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Psychology - Paper 1 > Psychopathology > Flashcards

Psychopathology Flashcards

1
Q

What are the 4 definitions of abnormality?

A
  1. Statistical infrequency
  2. Deviation from social norms
  3. Failure to function adequately
  4. Deviation from ideal mental health
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2
Q

What is statistical infrequency?

A

Deviating from statistical norm or average. Many characteristics can be measured and plotted on a normal distribution. Behaviours at either end of the distribution are abnormal e.g. IQ, mood, height, weight

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3
Q

What is the evaluation for statistical infrequency?

A
  • Subjective. Cut off point may vary from person to person
  • Symptoms may be difficult to measure and assign a statistical cut off point e.g. depression.
  • Doesn’t recognize many known disorders where behaviours are not measurable
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4
Q

What is the issue and debate for statistical infrequency, deviation from social norms, failure to function adequately and deviation from ideal mental health?

A

CULTURAL RELATIVISM. Characteristics are specific to each culture. Generalising abnormal behaviours across cultures could cause an ethnocentric bias and misrepresentation

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5
Q

What is deviation from social norms?

A

Society set norms and values, both written and unwritten. Any deviation is considered abnormal. e.g. cannibalism, naked Thursdays

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6
Q

What is the evaluation of deviation from social norms?

A
  • Susceptible to abuse, due to changes over time could be used as an excuse for bullying
  • Deviance related to context e.g. wearing a bikini on the beach vs in a classroom
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7
Q

What is failure to function adequately?

A

Unable to live a ‘normal’ day to day life. Do not possess a ‘normal’ range of physical abilities, emotions or behaviours. Behaviours which disrupt a persons ability to form/work relationships e.g. disabilities, mood disorders, phobias

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8
Q

What checklist is used to measure failure to function adequately?

A

Rosenhan and Seligman’s checklist for dysfunction

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9
Q

What are the 6 items on Rosenhan and Seligman’s checklist for dysfunction?

A
  • Personal stress
  • Maladaptive behaviour (stops goal achievement)
  • Unpredictable behaviour (doesn’t suit circumstances)
  • Irrational behaviour
  • Cause observer discomfort
  • Deviation from social norms and values
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10
Q

What is the evaluation for failure to function adequately?

A
  • Abnormality isn’t always accompanied by dysfunction. Psychopaths can live ‘functioning’ lives e.g. Harold Shipman
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11
Q

What is deviation from ideal mental health?

A

Jahoda defines ‘normal’ mental health characteristics. Abnormality is anything which deviates from these characteristics e.g. depression, hallucinations anxiety

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12
Q

What 8 items are on Jahoda’s checklist (the more you have the more ‘normal’ you are)?

A
  1. No symptoms of distress
  2. Rational and accurate perception of the self
  3. Can self actualise
  4. Can cope with stress
  5. Realistic view of the world
  6. Good self-esteem
  7. Independent of others
  8. Can successfully work, love and enjoy leisure
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13
Q

What are the behavioural characteristics of a phobia (things we do)?

A

Panic - fight/flight/freeze/faint
Avoidance - prevent contact with stimulus

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14
Q

What are the emotional characteristics of a phobia (things we feel)?

A

Anxiety and fear - extreme and unreasonable in relation to the situation

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15
Q

What are the cognitive characteristics of a phobia (thing we think)?

A

Irrational beliefs - resistant to rational arguments
Selective attention - fixate on feared item

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16
Q

What does the two-process model suggest?

A

Behaviours are learned/initiated via classical conditioning and then maintained via operant conditioning

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17
Q

What is a NS?

A

Neutral stimulus - an event that doesn’t produce a response

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18
Q

What is a UCS?

A

Unconditioned stimulus - an event that causes an innate, unlearned reflex response

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19
Q

What is a UCR?

A

Unconditioned response - innate reflex produced when exposed to UCS

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20
Q

What is a CR?

A

Conditioned response - Learned behaviour which is produced when exposed to CS

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21
Q

What is a CS?

A

Conditioned stimulus - An event that produces a learned response

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22
Q

What is Watson and Rayners study of Little Albert and what did they find?

A

At 9 months didn’t react to white rat, rabbit, monkey and various masks. Did react to loud noises.
At 11 months was presented with white rat and loud noise at the same time. 7 times over 7 weeks. Cried at white rat.
Found generalisation occurred - scared of family dog, fur coat and cotton wool
Found extinction occurred as became less frightened as time went on

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23
Q

What is stimulus generalisation?

A

Once an animal has been conditioned , they will also respond to other stimuli that are similar to the CS

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24
Q

What is extinction?

A

Over time, repeated exposure to phobic stimulus without negative UCR present will result in deterioration of the fear and will eventually become extinct

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25
How does operant conditioning explain the maintenance of a phobia?
Through negative reinforcement
26
What is negative reinforcement?
Removing an unwanted negative state which leads to maintenance or increased behaviour e.g. removal of fear by walking away
27
How does negative reinforcement prevent the extinction of a behaviour?
An individual learns that avoiding their feared object is rewarding so continues to do as and keep renewing the S-R bond
28
What is the evaluation for the two process/behaviourist model?
- Scientific - lab evidence meaning falsifiable, however may be deterministic as suggests cause and effect but not all phobias are a result of negative experience and not all negative experiences lead to phobias - Reductionist - Purely conditioning, could involve biological (genes), psychodynamic (trauma) and cognitive (irrational beliefs) elements. Holistic may be better
29
What is reciprocal inhibition?
When you cannot experience two opposite emotions at the same time. Relaxation incompatible to fear
30
What are the three methods of systematic desensitisation?
1. Relaxation techniques - train to relax on demand 2. Formation of an anxiety hierarchy - Go from least anxiety exposure (photo of adverse stimulus) to full anxiety exposure (meeting stimulus in real life) 3. Counterconditioning - Relaxation instead of fear in response to stimulus at each step of hierarchy
31
What are the two behaviourist approaches to treating phobias?
Systematic desensitisation Flooding
32
What is the evaluation of systematic desensitisation?
+ Effective therapy. 75% success, McGrath + Works well in combination with drug therapies - can be tailored to patients needs + Can be self administrated effectively - cheap and no waiting lists - Reciprocal inhibition is unnecessary, exposure to feared stimulus works just as well - Takes a long time --> commitment and can be expensive - Assumes behaviours are learned (ignore other factors)
33
What is flooding?
Immediate exposure to phobic stimulus which demands patient master their phobia then and there. Very quick learning through extinction - S-R bond immediately broken. However ethical safeguards must be considered - Right to withdraw, consent
34
What is the evaluation of flooding?
+ Quick at curing phobias - no thinking required so good for people with no insight + Can be self administered - cheap and no waiting lists - Ethically questionable - a lot of anxiety - Assumes phobias are learnt (ignore other factors)
35
What are the behavioural characteristics of depression?
Change to activity levels - less socialising, withdrawal from activities Disruption to sleep and eating disorders - reduced/increased energy/eating
36
What are the emotional characteristics of depression?
Low mood - sadness, emptiness, worthlessness, low self-esteem and hopelessness Anger - directed towards others or at self
37
What are the cognitive characteristics of depression?
Irrational thinking - no basis in real life experiences - negative thoughts about oneself Poor concentration - Difficulty focussing on tasks
38
What is Ellis's ABC model?
Depression caused by irrational thoughts. Activating events Beliefs Consequences
39
What are some examples of musturbatory beliefs?
Thinking that certain ideals must hold true for one to be happy - I must do well or I'm worthless - The world must bring me happiness - I must be accepted by the people I find important
40
What is Beck's negative cognitive triad?
Negative view of the self - I am worthless Negative view of the world - Everybody hates me because I am worthless Negative view of the future - I'll never be good at anything because everybody hates me
41
What are some cognitive errors (MOP SAM)?
Selective abstraction - drawing conclusions based off just one of many elements Minimisation - Downplaying importance of something positive Personalisation - Attributing personal responsibility for events out of your control Magnification - blowing things out of proportion Overgeneralisation - Making conclusions based off a single event Arbitrary inference - Drawing conclusions when there is little or no evidence
42
What is the evaluation of the cognitive approach to explaining depression?
- Practical application - CBT, however doesn't explain endogenous depression (depression without a triggering event) and mainly explains reactive depression (in response to life events) - Unscientific - unfalsifiable as thoughts cannot be observed - Reductionist - ignore biological and psychodynamic as well as lifestyle. Holistic may be better
43
What is Ellis's ABCDE approach to Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT)?
Activating event Beliefs Consequences Dispute Effect
44
What are the different types of dispute for challenging irrational beliefs?
Empirical disputing - Where is the evidence for my belief? Logical disputing - Is this a logical way to think? Pragmatic disputing - Is this a useful way to think?
45
What methods can be used to treat depression (Effect)?
Behavioural activation - Increase engagement in activities to decrease avoidance and isolation Unconditional positive regard - convince patients of their value as human beings Homework tasks - Patients asked to complete tasks between therapy sessions that challenge their beliefs
46
What does Beck's Treatment of Negative Automatic Thoughts (TNAT) aim to do?
Challenge the cognitive errors that cause a negative cognitive triad.
47
How does Beck's TNAT aim to challenge cognitive errors?
Patient and therapist work together to identify cognitive errors - homework tasks, cognitive restructuring, identification of irrational thoughts and reinforcement of positive thoughts Patient as a scientist - generate their own hypothesis to test validity of their rational thoughts
48
What is the evaluation of the cognitive approach to treating depression?
March et al - compared effects of CBT against antidepressants against a mix of both Client preference Nurture (ignore drug therapy)
49
What is March's research into the cognitive approach treating depression?
Compared effects of CBT against antidepressants against a mix of both 36 weeks later: 86% combined group improved compared to 81% of the other two groups CBT just as effective as medication, but can be used as a long term solution
50
What are the behavioural characteristics of OCD?
Compulsions - repetitive and unable to be hidden e.g. rearranging, checking - performed to reduce anxiety Avoidance e.g. germs - keep away from anxiety inducing situations
51
What are the emotional characteristics of OCD?
Fear and anxiety Disgust - obsessions concerning germs Guilt - can be irrational
52
What are the cognitive characteristics of OCD?
Obsessive thoughts - recurrent, intrusive thoughts or impulses that are perceived as inappropriate e.g. missed, forgotten, overlooked something Awareness of excessive anxiety
53
Is OCD polygenic or monogenic?
Polygenic
54
Which genes are linked with OCD?
SERT gene COMT gene
55
How does a high functioning of the SERT gene link to OCD?
High functioning gene = low levels of serotonin at the synapse = implicated with OCD
56
How does a low functioning of the COMT gene link to OCD?
Low functioning gene = high levels of dopamine at the synapse = implicated with OCD
57
Is serotonin inhibitory or excitatory?
Inhibitory
58
Is dopamine inhibitory or excitatory?
Excitatory
59
What are the two biological approaches to explaining OCD?
Genetic explanation - SERT and COMT gene Neural explanation - Caudate nucleus and the Orbital Frontal Cortex
60
What is the role of the caudate nucleus in explaining OCD?
Supresses signal from the Orbital Frontal Cortex (OFC). If damaged then worry signal not supressed - minor hazard can be perceived as major e.g. dirt and germs extremely harmful
61
What is the Orbital Frontal Cortex associated with?
Higher thought processes e.g. worry, and conversion of sensory information into thoughts
62
Which circuit does the caudate nucleus and orbital frontal cortex make up?
Abnormal brain circuits - worry circuit
63
What is the evaluation of the biological approach to explaining OCD?
Twin studies - 68% MZ twins shared OCD compared to 31% of DZ twins. Adds validity however not 100% so must be environmental factors as well May suffer from co-morbidity - many people with OCD may suffer from depression which causes low serotonin levels, therefore not a cause of OCD but a result of depression Mostly nurture but also interactionist in diathesis stress
64
What is diathesis-stress?
The role of the environment in triggering the genes into their vulnerable states. Amount of predisposition, usually linked through stress or trauma
65
What is the biological approach to treating OCD?
Drug therapy - SSRI's, tricyclics (antidepressants) and benzodiazepines (anti-anxiety drugs)
66
How do SSRIs work?
Inhibit the re-uptake of serotonin at the original neurone Causes more to be trapped in the synapse in order to target the receiving neurone Anxiety (obsessions) no longer an issue, therefore no more compulsive behaviours
67
What are the two alternatives to SSRIs?
Tricyclics and SNRIs Benzodiazepines
68
How do tricyclics/SNRIs work?
Block the transporter mechanism that re-absorbs both serotonin and noradrenaline into the pre-synaptic cell after it has fired More left in the synapse which prolongs their activity
69
What does SSRI stand for?
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor
70
How do benzodiazepines work?
Slows down CNS activity by enhancing the activity of GABA neurotransmitter GABA binds to receiving receptors on pre-synaptic neurone Increase flow of chloride ions into the neurone Makes it harder for other neurotransmitters to stimulate the neurone Results in a calming effect
71
What is the evaluation of the biological approach to treating OCD?
Support - Soomro - metanalysis of 17 studies. Compared placebos to SSRI's in OCD patients. All 17 demonstrated SSRI's were more effective which adds validity HOWEVER, most effective was SSRI's + CBT demonstrating interactionist would be more valid Limitations - side effects, not a long lasting cure HOWEVER, it's effective, easy, cost-effective and non-disruptive to patients lives Biological reductionism
72
What are the side effects from SSRI's?
Headaches Insomnia Nausea
73
What are the side effects from tricyclics?
Erection problems Hallucinations Weight gain
74
What are the side effects from benzodiazepines?
Aggressiveness and LTM impairment

Psychology - Paper 1 (4 decks)

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