psychopathology Flashcards
statistical infrequency
Statistical infrequency:
when an individual has a less common characteristic eg: being less intelligent than the rest of the population (extreme ends of normal distribution being statistically uncommon)
Characteristics like intelligence often follow a normal distribution, with most people clustered around the average and fewer at extremes. Those significantly below average, like in IQ, may be diagnosed with intellectual disability disorder
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statistical infrequency eval - early prevention
Early prevention
Can identify those with disorders early on eg: intellectual disability disorder leading to early help
Children can catch up to other students etc
widely used in clinical practice for diagnosis and severity assessment, such as in intellectual disability disorder and the Beck Depression Inventory
This criterion aids in identifying conditions based on their statistical rarity eg top 5% score on BDI to indicate severe depression
Objective measurement
Quantitative
Minimises subjectivity
BUT ignores context of behaviour
deviation from social norms
Deviation from social norms:
behaviour that’s different from the accepted standards of behaviour in a community/society
Deviations from expected behaviour may be deemed abnormal, reflecting societal judgments. However, norms vary across cultures and time periods. What’s considered abnormal in one culture may be accepted in another. For example, homosexuality was once widely viewed as abnormal but is now more accepted in many societies
statistical infrequency eval - infrequent characteristics can be beneficial
Infrequent characteristics can be positive:
IQ over 130 or a low score on BDI is desirable despite being on an extreme end of the normal distribution
being an extreme figure doesnt equate to abnormality
statistical infrequency is useful for diagnosis but cant be used alone in defining abnormality
Not always maladaptive or psychological disorder
Mislabels creative people eg as abnormal
Undermines contributions of theirs to society
deviation from social norms eval - Real world applications + counter
Real world applications:
clinical practice in treating anti social personality disorder (failure to conform to culturally acceptable ethical behaviour eg recklessness/aggression)
BUT should be used in conjunction with other evaluative measures eg: biological influences and individual functional impairment
Necessary for holistic evaluation - prevents misdiagnosis
Non-conformity to societal standards is a key criterion for these disorders, such as recklessness, aggression and deceitfulness eg in antisocial personality disorder
BUT social control influences abnormality
Norms of society established by dominant groups
Deems minority as abnormal even if they arent
deviation from social norms eval - cultural relativism
Cultural relativism:
Assesses behaviour diverging from accepted standards within a specific society
Useful to explain abnormal behaviour in a particular cultural context
BUT behaviour acceptable in one isnt acceptable in all
Eg: voices in certain tribes are messages from loved ones and spirits but deemed abnormal in UK
Cultural variability = abnormality isnt universal leading to misunderstandings or diagnoses when applied to individuals of diverse backgrounds
Subjective
Abnormality changes over time (low temporal validity) eg: homosexuals now being normalised in some cultures
Used to be stigmatised and classified as mental disorder
Judges on outdated standards?
failure to function adequately
Failure to function adequately:
inability to manage the demands of daily life. This failure manifests in an inability to maintain basic standards of nutrition and hygiene, sustain employment, or nurture relationships
criteria include: deviation from standard interpersonal norms, experiencing severe personal distress, or displaying irrational or harmful behaviour
diagnosis of disability relies on failure to function adequately alongside statistical infrequency
failure to function adequately eval - discriminatory to those with non standard lifestyles
Discriminatory to those with non standard lifestyles:
no job = failure to function vs off-grid living being a life style for others
travellers are also not abnormal in their cultures
unconventional choices risk being pathologized, restricting individual autonomy and diversity of lifestyle
Leads to unwanted social control
Ethnocentric
Adequate functioning in one culture not the same as all cultures
Factors like communal living arrangements and relational dynamics influence a persons ability to function
Risks pathologising behaviours typical of certain cultural contexts
Cultural sensitivity
failure to function adequately eval - threshold for help
Sensible threshold for help:
eg predisposed schizophreniacs have impaired attention even prior to their first episode, treatment can be provided for them for early prevention
According to Mind, around 25% of people in the UK experience mental health problems annually but continue as normal despite severe symptoms.
However, only when individuals struggle to function adequately are they more likely to seek or be referred for professional assistance
enables targeted support for those experiencing significant impairment in daily life due to mental health issues
BUT subjective to see who isnt functioning adequately
+ imposes a deficit model of mental health, where individuals are seen predominantly in terms of their failures rather than their potential for growth and adaptation.
deviation from ideal mental health
Deviation from ideal mental health:
Jahoda’s criteria: absence of symptoms or distress, rationality, self-actualization, stress management, realistic worldview, self-esteem, independence, and success in work, relationships, and leisure
Overlap exists between deviation from ideal mental health and failure to function adequately; for instance, an individual’s inability to maintain employment can be viewed as both a coping failure and a deviation from the ideal of successful work
deviation from ideal mental health eval - culture bound
Culture bound: Concepts like self-actualization may not align with cultural values outside of Western contexts.
Much of the views this concept as self-indulgent rather than positive
Consequently, the ideal mental health concept encounters difficulties in cross-cultural application and may not accurately reflect mental well-being in non-Western contexts- ethnocentric
Individual achievement lower in collectivist cultures (not abnormal to them)
This cultural bias raises concerns about the universality of the criteria, risking the pathologization of individuals who do not conform to Western ideals of mental health
deviation from ideal mental health eval - comprehensive
Comprehensive
Jahoda’s concept covers various criteria for mental health, such as symptoms as well as self-perception, providing a broad framework for assessment and discussion
This allows for meaningful discussions with professionals from different theoretical backgrounds, facilitating holistic understanding and evaluation of mental health.
Hence, ideal mental health offers a useful checklist for self-assessment
Emphasises positive strengths rather than focus on dysfunction
Sets aspirational standard for people to strive towards but overly idealistic and not universal?
behaviourist approach to phobias
2 process model - Mowrer states:
phobias are acquired via classical conditioning
and maintained via operant conditioning (learning via consequence)
Phobic objects initially = NS with no phobic response
when the UCS produces an UCR then the NS will become associated with the UCS and then the fear (phobia), will occur whenever the NS is there
This means the NS becomes a conditioned stimulus (CS) and the UCR becomes the conditioned response (CR)
This conditioning is then generalised to similar objects
Eg: little alberts phobia of white rats
Responses generalised to similar objects, such as fur coats and a Santa Claus beard, demonstrating the persistence of conditioned fear responses
Operant conditioning explains how avoidance behaviours are reinforced by the alleviation of fear and anxiety, sustaining phobias over time. Negative reinforcement, wherein individuals avoid unpleasant situations to escape fear, reinforces avoidance behaviours, and thus maintaining the phobia
behaviourist approach to phobias eval - real world applications
Real world applications:
Exposure therapy:
can use systematic desensitisation to overcome a phobia
2 process model suggests a phobia is maintained via avoidance so the phobia must be faced via exposure therapy
preventing avoidance reduces negative reinforcement of the phobia, curing it
Relaxation techniques counteract anxiety associated with phobia
Flooding:
Immediate exposure uses the principle of extinction
SD and flooding used in clinical practice and have proven successful - supporting behaviourist approach
behaviourist approach to phobias eval -neglects cognitive aspects of phobias
Neglects cognitive aspects of phobias:
phobias involve both behavioural avoidance and cognitive components, such as irrational beliefs about the phobic stimulus
Merely addressing the learned behaviour doesnt remove irrational thoughts
Not sufficient for longterm recovery
Phobias are not always developed by conditioning so cant be treated in the same way
Cognitive vulnerabilities affect phobias
Suggests a more integrative approach is needed for a more comprehensive understanding of phobias
behaviourist approach to phobias eval - not all phobias occur due to conditioning
BUT not all phobias occur due to conditioning
common phobias, like snake phobias, occur in populations with minimal exposure to the phobic stimulus or traumatic events
not all frightening experiences result in the development of phobias
overlook other factors contributing to phobia development, making it incomplete in explaining phobic phenomena
behaviourist treatment of phobias eval - flooding = traumatic
Flooding = traumatic
Schumacher found both patients and therapists rated flooding as significantly more stressful than systematic desensitisation
not useful for those with learning difficulties who take time to process things
ethically wrong to throw a patient into the deep end
fast paced treatment may cause more issues in long run as root of the phobia hasnt been removed
- patient might end up with more or a new phobia instead
+ higher attrition (dropout) rates
Not useful for those with complex phobias
Psychology emphasises importance of patient welfare and consent - must weigh up patient stability before using flooding
behaviourist approach to phobias eval -Supporting evidence of conditioning leading to phobias
Supporting evidence of conditioning leading to phobias:
73% of people with fear of dental treatment experienced a traumatic dentistry experience compared to 21% of people with low dental anxiety
demonstrates that traumatic experiences involving a stimulus can lead to the development of phobias associated with that stimulus
model accurately accounts for the role of negative experiences in the acquisition of phobias
behaviourist treatment of phobias AO1
systematic desensitisation - therapist and client create an anxiety hierarchy (list of situations from least to most frightening) where client is gradually exposed to the threatening situation under relaxed conditions until the anxiety is removed and phobia cured
Anxiety hierarchy: The client and therapist put together a list of situations related to the phobic stimulus, arranged in order from least to most frightening
Relaxation training: Breathing exercises, mental imagery, meditation
Exposure: Client is then gradually exposed to the least anxiety-inducing situation, when they can stay relaxed, they move up the hierarchy eg: spider picture to spider
flooding - A client is exposed to an extreme form of the threatening situation under relaxed conditions until the anxiety is removed
Prevents avoidance
behaviourist treatment of phobias eval - flooding cost effective
cost effective
clinically effective + inexpensive - can be a widely used form of therapy in all clinics
one session vs 10 for SD doing the same thing
more people can be treated for the same cost in the NHS (saves taxpayers/govs money)
more people can access this therapy as its cheaper - removes beliefs that therapy is expensive
behaviourist treatment of phobias eval - SD is an accessible treatment
SD is an accessible treatment:
practical application across diverse settings
applicability to individuals with learning disabilities
Much slower and considers a patient’s unique cognitive and emotional needs
Flooding not useful for those with disabilities or complex phobias
Virtual reality can also treat phobias
reduces risk of dangerous situations as client doesn’t need to leave the therapy room
patient can still work their way up the anxiety hierarchy like usual
if patient feels overwhelmed they can easily take breaks and continue over multiple sessions
Much more control over introduction to phobia
Reduces intimidation and enables patients to engage more
BUT could argue it lacks realism and client wont be able to handle the phobia alone in the real world when multiple stimuli combine to increase fear of phobia
behaviourist treatment of phobias eval - research support for SD
Research support for systematic desensitisation:
Gilroy followed up individuals treated with three 45 minute SD sessions for spider phobia and demonstrated increased fear reduction compared to a control group
recent review showed SD is effective for specific phobias, social phobia, and agoraphobia
SD is likely to be beneficial for individuals struggling with phobias
cognitive explanation of depression
becks 3 parts to cognitive vulnerability
1. faulty information processing = Depressed individuals focus on the negative aspects of a situation and ignore positives (over generalisations and catastrophizing)
‘black and white’ thinking
2. negative self schema = A schema is a shortcut that acts as a mental framework for the individual (can develop from childhood eg rejection from peers/parents etc)
individuals interpret all information about themselves negatively
3. negative triad = negative views of self -> negative views of world -> negative views of future
worsen depressive feelings by reinforcing hopelessness and low self-esteem
Ellis ABC model: explains how irrational thoughts affect individuals mental wellbeing
A: Activating event. This is a negative event that triggers the irrational thoughts, E.g. Losing your job
B: Beliefs. The thoughts which the person associated with the event, and why it happened: These can be either rational, E.g. I didn’t like the job and wanted a new one anyways, or irrational E.g. I am so useless, I will never get a job, I do not deserve one
C: Consequences. Rational beliefs lead to healthy consequences (new job)
Irrational beliefs lead to unhealthy consequences (i will never deserve another job -> depression)
cognitive explanation of depression eval - both have practical applications
Beck and ellis both have practical applications:
beck:
Understanding cognitive vulnerability informs cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), which targets maladaptive cognitions to enhance resilience against depressive symptoms
Cognitive screening predicts and monitors future depression
aiding in both prevention and treatment of depression
Ellis: REBT
effectively changes negative beliefs and alleviate depressive symptoms
achieved through vigorously arguing and challenging a depressed person’s irrational beliefs.
