psychopathology

Question 1

What are the 4 different types of definitions of abnormality?

Answer 1

Failure to function adequately
Deviates from ideal mental health
Drastically infrequency
Deviation from social norms

Question 2

Describe and evaluate failure to function adequately

1S and 1W

Answer 2

When someone’s is unable to maintain basic standards of nutrition and hygiene
ROSENHAN AND SELIGMAN
When you no longer control to standard interpersonal rules
When a person experiences severe personal distress
When your behaviour becomes irrational or dangerous to themselves or others

S observable characteristics
W cultural differences

Question 3

Describe and evaluate deviates from ideal mental health
1S
4W

Answer 3

What makes people normal?
MARIE JOHODA..good mental health is
No symptoms of stress
We are rational
Realistic view of the world
Have good self esteem and lack guilt
Independent of others
We can successfully work, love and enjoy leisure

S positive empathises- positive achievements rather than failure and distress
W changes over time, perception change, cultural variation and subjective criteria

Question 4

Describe and evaluate deviation from social norms
1S
3W

Answer 4

We make a collective judgement as a society about what is right. When a person behaves in a way that is different from how we except people to behave
S helps people by giving society the right to intervene in abnormal peoples lives and help them
W subjective social normals aren’t real but are based on the opinions of ruling elite, time/change/cultural/individualism

Question 5

Describe and evaluate statistical infrequency

1S
2W

Answer 5

Any behaviour which is statistically uncommon. Any behaviour that falls outside mean/median/mode

S based on real data
W same rare behaviour are desirable (intelligence)
W cultural factor

Question 6

What are the emotional characteristics of OCD

Answer 6

Powerful anxiety
Low mood
Irrational guilt

Question 7

What are the behavioural characteristics of OCD

Answer 7

Compulsions they feel compelled to repeat
Reduced anxiety when compulsion are performed
Avoidance, they attempt to reduce anxiety by keeping away from situations

Question 8

What are cognitive explanation of OCD

Answer 8

Plagued with obsessive thoughts
Hyper vigilant
Aware they’re being irrational

Question 9

What are the emotional characteristics of depression

Answer 9

Feeling worthless
Extreme anger
Low self esteem

Question 10

What are the behavioural characteristics of depression

Answer 10

Lethargic
Withdrawal from work/education/society
Insomnia/hyper insomnia 
Aggressive
Effect on eating habits

Question 11

What are the cognitive characteristics of depression

Answer 11

Process info differently
Poor conc levels
Hard making decisions
Bias to recalling happy events

Question 12

What are the emotional characteristics oh phobias

Answer 12

Anxiety

Question 13

What are the behavioural characteristics of phobias

Answer 13

Panic
Avoidance
Endurance when the suffer remains in the presence of the phobic stimuli

Question 14

What are the cognitive characteristics of phobias

Answer 14

Selective attention to phone stimuli
Irrational beliefs
Cognitive distortions

Question 15

How do you explain phobias?

Answer 15

The 2 process model
Classic and operant conditioning
The phobia is developed thought classic conditioning
They learnt to maintain it through operant conditioning

The sufferer feels anxiety and panic when they see the phobic stimuli. In response they avoid and/or try to escape
Once they are away from the stimuli (rewarding) the suffer has learnt that running away will make them feel better. They’ll repeat this behaviour

Question 16

Describe and evaluate systematic desensitisation

Answer 16

Developed by Joseph wolpe.
The treatment involves creating a hierarchy of fear.
It is based on the principle that you can’t be in a state of relaxation and fear at the same time.
Once in a state of relaxation, the therapists works with the Ps to create a hierarchy of fear.
Over a period of sessions the Ps is gradually taken through the hierarchy all the time associating all items with relaxation

S used to eradicate ‘little peters’ fear of white fluffy animals.
Gilry followed a control group for 3 months and 33 months after SS. They showed less fear than other who had received flooding

W it require exposure to phobic stimuli, even the prospect of this can cause high anxiety so the drop out rate is high
Can only be carried out by professionals

Question 17

Describe and evaluate flooding

Answer 17

Involves putting the Ps in a situation where they’d be forced to face their phobia
The inescapable exposure of fear objection lasts until the fear response disappears.
It is based on the rationale that there is only a certain amount of time that the body can experience fear for, eventually the anxiety will subside

S cost effective and quicker as you need only one session
W symptoms substitution- when one phobia disappears and is replaced by another
W requires high motivation

Question 18

What are the explanations for depression?

Answer 18

Necks negative triad and Ellis ABC model

Question 19

Describe and evaluate becks negative triad

Answer 19

Beck suggested that a person vulnerable to depression will have; faulty processing, negative self esteem and negative triad

                   Negative view of the world

Negative view of themselves
Negative view of the future

S all cognitive aspects of depression can be adapted and changed
W becks cognitive theory can’t explain all types of depressed thinking and ignores the environment

Question 20

Describe and evaluate Ellis ABC model

Answer 20

Ellie’s explained that depression occurs because someone has irrational thoughts A- activation event- situation triggers irrational thoughts in a person
B- beliefs- identified a range of irrational beliefs e.g. I must always succeed
C- consequence- the activating event than triggers a irrational belief for which there are emotional and behavioural consequence

S in a questionnaire people with depression made more negative assessment on questions like ‘ people will probably think less of me if I do something wrong’
W is over simplistic and ignores other influencing factors

Question 21

What psychologist specialise for phobias

Answer 21

Behaviourist

Question 22

What psychologists specialise in depression

Answer 22

Cognitive

Question 23

What are the explanations for OCD neural

Answer 23

neural explanations
Role of serotonin- helps regulate mood. Low levels of serotonin means normal transmission of mood-relevant info doesn’t take place and mood and other mental processes are affected.
Some cases of OCD may be explained by a reduction in the functioning of the serotonin system in the brain

Decision making system- OCD is assocatied with improved decision making. This in then maybe be associated with abnormal functioning of the frontal lobe. The frontal lobe is responsible for logical thinking and making decision

Question 24

What are the explanations for OCD, genetic

Answer 24

Genes are involved in individual vulnerability to OCD.
According to the diathesis stress model certain detains leave some people more likely to suffer a mental disorder
Candidate gene- “genes which create vulnerability for OCD. These genes are involving in regulating the development of serotonin system”
Polygenic- “there are several genes involved”
Aetiologically heterogenous-“ one group of genes may cause OCD in one person but a different group of genes may cause the disorder in another

Question 25

Evaluate explanations for OCD

Answer 25

S LEWIS observes that of his Ps 37% had parents with OCD and 21% had siblings with OCD.
S NESTADT reviewed twin studies and found 68% of identical twins shared OCD as oppose to 37% non-identical twins
W environmental risk factors, CROMER found that over half the OCD pals had traumatic events in their past and the OCD was more severe in those with more than one trauma. This suggests that OCD cannot be entirely genetic

Question 26

What are the 3 different ways of treating OCD?

Answer 26

Drug therapy- for mental disorders aim to increase or decreased levels of neurotransmitters

SSRI (selective serotonin reputable inhibitor)- by preventing the re-absorption and break down of serotonin, SSRIs effectively increase its levels in the synapse and this continue to stimulate the post-synaptic neuron

SSRI combined with CBT- the drugs reduce the Ps emotional symptoms. This means that people can engage more effecting with the CBT

Question 27

Evaluate treatment for OCD

Answer 27

S Drugs are cost effective and non-disruptive compared to psychological treatment
S SOOMRO reviewed studies comparing SSRI and placebos in treatment for OCD and concluded that all 17 studies reviewed showed a significantly better result for the SSRI condition
W drugs had side effects e.g indigestion, blurred vision and loss of sex drive

Question 28

What is cognitive behavioural therapy and what does it treat

Answer 28

a type of psychotherapy in which negative patterns of thought about the self and the world are challenged in order to alter unwanted behaviour patterns or treat mood disorders such as depression.

Question 29

Evaluate CBT

Answer 29

March et al compared CBT, antidepressants and CBT plus antidepressants. CBT enervated as just as effective as medication and helpful alongside medication
S CBT aims to treat the disorder, whereas drugs aim to reduce the symptoms
W depression can sometimes we so serve that they can’t motivate them self to engage with hard work

Question 30

Identify one strategy used in CBT

Answer 30

‘Test the reality’- the therapists sets HW where the ps identifies when someone is nice to them and they write it down. Therefore when the Ps claims that no one likes them the therapists can provide this as evidence and they’re liked

Therapists would work to encourage ps to be more active and engage in enjoyable acitives