Psychopathology Flashcards
The 4 definitions of abnormality
- Statistical infrequency
- deviation from ideal mental health
- deviation from social norms
- failure to function adequately
One evaluation of statistical infrequency?
- Unusual characteristics can be seen as positive, for example high iQs.
- Real life application in the diagnosis of intellectual disability disorder (IDD)
One evaluation of Deviation from ideal mental health
- Johoda set the characteristics of the mentally healthy unrealistically high and in actual society it is unlikely all the criteria can be met
- cultural relativism, Johoda set is criteria on Western European and North American cultures
One evaluation of Deviation from social norms
- Cultural relativism
- Real life application in the diagnosis of anti-social personality disorder but it’s never the sole explanation (doesn’t consider distress)
One evaluation of failure to function adequately
- Strength is that it takes into account the patients perspective and experiences
- limitation is that it is hard to measure distress and therefore difficult to assess patients
Behavioral characteristics of phobias
- panic
- avoidance
- endurance
Emotional characteristics of Phobias
- anxiety
- unreasonable responses
Cognitive characteristics of phobias
- Selective attention
- irrational beliefs
- cognitive distortions
Behavioral characteristics of depression
- lower activity levels
- disruption to sleep and eating patterns
- aggression and self-harm
Emotional characteristics of depression
- lowered mood
- anger
- lowered self-esteem
Cognitive characteristics of depression
- poor concentration
- attending to and dwelling on the negative
- absolutist thinking
Behavioral characteristics of OCD
- compulsions (repetitive or to reduce anxiety)
- avoidance
Emotional characteristics of OCD
- anxiety + distress
- accompanying depression
- guilty/ disgust
What is the behavior approach to explaining phobias?
The two-process model
- the process of acquiring a phobia though classical conditioning and maintaining it through operant conditioning (negative reinforcement)
Who did research into phobias through classical conditioning? And when?
Watson and Reyner (1920)
What was the procedure of Watson and Reyners study on little Albert? (How old was he?)
- A white rat was displayed to him
- upon presentation an iron bar was banged right by alberts ear
- this caused a phobia through classical conditioning
- after doing so little Albert showed distress to anything furry including a coat and fake beard
What are some evaluation points of the two process model?
- good explanatory power by taking Watson and Reyners findings one step further (helps in therapy - targeting avoidance behavior)
- alternate explanations for avoidance behavior. More complex phobias like agoraphobia would suggest avoidance behavior could be motivated by positive feelings of safety
- Seilgman’s (1971) biological preparedness suggest that things that have been a source of danger in our evolutionary past my cause us to have an innate predisposition or squire certain fears
What are the behavioral approaches to treating phobias?
- systematic desensitization
- flooding
What is systematic desensitization?
- the process of reducing phobic anxiety through classical conditioning
- a fear hierarchy is created where by the least phobic stimuluses go at the bottom and the most go at the top
- next relaxation techniques are taught either through breathing methods or imaging techniques
- finally the patent is exposed to an item on there hierarchy and is told to practice their newly learnt relaxation skills until they are no longer distressed
- reciprocal inhibition
Evaluate systematic desensitization
- acceptable to patients due to them preferring it to flooding. Most also enjoy learning the relaxation techniques
- suitable for a diverse range of patents, those with learning difficulties my not understand the meaning of flooding or cognitive therapies
What is flooding?
- Behavioral therapy in which a phobic patient is exposed to their phobia straight away in order to reduce anxiety by that stimulus.
- eliminates chance for avoidance behavior, patients quickly learn that the phobic stimulus is harmless
- a learned response is extinguished when the CS is encountered without the UCS
Evaluate flooding
- cost effective due to it being the quickest of therapies
- effective on simple phobias, however more complex phobias like social phobias my require a more cognitive therapy
- treatment is ethical (consent given) but is very traumatic for patients and usually results in high attrition rates
What are cognitive approaches to explaining depression
Beck’s cognitive theory of depression:
- explained why some people are more vulnerable to depression than others
- faulty information processing (dwell on negative)
- negative self-schemas
- negative triad (self, world, future)
Ellis’s ABC model: Used this model to explain how irrational thoughts affect our behavior and emotional state A - activating event B - beliefs C - consequences
Evaluate beck’s cognitive theory of depression (negative triad)
- grazioli and terry (2000) supporting evidence, they assessed 65 pregnant women for cognitive vulnerability and depression before and after birth.
- they found that those women judged to have been high in cognitive vulnerability were more likely to suffer post natal depression
- it doesn’t explain all aspects of depression. The theory explains the basic symptoms of depression, however depression is complex.
(Reductionist)
