Psychopathology Flashcards
Deviation from social norms:
Social unspoken rules.
Deviation from statistical norms.
Statistically infrequent = abnormal
Not always a bad thing, this can be desirable, e.g a high IQ is infrequent.
Failure to function adequately.
Signs: dysfunctional, discomfort to others, unpredictable.
Jahoda (1958)- 6 conditions for ideal mental health:
-Positive self-attitude
-Self-actualisation
-Resistance to stress
-Personal autonomy
-Accurate perception of reality
- Can adapt to the environment.
CAN VARY ACROSS CULTURES.
Mental illness checklist:
-Delusional beliefs
-Disordered thinking
etc..
What is the DSM?
Diagnostic criteria that give concrete answers and make it easier to prescribe treatments.
Depression:
Characteristics.
Behavioural: insomnia, hypersomnia, change in appetite, headaches, social withdrawal.
Emotional: despair/sadness, mood variation throughout the day, anger, anhedonia- no longer enjoy things you used to.
Cognitive: negative beliefs, suicidal, difficult concentrating/ making decsions.
Phobias: Types.
-Specific phobias: objects/situations.
-Agoraphobia: open/closed spaces.
-Social anxiety.
Phobias:
Characteristics.
Behavioural: avoidance, fight or flight, sweating, increased heart rate, panic.
Emotional: anxiety
Cognitive: irrational beliefs, anxiety, selective attention.
OCD.
Obsessions- cognitive: persistent and recurring.
Compulsions- behavioural: physical/ mental, external repetition, done to reduce anxiety.
4 types of OCD:
Checking
Contamination
Hoarding
Symmetry/ orderliness
Ellis’s ABC model:
(1982)
Activating event.
Belief.
Consequence.
Beck’s negative triad:
(1983)
Negative self-schemas.
Negative view of world, self, future.
Strengths of Beck.
Hollon and Kendall (1980)
ATQ
Automatic thoughts questionnaire- measures negative thinking.
People with depression scored higher.
Beck’s negative triad:
(1983)
Evaluation.
+ Addresses beliefs
+ IRL application for treatments.
- Cognitions could be a consequence of depression, not the cause.
Advantages/Disadvantages for CBT.
Adv- Empowers patients (taking control), as effective as a drug treatment.
Dis- Takes a lot of time and money, more effective if combined with drug therapy.
2 process model. (1947)
Classical conditioning- neutral stimulus (little Albert)
Operant conditioning- reinforcement
2 process model. (1947)
Evaluations.
+ Barlow and Durand- fear or driving was often because they had been in a previous car crash.
-Davey (1992) 7% of people with a fear of spiders had a traumatic experience with one.
Systematic desensitisation-
Fear hierarchy, relaxation methods.
Flooding-
Full exposure- can lead to heart attacks.
OCD- Genetic factors:
Nestadt et al, conducted a meta-analysis of twin studies, if one identical twin had OCD there was a 68% chance the other would, 31% fraternal twins.
-no evidence found 100%
-general genetic anxiety might not be OCD
-other factors
-Taylor (2013) found evidence from previous studies that there are up to 230 different genes which may be involved with OCD.
OCD- Genetic factors:
Strengths-
Weaknesses-
Scientifically proven, twin studies, ethical.
Effect of environment, family…?
OCD- Biological therapy.
Drug therapy
-SSRIs (anti-depressant)
-Advantages:
~evidence of effectiveness
~cost effective
~non-disruptive
~Greist et al. (1995) conducted a meta-analysis where they reviewed placebo-controlled trials of the effects of 4 drugs on OCD, they found all 4 drugs were significantly more effective than the placebo.
Disadvantages:
~side effects
~takes time to work
~high relapse rate once off the drug.
~Simpson (2004) found that 45% of cases in 12 weeks relapsed, compared to only 12% of patients who had CBT. This suggests, that drug therapy does not treat OCD.
