psychopathology Flashcards
topic 4/4 paper 1
1
Q
abnormality
A
a behaviour does not fit in socially acceptable standards and causes a negative impact on an individual’s life
2
Q
statistical infrequency
A
stats measure how common behaviours are when measured with the population. uncommon ones are deemed abnormal
3
Q
AO3 ethics
A
not all statistically infrequent traits are negative. some may include high IQ, which is desirable. it’s also an objective way to see who requires support
4
Q
failure to function adequately
A
- unable to cope with daily life (interactions)
- Rosenhan & Seligman coined 5 features:
- maladaptive behaviour (individuals go against long-term interests)
- personal anguish (suffer from anxiety/stress)
- observer discomfort (behaviour causes others’ distress, like not showering)
- irrationality and unpredictability (hard to understand/control behaviour)
- unconventionality (act against normal expectations)
5
Q
AO3 failure to function
A
- not all maladaptive behaviour shows mental illness, it could be change of habit or interest
- it recognises the patient’s own experiences and perspective, so less offensive
6
Q
deviation from social norms
A
- social norms are unwritten social expectations
- social deviant: those who do not follow these expectations
7
Q
AO3 socially deviant
A
- something that is considered bad in one culture may be normal in another (homosexuality, queueing, hair coverings)
- culturally sensitive
8
Q
deviation from ideal mental health EAR SPA
A
- Jahoda defines features of mental health, where deviating shows abnormality:
- environmental mastery (meet demands of situations)
- autonomy (act independently)
- resisting stress (cope with anxiety from life)
- self actualisation (development to reach one’s potential)
- positive attitudes towards oneself
- accurate perception of reality (not distorted by personal biases)
9
Q
AO3 deviation from mental health
A
- criteria is culturally biased (ethnocentric)
- difficult to achieve all of these at once, in this case many people are abnormal
10
Q
phobias
A
extreme irrational fears of objects/situations
11
Q
behavioural characteristics of phobias
A
- avoidance (adaptations to prevent encountering the phobia)
- panic (uncontrollable physical response)
- failure to function (unable to act normally due to excessive thoughts of the phobia)
12
Q
behavioural approach to explaining phobias (two-process model) Mower
A
- acquired through association, maintained through reinforcement
- CC: phobic object (NS, no response), unconditioned stimulus (UCR, fear), neutral stimulus + unconditioned stimulus (UCR, fear), conditioned stimuli (CR, fear)
- fear passed onto other similar stimuli to CS through generalisation
- OC: avoid situations involving phobia, consequence of reduced anxiety, pleasant sensation through negative reinforcement (removal of CS)
13
Q
Watson and Rayner Little Albert
A
- showed animals to the child: dog, rabbit, white rat. Albert was friendly with them
- white rat (NS, positive response), loud noise from metal bar (UCR, fear), white rat + loud noise (UCR, fear), phobia of white rats (CR, fear)
- formed a fear of the other animals due to generalisation
- HIGHLY unethical, Albert couldn’t consent & didn’t give mother informed consent, lead to psychological harm
14
Q
evolutionary biological theory
A
- snakes, birds, dogs etc had evolutionary origin as our early ancestors
- we would be attacked/hunted by them
- may explain common phobias compared to lack of phobias of modern things (cars, knives)
- SD is only good for treating phobias gained through two process model
- believed some have evolutionary survival benefit due to evolution
15
Q
SLT reasoning of phobias
A
- can happen vicariously
- observing fear response in others can cause the same fear response, especially if the behaviour gives reward (e.g. attention)
16
Q
emotional characteristics of phobias
A
- anxiety (uncomfortable high arousal state inhibiting relaxation & pleasure as thoughts focus on phobia encounter)
- fear (intense emotional state linked to fight or flight when in presence of phobia)
17
Q
cognitive characteristics of phobias
A
- irrational beliefs (overstate potential danger of phobia or importance of social situation)
- reduced cognitive capacity (focus attention on phobia which interferes with other tasks)
18
Q
subtypes of phobia
A
- simple/specific phobia (fear of objects)
- social phobia (fear of social interactions that cause fear or embarrassment)
- agoraphobia (fear of not being able to escape)
19
Q
treating phobias
A
- treatments based on two process model, so fear is replaced with relaxation
20
Q
systematic desensitisation
A
- “counter condition” the phobia
- relies on reciprocal inhibition (fear & relaxation cannot coexist simultaneously)
- break phobia into anxiety hierarchy (rank from least to most fear inducing)
- relaxation techniques (breathing exercises) taught by therapist
- relax in a stepped approach, graduating exposure leads to extinction of fear and formation of new association with relaxation
21
Q
flooding
A
- immediate complete exposure to maximum level of phobic stimulus
- adjusted scenario to ensure safety
- immediate exposure leads to temporary panic where they are overwhelmed with fear
- client may engage in safety behaviour
- panic stops, client relaxes, anxiety decreases & fear exhausts
- vivo flooding (real life stimulus)
- vitro flooding (imagined situation)
22
Q
AO3 Gilroy et al; flooding
A
- 42 patients with arachnophobia
- control group (only taught relaxation techniques)
- treated with three 45 min sessions of SD
- examined 3 & 33 months later
- SD group less fearful than control group
- SD good for long term
23
Q
drug therapy for phobias
A
- anxiety disorder tranquilisers
- benzodiazepine
- beta blockers
- propranolol
- cause side-effects and suppress symptoms
24
Q
OCD
A
anxiety disorder caused by obsessions (constant intrusive thoughts) and compulsions (behavioural responses to the obsession)
25
Q
behavioural characteristics of OCD
A
- compulsions (checking behaviour and ritual behaviour)
- avoidance (avoiding behaviour that leads to obsessive thoughts)
- social impairment (excess anxiety causes inability to form relationships)
26
Q
emotional characteristics of OCD
A
- extreme anxiety (constant presence of obsessive thoughts & the fear they produce)
- distress/depression (low mood, unable to partake in activities & not being in control of your behaviour)
27
Q
cognitive characteristics of OCD
A
- recurrent thoughts (anxiety-inducing intrusive thoughts)
- understanding the irrationality (know the worst case scenario is unlikely, but still unable to control)
28
Q
biological approach to explaining OCD; genetic
A
- OCD is likely inherited, gene markers predict its presence
- individual genes (COMT, SERT) are present, but there’s 230 separate genes that are involved: OCD is polygenic
- it is aetiologically heterogeneous (a number of gene combinations lead to OCD)
- COMT gene associated with regulation of dopamine, high dopamine is common in OCD patients
- SERT gene associated with serotonin, low serotonin is common in OCD patients
29
Q
AO3 Lewis; genetic OCD
A
- 37% of patients with OCD had parents with the disorder
- 21% had siblings with the disorder
- does not rule out environmental factors
30
Q
biological approach to explaining OCD; neural
A
-
31
Q
depression
A
- category of mood disorders divided into 2 subparts:
- unipolar: depressive episodes, 25%F 12%M
- bipolar: manic episodes (high energy & moods, delusions) 2%
32
Q
behavioural characteristics of depression
A
- weight loss/gain (due to appetite change)
- low energy/motivation (lack of desire to participate in activities)
- self harm
- poor personal hygiene
33
Q
emotional characteristics of depression
A
- sadness (persistent low mood)
- reduced self worth/esteem
34
Q
cognitive characteristics of depression
A
- poor concentration
- persistent concern/negatively biased thoughts
35
Q
cognitive explanations for depression
A
- depression forms form faulty cognition/disturbances in thinking
- we have a mental framework for objects & events (schemas) which are negative if we have depression
36
Q
cognitive explanation; Beck’s negative triad
A
- negative schemas about the world, self and future
- leads to:
- overgeneralisation (problems in one situation being seen as problems in another)
- magnification of problems (seeing them as more important than realistically)
- selective perception (focusing on the negative)
- absolutist thinking (all or nothing)
- Omg Mf Slay Ate
37
Q
cognitive explanation; Ellis ABC model
A
- people respond to stress and challenges in different ways
- differences depend on belief, resulting in different consequences
- (A) activating event: external situation that is reacted to
- (B) belief: why individual thinks A happened (rational or irrational)
- (C) consequence: behaviour and emotions caused by B of A
- in depression, A blamed for unhappiness
- musturbatory thinking (that the world is a certain way for us) leads to unhappiness
38
Q
AO3 Ellis’ ABC model
A
- cognitive explanation cannot explain manic phases where they have high energy until they return to their depressive state
- this places the responsibility for depression in the hands of the patient, which may lead to MORE negative thoughts
- reductionist: does not account for biological/genetic factors
39
Q
cognitive approach to treating depression; CBT
A
- identifies & challenges irrational thoughts to change behaviours
- 16-20 wk
- focus on present experiences
- 1: identifies and records automatic negative thoughts
- once identified, thoughts are challenged and reconstructed to avoid distortion
- patient reality-tests irrational thoughts through homework to test new methods learned
- patients encouraged to partake in behavioural action (activities to increase mood)
40
Q
cognitive approach to treating depression; REBT rational emotive
A
- developed to ABCDE model
- (D) disputation of irrational beliefs (through open ended questions)
- (E) effective change from changed belief
- intensive disputation (arguing against assumptions underlying irrational beliefs)
- arguments are either logical (make sense) or empirical (evidence)
41
Q
example of ABCDE model
A
A - your ex has blocked you on socials
B - my ex is over me and im gonna die
C - u develop a drinking problem
D - lowkey maybe it was God freeing me
E - wait im goated and im not addicted to alcohol anymore and my aura went up
42
Q
AO3 CBT; March et al
A
- compared three groups 327 participants over 36 weeks
- group 1: medication only
- group 2: CBT only
- group 3: meds & CBT
- group 1,2: 81%
- group 3: 86%
43
Q
AO3 CBT; other implications
A
- severely depressed patients may find it harder to stay motivated over such a long period of time, but these symptoms may be reduced with drug therapy before CBT
- seen as empowering the patient, giving them long-term techniques they can use
