Psychopathology Flashcards
Name the definitions of abnormality
Statistical infrequency
Deviation from social norms
Failure to function adequately
Deviation from ideal mental health
What is statistical infrequency?
When a person’s thinking or behavior is classified as abnormal if it is rare or statistically abnormal
What is deviation from social norms?
When a person’s thinking or behaviour is classified as abnormal if it violates the unwritten rules of what is acceptable behaviour in society
What is failure to function adequately?
When a person considered abnormal because they are unable to cope with the demands of everyday life
What is deviation from ideal mental health?
When a person is considered abnormal if they do not meet Jahoda’s criteria for a good mental health
What did Jahoda identify as they criteria for ideal mental health?
- Positive self attitude
- Self-actualisation
- Resistance to stress
- Personal autonomy
- Accurate perception of reality
- Adaptation to the environment
Evaluation points for deviation from social norms
+ Distinguishes between desirable and undesirable behavior
- Social norms change over time eg. homosexuality
- Deviance depends on context/situation
- Can be used to discriminate
- Limited by cultural relativism
Evaluation points for statistical infrequency
+ Quantitative and objective - easy to calculate
- Some abnormal behavior is desirable - high IQ
- The cut off point is subjectively determined (69 is bad iq but 70 is good?)
- Limited by cultural relativism
Evaluation points for failure to function adequately
+ Sympathetic definition - view disorder from pov of person
+ Objective measure - easy to judge
- People may fail to function for reasons other than mental health
- Limited by cultural relativism
Evaluation points for deviation from ideal mental health
+ Positive definition that promotes well being
- Diagnoses mental health the same way as physical health
- Unrealistic criteria - suggests most of us are abnormal so how many must be lacking?
- Limited by cultural relativism
Describe the behavioural approach to explaining phobias
Social learning theory: Phobias are acquired through observation plus imitation (observing parents)
Mowrer’s two process model: A phobia is acquired through association during classical conditioning
The phobia is then maintained through operant conditioning - avoiding stimulus reduces fear=positive reinforcement
State the emotional, behavioural and cognitive traits of phobia
Emotional- fear, anxiety, panic
Behavioural- avoidance
Cognitive- resistance to rational arguments, irrational thinking
State the emotional, behavioural and cognitive traits of depression
Emotional- sadness, loss of interest, possible anger
Behavioural- shift in activity level, affected sleep, affected appetite
Cognitive- negative thoughts and view of the world
State the emotional, behavioural and cognitive traits of ocd
Emotional- anxiety, distress, compulsion to do, fear
Behavioural- rituals, repetition, avoidance
Cognitive- obsessions, fear of death/contamination
How can phobias be treated?
Systematic desensitisation and Flooding
What is systematic desensitisation?
A type of behavioural therapy that aims to remove the fear response of a phobia and replace it with a relaxation response.
Counter conditioning
- patient is taught deep muscle relaxation technique/breathing exercises
- patient creates a fear hierarchy of the stimuli
- patient works their way up the fear hierarchy
What is flooding?
The patient is exposed directly to their worst fear and thrown in the deep end. They are forced to confront their fears. Once the panic is over they realise they’re not in any harm
Evaluation points for the behavioural approach to treating phobias
- Different phobias may result from different processes
- Individual differences - flooding can be very traumatic
+ Found to be effective
Describe the cognitive approach to explaining depression
Ellis said the key to mental disorders was the effect of irrational beliefs on emotions - ABC model - Activating event, belief and consequence
Beck - negative triad - negative view of self, future and world
How is depression treated?
Cognitive behaviour therapy - CBT
Aims to identify faulty thoughts and replace them with more rational thoughts
Challenging irrational thoughts D,E,F Disrupting irrational thoughts and beliefs Effects of disrupting Feelings produced
Evaluation points for cognitive approach to depression
- Alternative treatment - antidepressants eg. SSRIs
- Presumes thoughts dictate actions
- Blames the patient rather than situational factors
- Time/cost/effort
Describe the biological approach to explaining OCD
Mental disorders may be inherited
COMT gene may contribute to ocd as it regulates the production of dopamine which has been implicated in ocd
SERT gene affects the transport of serotonin which results in decreased levels of this neurotransmitter which is associated with ocd and depression
Neural explanation - ocd is caused by abnormally functioning brain mechanisms
Evaluation points for biological approach to ocd
+ Twin/family studies - people with first degrees relatives with ocd five times more likely to develop ocd
+ ethical explanation as no one is blamed they just happen to have an illness
- doesn’t take into account the effect of other factors such as social influences or environment
