Psychopathology Flashcards
what are the 4 definitions of abnormality
failure to function adequately
deviation from ideal mental health
deviation from social norms, statistical infrequency
what are the 5 signs of FFA
maladaptive behaviour
personal anguish
observer difficulty
irrationality
unconventionality
deviation from mental health 6
environmental mastery
autonomy
resistance to stress
self-actualisation
positive attitude towards oneself
accurate perception of reality
phobia behavioural characteristics
avoidance, panic (screaming), failure to function
phobia emotional characteristics
anxiety, fear
phobia cognitive characteristics
irrational thoughts, reduce cognitive capacity
ocd behavioural characteristics
compulsions, avoidance, social impairment
ocd emotional characteristics
anxiety, depression
ocd cognitive characteristics
obsessions, hyper vigilance, selective attention
depression behavioural characteristics
reduction in activity level, change in eating behaviours, increase in aggression
depression cognitive characteristics
poor concentration, negative schema
depression emotional characteristics
sadness, guilt
two-process model
phobia acquisition through classical conditioning and maintained through operant conditioning
systematic desensitisation steps
1) anxiety hierachy is made
2)client taught relaxtion techniques
3)exposure, client exposed to phobic stimulus and uses relaxation techniques between each level
flooding steps
-client taught relaxation
-exposed to phobic stimulus
-becomes very distressed
-relaxation techniques used while exposed
-after a while, becomes less distressed
2 explanations of depression
beck’s negative triad
ellis’s ABC model
becks negative triad
self (negative self schemas)
world (thinking it’s hostile/threatening)
future (thinking things will always turn out badly)
ellis’s abc model
a=activating event
b=belief (irrational)
=consequence
where does beck say negative schema’s originate from?
may occur from a traumatic event e.g bullying, usually negative schemas develop in childhood
cognitive approach for explaining depression
depression is due to irrational thoughts, resulting from maladaptive internal mental processes
what are the 2 treatments for depression
CBT & REBT
4 parts to CBT
patient as scientist
thought-catching
HWK tasks (diary)
behavioural activation
Elli’s REBT
developed ABC, added D for dispute, E for effect
what does REBT therapy aim to do
identify & dispute irrational thoughts to break link between negative life events and depression
2 types of arguments in REBT
empirical- seeks evidence of belief/thought
behavioural- questions the logic
neurotransmitters link to ocd
chemical messengers in the brain that balance mood thoughts & behaviours.
imbalances (particularly in dopamine, serotonin may contribute to ocd
brain structure link to ocd
prefrontal cortex, basal ganglia structure and activity differences
genetics link to ocd
family & twin studies indicate genetic component, SERT (serotonin) & COMT (dopamine) gene
how does drug treatment help ocd?
decreases anxiety, lowers arousal, blood pressure and heart rate
how do drug treatments work?
adressing a chemical imbalance in the brain by increasing/decreasing the activity of neurotransmitters at the synapse
how do SSRI’s work?
block re uptake channels in synapse preventing serotonin re uptake .
increases lvls of seretonin in synapse- continues to stimualate post-synaptic neuron
-normalises worry circuit activity
how do tricyclics work?
blocks transporter mechanisms that reabsorbs serotonin and nor-adrenaline increasing levels, prolonging activity in synapse
statistical infrequency definitions
implies that a disorder is abnormal if its frequency is more than 2 standard deviations away from the mean incidence rates represented on a normally-distributed bell curve
failure to function definition
Rosenhan,if someone’s mental state stops them from a ‘normal life ‘alongside the associated normal levels of motivation and obedience to
social norms, they may be considered as abnormal.
deviation from social norms definition
straying away from social norms specific to a certain culture e.g being aggressive to a stranger
