Psychopathology Flashcards
What are the four definitions of abnormality?
Statistical Infrequency, Deviation from Social norms, Failure to Function Adequately, Deviation from Ideal Mental Health
What is statistical infrequency?
Rare behaviours which are only found in a few people
What is a strength of statistical infrequency?
Some behaviour is desirable, can’t distinguish desirable from undesirable abnormal behaviour
What is a weakness of statistical infrequency?
Cut off point is subjective as it’s important for deciding who gets treatment
What is deviation from social norms?
about how one ought to behave, what is socially acceptable
What is a strength of deviation from social norms?
distinguishes desirable from undesirable behaviour and considers effects on others
What is a weakness of deviation form social norms?
susceptible to abuse - varies with changing attitudes
What is failure to function adequately?
being unable to manage everyday life e.g. eating regularly. This happens because of lack of functioning which is abnormal, if it causes distress to self and/or others
What is a strength of failure to function adequately?
behaviour may be functional - e.g. depression ay be rewarding for an individual
What is a weakness of failure to function adequately?
distress may be judged subjectively, as it depends on who is making the judgement
What is deviation form ideal mental health?
Marie Jahoda identified characteristics of ideal mental health which are high self-esteem, self-actualisation, autonomy, mastery of the environment and accurate perception of reality (being able to cope with stressful situations)
What is a strength of ideal mental health?
it’s a part of the humanistic approach
What is a weakness of ideal mental health?
the criteria is unrealistic, therefore may not be useable because it’s too ideal
What are the emotional characteristics of phobias?
excessive fear and anxiety
What are the behavioural characteristics of phobias?
avoidance, interferes with everyday life
What are the cognitive characteristics of phobias?
not helped by rational argument
What are the emotional characteristics of depression?
negative emotions - sadness, anger and loss of interest
What are the behavioural characteristics of depression?
reduced or increased activity related to energy levels, sleep and eating
What are the cognitive characteristics of depression?
irrational, negative thougths and self beliefs that are self fulfilling
What are the emotional characeristics of OCD?
anxiety, distress, awareness that the behaviour is excessive and this leads to shame
What are the behavioural characteristics of OCD?
compulsive behaviours to reduce obsessive thoughts
What are the cognitive characteristics of OCD?
recurrent, intrusive, uncontrollable thoughts (obsessions), which are more than everyday worries
What is the two-process model?
a theory that explains the two processes that lead to the development of phobias - they begin through classical conditioning and are maintained through operant conditioning
How does classical conditioning explains phobias?
The phobia is acquired through the association between NS and UCR; NS becomes CS, producing fear
What is an example of a phobia which was affected by classical conditioning and who did the experiment?
Little Albert developed a fear of a white rat which generalised to other white furry objects
The experiment was done by Watson and Rayner
How does operant conditioning explain phobias?
The phobia is maintained through negative reinforcement, which is due to the avoidance of fear
What is a strength of explaining phobias through the behavioural approach?
Diathesis stress model - not everyone bitten by a dog develops a phobia, may depend on having a genetic vulnerability for phobias
What is a weakness of explaining phobias through the behavioural approach?
the two process model ignores cognitive factors, because irrational thinking may explain social phobias, for example which are more successfully treated with cognitive methods
What is systematic de-sensitisation (SD)?
a form of behavioural therapy used to treat phobias and other anxiety disorders. A client is gradually exposed to the threating situation under relaxed conditions until the anxiety reaction is extinguished.
What are the four part of systematic de-sensitisation and what are the strengths and weaknesses?
1) Counterconditioning - phobic stimulus associated with new response of relaxation
2) Reciprocal inhibition - the relaxation inhibits the anxiety (Wolpe)
3) Relaxation - deep breathing, focus on peaceful scene, progressive muscle relaxation
4) Desensitisation hierarchy - form least to most fearful, relaxation practised at every step
Strength - behavioural therapies are fast, they require less effort than Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
Weakness - not for all phobias, works less well for ‘ancient phobias’
What is flooding and what are the strengths and weaknesses of using it?
Flooding - a form of behavioural therapy used to treat phobias and other anxiety disorders. A client is exposed to an extreme form of the threatening situation in one long session, under relaxed conditions until the anxiety reaction in extinguished
Strength - more effective than systematic de sensitisation (SD)
Weakness - traumatic and, if patient quits, then has failed as a treatment
How does Ellis’s ABC (1962) model explain depression and what is it?
He thought that depression lay in irrational beliefs.
Activating event (A) Activating event (A)
⬇ ⬇
Rational belief (B) Irrational belief (B)
⬇ ⬇
Healthy emotion (C) Unhealthy emotion (C)
Ellis’s ABC model is a cognitive approach to understanding mental disorder, focusing on the effect of irrational beliefs on emotions.
What is musturbatory thinking?
thinking that certain ideas or assumptions must be true in order for an individual to be happy.
What is Beck’s negative triad (1967) and what is a negative schema and how does it link to be negative triad?
Negative view of the self
↙ ↘
Negative view of the future ↔ Negative view of the world
Depressed people have acquired a negative schema during childhood - a tendency to adopt a negative view of the world.
What is the evaluation of the cognitive approaches to explaining depression?
Support the role of irrational thinking, because it suggests that people are responsible for their own disorder. This is a good thing because it gives the client the power to change the way things are. However, the disadvantage is that the client or psychologist may overlook the situational factors, like life events or family problems which may have contributed to the mental disorder.
What is cognitive-behaviour therapy (CBT)?
a combination of cognitive therapy and behavioural therapy
What does REBT stand for?
Rational Emotional Behaviour Therapy
What did Ellis extend his model to and what did the extra letters stand for?
Extended ABC to ABCDEF
D - disputing irrational beliefs
E and F - effects of disputing and feelings that are produced
There are three types of disputing, what are they?
Logical disputing - self defeating beliefs do not follow logically from the information available
Empirical disputing - self defeating beliefs may not be consistent reality
Pragmatic disputing - emphasises the lack of usefulness of self defeating beliefs
What is homework?
clients are asked to complete assignments between therapy sessions
trying out new behaviours to test irrational beliefs
What is behavioural activation?
encouraging re-engagement with pleasurable activities
What is unconditional positive regard?
reduce sense of worthlessness
What are the advantages and disadvantages of cognitive approach to treating depression?
+ = generally successful
Ellis estimated 90% success over 27 sessions
- = individual differences, CBT is not suitable for those with rigid irrational beliefs
What are the three genetic explanations of OCD?
COMT gene - regulates the production of the neurotransmitter dopamine which has been implicated in OCD, one form of the COMT gene has been found to be common in patients with OCD than those without. This produces lower activity of the COMT gene and higher levels of dopamine
SERT gene - affects the transport of serotonin, creating lower levels of it, high levels of this are implicated in OCD
Diathesis-stress : the idea that a link between one gene and a complex disorder like OCD is unlikely. This suggest that each gene creates a vulnerability (diathesis), for OCD as well as other conditions like depression.
What are the neural explanations of OCD?
Dopamine levels are high in people with OCD (based on animal studies, high dose of drug induce stereotyped movements resembling the behaviours which are associated with patients who have OCD.
On the other hand, lower levels of serotonin are associated with OCD. This is based on antidepressant drugs that increase serotonin levels and reduce OCD symptoms.
Abnormal brain circuits - several parts of the frontal lobe are abnormal in some people with OCD. The caudate nucleus receives signals from the orbitofrontal cortex, the OFC sends signals to the thalamus about things that are worrying. When the caudate nucleus is damaged, the signals are not sent and the thalamus is alerted, then the signals are sent back to the OFC. This is known as a ‘worry circuit’.
Supported by PET scans of patients with OCD
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the biological approach to explaining OCD?
Strengths - genetic explanations are supported by evidence of first degree relatives, that there is a 5 times greater risk of OCD if a relative has OCD
Twin studies - twice as likely to have OCD if monozygotic twins (MZ)
Environmentally affected - concordance rates are never 100%, type of OCD is not inherited
Genes are not specific to OCD
What are the treatments of OCD?
SSRI’s - prevent re uptake of serotonin
Tricyclics - block re uptake of serotonin, but have more severe side effects, so are used as a second choice of treatment
Anti anxiety drugs - BZ’s enhance GABA, a neurotransmitter that slows down the nervous system
What is the evaluation of the treatments of OCD?
Effectiveness - SSRI’s better than placebo
Drug therapies are preferred- less time and less effort than cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)
Side effects- not severe with SSRI’s (insomnia), more sever with tricyclics (hallucinations) and BZ’s (addiction).
