psychopathology Flashcards

Question

What's included in the two process model?

Answer 1

Classical conditioning for aqusision of phobia Maintance by operant conditioning

Answer 2

UCS triggers a fear response (fear=UCR) NS is associate with UCS NS becomes CS produces fear (fear=CR) EXAMPLE Dog (Neutral stimulus) -> no response Bitten (UCS) -> Anxiey (UCR) Being bitten + Dog (UCS + NS) -> Anxiety (UCR) Dog (CS) -> Anxity (CR)

Answer 3

Little Albert learns to make associations between stimuli in the environment and reflexes; Albert shows little fear with dog, monkey, or burning newspaper, neutral stimuli since he hasn't learned to fear anything; Shows Albert a white rat while making loud clanging noise, which upsets Albert, who eventually associates white rat with being upset; Proves fear is learned.

Answer 4

LA showed a fear in response to other white furry objects eg Santa

Answer 5

behaviour is reinforced or punished Negative reinforcement = behaviour that avoids something unpleasant Reduction in fear negatively reinforces the avoidance behavior and phobia is maintained

Answer 6

If someone has a morbid fear of clowns (coulrophobia) they will avoid circuses and other situations where they may encounter clowns. The relief felt from avoiding clowns negatively reinforces the phobia and ensures it is maintained rather than confronted.

Answer 7

Real world application Phobias are maintained by advoidance is important - explains WHY people with phobias benefit from exposure therapies when advoidance is prevented it isn't reinforced by the reduction of anxiery

Answer 8

Support for the association between dental phobia and traumatic experiences 73% of dental phobics had experienced trauma, related to dentistry Control group with low dental anxiety: only 21% experienced a traumatic event Confirmation that the stimulus (dentistry) and an unconditioned response (pain) can lead to the development of phobia Strength in the evidence linking phobias to bad experiences

Answer 9

Behavioral explanations (e.g., the two-process model) focus on explaining behavior, specifically the avoidance of the phobic stimulus. Phobias also involve a significant cognitive component. The two-process model does not completely account for the symptoms of phobias. People with phobias often hold irrational beliefs about the phobic stimulus. The cognitive aspect is essential for understanding the full complexity of phobic reactions.

Answer 10

phobia is learned so that phobia stimulus (CS) produces fear (CR) CS is paired with relaxation so that this becomes the new CR Reciprocal inhabition = cannot be afraid and relaxed at the same time

Answer 11

Client + therapist create a hierarchy of anxiety (fearful stimulus arranged from least to most frightening)

Answer 12

phobic individual is first taught relaxation techniques such as deep breathing or meditation patient then works through the anxiety hierarchy. At each level the phobic is exposed to the phobic stimulus in a relaxed state this takes place over several sessions starting at the bottom of the hierarchy. Treatment is successful when the person can stay relaxed in situations high on the hierarchy

Answer 13

Exposing a person with a phobia with the phonic object without a gradual build up

Answer 14

Without the option of avoidance behaviour, the patient quickly learns that the phobic object is harmless through the exhaustion of their fear response. This is known as extinction.

Answer 15

Client must give fully informed consent and be prepared before session

Answer 16

42 ppl who had SD for spider's- the SD group were less fearful than a control group concluded that SD is most useful for those with social phobias

Answer 17

Alternatives with those for with LD are unsuitable- cognative therapies require high levels of rational through and distress SD doesnt require understanding or engagement on a cognative level

Answer 18

One strength of flooding is that it is highly cost-effective Clinical effectiveness means how effective a therapy is at tacking symptoms Flooding can work in as little as one session whilst with SD it may take up to 10 sessions to achieve the same results This means that more people can be treated with the same cost with SD or other therapies

Answer 19

One limitation is it is an unpleasant experience It provokes anxiety Schumacher et al- found that threraphy rated flooded as more stressful than SD This raised ethical issues for psychologis of knowlingly causing stress CP- they obtain informed consent There are high refusal and attrition rates

Answer 20

suggested that people are more prone to depression because of faulty information processing depressed people ignore the positive, blow things out of proportion and think of things in terms of 'black and white'

Answer 21

depressed people have a negative self-schema - we use schema to interpret the world therefore if a person has a negative self-schema they interpret all information about themselves in a negative way

Answer 22

Negative view of the world - eg the world is a cold hard place Negative view of the future Negative view of the self - 'I am a failure'

Answer 23

Activating event - presentation of stimulus that triggers a behavior Beliefs - Negative events trigger irrational beliefs Consequences - emotional and behavioural consequences of irrational beliefs

Answer 24

Musterbation - belief we must always succeed I-can't-stand-it-itis - belief that it is a disaster when things don't go smoothly Utopianism - belief that the world must always be fair and just

Answer 25

Found that cognitive vulnerabilities (negative self-schema etc) are more common in depressed people another study found that early cognitive vulnerabilities predicted later depression shows association between cognitive vulnerability and depression

Answer 26

Assessing cognitive vulnerability in young people most at risk of developing depression - so they can be monitored Applied to CBT to alter cognitions underlying depression Cognitive vulnerability is useful in clinical practice

Answer 27

There is real world application in treating depression Ellis applied the ABC model to treat depression (REBT) There is evidence to support that some REBT can both change negative beliefs and relieve symptoms of depression means REBT has real world application

Answer 28

Reactive depression = triggered by negative activating events But, in many cases it's not obvious what triggers depression ABC model only explains some cases of depression

Answer 29

Cognitive techniques combined with behavioral techniques Cognitive - challenge negative, irrational thoughts Behavioural - change behaviour so it is more effective

Answer 30

Identify negative thoughts about self, world and future (the negative triad) - 'thought catching' Challenge thoughts - Help the patient to test the reality of their negative beliefs — patient as the 'scientist' Set homework: record when people are nice to you - this can be used as evidence in future sessions to challenge irrational beliefs

Answer 31

Extends ABC model to ABCDE D = dispute (challenge) irrational beliefs E = effect - create a more rational attitude to life A patient might talk about how unlucky they are. A REBT therapist would identify this as Utopianism and challenge it as irrational Empirical argument = disputing if there is actual evidence to support the negative belief

Answer 32

Compared with anti-depressant drugs After 36 weeks 81% of drug group and 86% of drug+therapy group were significantly improved CBT just as helpful as medication and effective alongside medication Good case for making CBT treatment of choice in NHS

Answer 33

In severe cases patients cannot motivate themselves to comply with CBT In these cases it is better to treat with medication and have them take on CBT when they are more motivated Those with learning disabilities may also not be suitable Limitation as it means CBT is not fully effective alone

Answer 34

Studies found that after 12 months after a course of CBT - 42% relapsed within 6 months of ending and 53% within a year CBT may need to be repeated periodically

Answer 35

Genes that create vulnerability for OCD e.g. Serotonin genes - are implicated in the transmission of serotonin across synapses e.g. dopamine - implicated in OCD and may regulate mood

Answer 36

OCD is not caused by one single gene but several genes are involved which means that together these genes significantly increase vulnerability Taylor (2013) found evidence that up to 230 different genes may be involved in OCD

Answer 37

One group of genes may cause OCD in one person but a different group of genes may cause the disorder in another person - known as AETIOLOGICALLY HETEROGENOUS There is also evidence that different types of OCD may be the result of particular GENETIC VARIATIONS, such as hoarding disorder and religious obsession

Answer 38

Neurotransmitters regulate mood Low levels of serotonin mean that the normal transmission of mood-relevant information does not take place and so mood is affected

Answer 39

In some cases (e.g. hoarding disorder) there is impaired decision making This in turn may be associated with abnormal functioning of lateral frontal lobes The frontal lobes are responsible for logical decisions

Answer 40

An area called the left parahippocampal gyrus associated with processing unpleasant emotions functions abnormally in OCD

Answer 41

Nestadt et al reviewed twin studies and found that 68% of identical twins shared OCD as opposed to 31% of non-identical twins Marini also found that a person with a family member with OCD is around four times as likely to develop it as someone without This means that people who are genetically similar are more likely to share OCD, supporting a role for genetic vulnerability

Answer 42

Genetic variation affects vulnerability to OCD but there are also environmental risk factors that trigger or increase the risk of OCD Cromer et al found in one sample over half of people with OCD experienced a traumatic event OCD severity correlated positively with number of traumas

Answer 43

Antidepressants that work on serotonin reduce OCD symptoms This suggests that serotonin may be involved in OCD Also OCD symptoms form part of conditions that are known to be biological in origin e.g. Parkinson's disease This means that biological factors are likely to be involved in OCD

Answer 44

Serotonin-OCD link may not be unique to OCD Many people who suffer from OCD are also depressed. Having 2 disorders together is called co-morbidity Depression probably involves disruption to the serotonin system. This leaves us with a logical problem when it comes to the serotonin system as a possible basis for OCD Could be simply that serotonin system is disrupted in many patients with OCD because they are depressed as well

Answer 45

Drug Therapy for mental disorders aims to increase or decrease levels of neurotransmitters in the brain or to increase/decrease their activity Low levels of serotonin are associated with OCD Therefore drugs work in various ways to increase the level of serotonin in the brain

Answer 46

SSRIs prevent the reabsorption and breakdown of serotonin in the brain This increases its levels in the synapse and thus serotonin continues to stimulate the postsynaptic neuron This compensates for whatever is wrong with the serotonin systems in OCD

Answer 47

A typical dose of fluoxetine (an SSRI) is 20mg although this may be increased if it is not benefitting the person It makes 3-4 months of daily use for SSRI to impact upon symptoms Doses can be increased (EG 60 MG a day) if this is appropriate

Answer 48

Drugs are often used alongside cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) to treat OCD The drugs reduce a patient's emotional symptoms such as feeling anxious or depressed Means that patients can engage more effectively with CBT Also helps with noradrenaline

Answer 49

Acts on various systems including serotonin system Has similar positive effects to SSRIs but more severe side effects Only used when people don't respond well to SSRIs EG Clomipramine - tends to have more severe side effects

Answer 50

Increase levels of serotonin and noradrenaline Only used when people don't respond well to SSRIs

Answer 51

Soomro et al reviewed 17 studies of SSRIs for the treatment of OCD All 17 studies showed better outcomes following SSRIs than placebo Typically OCD symptoms reduce for around 70% of people taking SSRIs Means that drugs can be of most help to most people with OCD

Answer 52

Cheap compared to psychological treatments. Using drugs for OCD is therefore good value for NHS Many thousands of drugs can be manufactured in the time and money it takes for a therapy session Compared to psychological therapies, SSRIs are non-disruptive to peoples lives

Answer 53

A minority of people taking SSRIs get no benefit Some people also experience side-effects such as indigestion, blurred vision, and loss of sex drive For those taking Clomipramine side effects are more common and can be more serious More than 1 in 10 people experience erection problems and weight gain, 1 in 100 people become aggressive This means that the side effects can have an effect and people's quality of life can be reduced