-treatment for phobias
-Wolpe - based on classical conditioning, aims to ‘counter-condition’ sufferer to learn a relaxation response to phobic stimulus
-based on reciprocal inhibition - cant feel fear and relaxed at same time
3 stages:
1. relaxation - patient taught relaxation techniques
2. anxiety hierarchy - ranked list of phobic stimuli - least to most scary
3. gradual exposure - therapist introduces phobic stimuli starting from bottom of anxiety hierarchy. practice relaxation. dont move up until completely relaxed in presence of stimuli
strengths of SD
-research support - McGrath found 75% of ppl w specific phobias improved w SD, Gilroy - followed up on patients treated w SD and patients who had been treated w relaxation after 3 and 33 months - SD group less fearful.
-Requires less effort from patient (than flooding) + less traumatic
-good for children and ppl w learning disabilities - gradual process
limitations of SD
-ethical issues - protection from harm
-expensive, time consuming, not readily available - individualised therapy and often requires multiple sessions
-Ohman et al - less effective for phobias w evolutionary survival component, social phobias/agoraphobia - not appropriate for all phobias
what is flooding
-treatment for phobias
-one long session of direct exposure to most phobic stimulus while practicing relaxation
-session continues until client is fully relaxed
-stops phobic responses quickly as patient doesnt avoid and learns that there is nothing to fear
-adrenaline levels naturally decrease and new relaxation response can be learnt
3 stages of SD (brief)
1.relaxation
2.anxiety hierarchy
3.gradual exposure
strengths of flooding
-research support - Choy et al - flooding is most effective, Craske et al - SD and flooding are equally effective
-more cost-effective - cured quickly making treatment cheaper
-low dropout rate
limitations of flooding
-highly traumatic - ethically dubious
-individual differences - not for every patient eg. children, ppl w learning disabilities
-less effective for complex phobias w cognitive aspect eg social phobias
cognitive explanations for depression (brief)
- Becks negative triad
2.Ellis ABC model - Ellis mustabatory thinking
what is becks negative triad
-cog explanation for depression
-depressed ppl have negative schemas acquired during childhood that causes them to adopt negative views of the world, the future and themselves
-depressed ppl are more likely to make logical errors and focus more on negative aspects of situations while ignoring positive info (cognitive bias) - causes cycle of depression
what is ellis’ mustabatory thinking
-cog explanation for depression
-source of irrational beliefs is mustabatory thinking - thinking certain ideas/assumptions must be true for an individual to be happy
-leads to disappointment and depression
-eg. i must be accepted by people i find important, i must do well or i am worthless
what is ellis’ ABC model
-cog explanation for depression
1.A - activating event eg. job loss, breakup
2.B - Belief - can be rational or irrational
3.C - consequence - healthy or unhealthy emotion/behaviour
-focuses on irrational beliefs as cause of depression, not negative life event
-activating event causes an IRRATIONAL belief which creates negative/unhealthy emotion and behaviour
strengths of cog explanations for depression
-research support - Hammen and Krantz - depressed ppl are more likely to make errors in logic
-practical applications - CBT therapy
limitations of cog explanations for depression
-ignores situational factors - suggests client is responsible for their disorder
-irrational beliefs may be realistic - realistic stressors out of patients control that cause depressive symptoms
-reductionist - only accounts for reactive depression - overlooks types that cause symptoms such as hallucinations that may be better explained by biology.
what is CBT
-cog treatment for depression
1. challenge irrational beliefs - change way client thinks which will change emotions/behaviours
2.hw assignments - reality test negative beliefs
3.behavioural activation - doing things they used to love
4.unconditional positive regard - therapist shows support/care no matter what they reveal
what is REBT
-cog treatment for depression - form of CBT developed by ellis (added to ABC model)
D - disputing irrational beliefs/thoughts
E - effective, efficient new beliefs that can replace old irrational ones
F - feelings produced are more positive as a result
strengths of cog treatments for depression
-research support - Ellis - 90% success rate for REBT, Cuijpers et al - CBT superior to no therapy, Babyak - behavioural activation improves mental state (found ppl who exercised had significantly lower relapse rate)
-practical applications - economic benefit of getting ppl back to work
limitations of cog treatments for depression
-individual differences - less effective for ppl w rigid beliefs who are resistant to change and when real life stressors are involved
-requires a lot of effort/motivation that depressed ppl may not have - drug treatments better for severe patients
genetic explanations for OCD (brief)
- COMT gene mutation
- SERT gene mutation
neural explanations for OCD (brief)
- abnormal levels of neural transmitters
- abnormal brain circuits - ‘worry circuit’
bio explanation for OCD - COMT gene mutation
- mutated COMT gene causes INCREASED dopamine levels (as gene is responsible for regulation so decrease in comt activity means dopamine is not cleared from synapses)
-increased dopamine = lowered impulse control (compulsions)
bio explanation for OCD - SERT gene mutation
-mutated SERT gene causes increase in no of transporter proteins (proteins that reabsorb neurotransmitters) on pre-synaptic neuron
-serotonin reuptake is faster, causing DECREASED serotonin levels as less is in synapse
-causes low mood
effect of high dopamine levels + research
-Szechtman et al - animal study - induced high dopamine levels w drugs and saw repetitive moevemnts resembling compulsions
-suggested to influence concentration causing inability to stop focusing on obsessive thoughts
effect of low serotonin levels + research
-Pigott et al - antidepressant drugs that increase serotonin reduce OCD symptoms
-abnormal levels thought to cause the caudate nucleus and OFC to malfunction, causing the ‘worry circuit’
what is the caudate nucleus responsible for
-intercepts worry signals caused by minor stressors eg. a dirty bathroom
-stops them from activating the OFC
what is the worry circuit
-damaged caudate nucleus causes overactivated OFC (orbitofrontal cortex)
-causes OFC to send signals to the thalamus, which activates a response by sending a signal back to the OFC eg. signal to wash hands
-if the OFC is overactivated it may send another signal, meaning the thalamus sends another response
-this causes repetitive responses eg. repetitive handwashing
strengths of bio explanations of OCD
-research support - Nestadt et al - ppl w 1st degree relative w OCD 5x more likely to develop OCD, Billet et al - MZ twins 2x more likely to develop OCD if their twin has it
-practical applications - can develop drug treatments by knowing neurotransmitters involved, embryo screening for gene mutations
what is the role of the OFC
-send signals to the thalamus eg. a worry abt cleanliness
-thalamus activates a response to the signal and sends it around the body
limitations of bio explanations for OCD
-difficult to establish causal relationships - do low serotonin levels cause OCD or does OCD cause low serotonin???
-no 100% concordance rate for MZ twins - biologically reductionist - cant be solely to do w genetics
bio treatments for OCD (brief)
-drug treatments:
1. SSRIs
2. Tricyclics
3. Benzodiazepines (BZs)
what are SSRIs
-drug treatment for OCD - selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors
-block transporter proteins that reuptake serotonin
-means serotonin stays in synapse for longer
what are tricyclics
-drug treatment for OCD
-blocks transporter proteins for serotonin AND noradrenaline so reuptake cant occur
what are benzodiazepines (BZs)
-drug treatment for OCD
-attach to GABA receptor sites to attract more chloride ions that negatively charge post-synaptic neuron
-this makes them less likely to fire so has an inhibitory, relaxing effect on nervous system
strengths of bio treatments for OCD
-research support - Soomro et al - found SSRIs to be more effective than placebos after reviewing 17 studies.
-requires very little effort from client so good for severe patients who need immediate aid
-cheaper, less time consuming (than individualised therapies, dont require monitoring), readily available
-practical applications - economic benefits of getting ppl back to work
limitations of bio treatments for OCD
-can have severe side effects (especially tricyclics - heart issues, hallucinations) so can only be used if SSRIs fails. BZs can lead to addiction so short-term use only
-not a long term cure like CBT - Koran et al - patients relapsed within a few weeks if medication is stopped
-not effective for everyone - partial reduction in symptoms for 40-60%
-publication bias - Turner et al - studies showing good results from drug treatments more likely to be published due to dubious ethics of pharmaceutical companies.
szechtman et al - dopamine
-induced high dopamine levels in animals w drugs and saw repetitive movements resembling OCD compulsions
pigott et al - serotonin
-found antidepressant drugs that increase serotonin reduce OCD symptoms
role of low serotonin in OCD
-low mood
-causes caudate nucleus and OFC to malfunction causing the worry circuit
role of high dopamine in OCD
-causes repetitive movements (compulsions)
-thought to influence concentration, causing inability to stop focusing on obsession
nestadt et al - OCD
-ppl w 1st degree relative w OCD are 5x more likely to develop OCD
billet et al - OCD
-MZ twins 2x more likely to develop OCD if their twin has it
soomro et al - OCD treatment
-SSRIs more effective than placebos after reviewing 17 studies
Koran et al - OCD treatment
-patients relapse within a few weeks if medication is stopped
