Psychopathology Flashcards
Psychopathology
The scientific study of mental disorders.
Depression
A mental disorder characterised by low mood and low energy, sleep and eating disruption, aggression and self-harm, anger, low self-esteem, absolutist thinking, poor concentration, dwelling on the negative.
Phobia
An irrational fear of an object or situation Characteristics i.e. panic, avoidance, endurance, anxiety, unreasonable responses, cognitive distortions, irrational beliefs, selective attention to stimulus.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
A condition characterised by obsessions and/or compulsive behaviour, avoidance, anxiety and distress, accompanying depression, guilt and disgust, cognitive strategies to deal with obsessions and insight into excessive anxiety.
Faulty Information Processing
When depressed we attend to the negative aspects of a situation and ignore positives. We also tend to blow small problems out of proportion and think in ‘black and white’.
Cognitive Approach to Treating Depression
Beck’s cognitive behaviour therapy, Ellis’ rational emotional behaviour theory (REBT) and behavioural activation.
Types of Phobia
Specific (e.g. animal, environmental, atypical, situational, blood/injection), social (extreme fear of embarrassment in social situations) and agoraphobia (fear of open/public spaces AKA the outside.
Negative Self Schema
A self-schema is the package of information we have about ourselves so if we have a negative self-schema we interpret all info about ourselves in a negative way.
Irrational Thoughts
In Ellis’ model and therapy, these are defined as thoughts that are likely to interfere with a person’s happiness. Such dysfunctional thoughts lead to mental disorders such as depression.
Ellis’ ABC Model
Ellis proposed that depression occurs when an activating event (A) triggers an irrational belief (B) which in turn produces a consequence (C).
Drug Therapy
Treatment involving drugs i.e. chemicals that have a particular effect on the functioning of the brain or some other body system. In psychological disorders such drugs usually affect neurotransmitter levels.
Failure to Function Adequately
Occurs when someone is unable to cope with ordinary demands of day-to-day living. A definition of abnormality.
Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT)
REBT extends the ABC model to an ABCDE mode. D stands for dispute and E for effect. Central technique of REBT is to identify and dispute irrational thoughts.
Systematic Desensitisation
A behavioural therapy designed to reduce an unwanted response to a stimulus. Involves drawing up an anxiety hierarchy, relaxation, and exposure.
Behavioural Approach to Treating Phobias
Systematic desensitisation and flooding
Flooding
A behavioural therapy in which a phobic patient is exposed to an extreme form of a phobic stimulus in order to reduce anxiety triggered by that stimulus.
Beck’s Cognitive Theory
Suggested three parts to this cognitive vulnerability. Faulty information processing, negative self-schemas and the negative triad.
Cognitive
Refers to the process of thinking -knowing; perceiving, believing.
Deviation from Ideal Mental Health
Occurs when someone does not meet a set of criteria for good mental health. A definition of abnormality.
Biological Approach to Treating OCD
Include drug treatments such was anti-depressant drugs (e.g. SSRI’s, MAOI’s, tricyclics) and anti-anxiety drugs (e.g. benzodiazepines).
Cognitive Approach to Explaining Depression
This approach is focused on how our mental processes affect behaviour. Theories include Beck’s theory and Ellis’ ABC model.
Biological Approach to Explaining OCD
A perspective that emphasises the importance of physical processes in the body. There are genetic explanations and neural explanations.
Genetic Explanations
Genes make up chromosomes and consist of DNA which codes the physical features of an organism and psychological features. Genes are transmitted from parents to offspring.
Neural Explanations
The view that physical and psychological characteristics are determined by the behaviour of the nervous system. There are neurochemical and neuroanatomical explanations.
Neuroanatomical Explanations
OCD is the result of hypersensitive basal ganglia and orbitofrontal cortex. Caudate nucleus normally surpasses signals from the pre-frontal cortex but in OCD the signals are not switched off. This then alerts the thalamus which sends a message back to the orbitofrontal cortex.
Neurochemical Explanations
OCD is due to high levels of dopamine and low levels of serotonin.
Statistical Infrequency
Occurs when an individual has a less common characteristic. A definition of abnormality.
Emotional
Ways in which people feel.
Behavioural Approach to Explaining Phobias
A way of explaining behaviour in terms of what is observable and in terms of learning. Two process model of acquisition by classical conditioning and maintenance by operant conditioning.
Behavioural
Ways in which people act.
Watson and Rayner -Little Albert Study
Became scared of white rats due to classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Example of the two-process model in action.
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)
A method for treating mental disorders based on both cognitive and behavioural techniques.
Behavioural Activation
Therapists may also work to encourage a depressed patient to be more active and engage in enjoyable activities. This will provide more evidence for the irrational nature of beliefs.
GAF Scale
Global assessment functioning scale.
DSM-5
The manual used by psychiatrists to diagnose mental disorders.
Diathesis Stress Model Explaining Phobias
Genetic vulnerability + trigger = phobia. Alternative explanation to behavioural for phobias.
Deviation from Social Norms
Concerns behaviour that is different from the accepted standards in a community or society. A definition of abnormality.
Negative Triad
Three kinds of negative thinking that contributed to becoming depressed: negative views of the world, the future and the self.
