psychopathology

Question 1

What is Statistical Infrequency?

Answer 1

abnormality is defined as those behaviours that are extremely rare

Question 2

What is Cultural Relativism?

Answer 2

the view that behaviour cannot be judged properly unless it’s viewed in the context of the culture in which it originates.

Question 3

What is the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorder?

Answer 3

a list of mental disorders that is used to diagnose mental disorders

Question 4

Define Deviation from social norms

Answer 4

abnormal behaviour is seen as deviation from unstated rules about how one ought to behave.

Question 5

Define the term failure to function adequately.

Answer 5

people are judged on their ability to go about daily life. if they can’t do this and are also experiencing distress then it is considered as a sign of abnormality

Question 6

Define Deviation from ideal mental health

Answer 6

Abnormality is defined in terms of mental health, behaviours that are associated with competence and happiness.

An ideal mental health would include a positive attitude towards the self, resistance to stress and an accurate perception of reality.

Question 7

What are phobias?

Answer 7

a group of mental disorders characterised by high levels of anxiety in response to a particular stimulus

Question 8

What is depression?

Answer 8

a mood disorder where an individual feels sad and/or lacks interest in their usual activities

Question 9

What is OCD?

Answer 9

an anxiety disorder where anxiety arises from both obsessions and compulsions.

Question 10

What is flooding?

Answer 10

a form of behavioural therapy used to treat phobias and other anxiety disorder.
A client is exposed to( or imagines) an extreme form of the threatening situation under relaxed conditions until the anxiety reaction is extinguished

Question 11

What is the two-process model?

Answer 11

a theory that explains the two processes that lead to the development of phobias

Question 12

What is the ABC model?

Answer 12

a cognitive approach to understanding mental disorders, focusing on the effect of irrational beliefs on emotions

Question 13

What is Systematic desensitisation?

Answer 13

a form of behavioural therapy used to treat phobias and other anxiety disorder.
A client is gradually exposed to( or imagines) the threatening situation under relaxed conditions until the anxiety reaction is extinguished

Question 14

What are irrational thoughts?

Answer 14

the opposite of rational thinking.

when your thinking is rigid and unrealistic and lack internal consistency

Question 15

What is Concordance rate?

Answer 15

a measure of genetic similarity

Question 16

What is Dopamine?

Answer 16

a type of neurotransmitter in the brain with effects on motivation and drive

Question 17

What is Serotonin?

Answer 17

a neurotransmitter implicated in many different behaviours and physiological processes, including aggression, eating behaviour, sleep and depression.

Question 18

What is noradrenaline?

Answer 18

A neurotransmitter mainly in areas of the brain that are involved in governing autonomic nervous system activity e.g blood pressure or heart rate

Question 19

What are the six categories from ideal mental health

Answer 19

1. Self-attitudes - having high self-esteem and strong sense of identity.
2. Personal growth - the extent to which an individual develops their full capabilities.
3. Integration - such as being able to cope with stressful situations
4. Autonomy - being independent and self-regulation
5. Having an accurate perception of reality.
6. Mastery of the environment - ability to love, function at work and in interpersonal relationships.

Question 20

What are the two biological explanations of OCD?

Answer 20

1. Genetic explanations : The COMT gene, The SERT gene, Diathesis- stress disorder.
2. Neural explanations: Abnormal levels of neurotransmitters, abnormal brain circuits

Question 21

Give some facts about the COMT gene.

Answer 21

1. produces an enzyme that degrades dopamine.
2. A low activity variant of this gene is found in OCD patients.
3. Their impaired inability to degrade dopamine leads to higher levels in the synapse particularly after stress.

Question 22

Give some facts about the SERT gene.

Answer 22

1. produces a protein that transports serotonin back to the presynaptic neuron.
2. OCD patients have a high activity variant of this gene
3. removing serotonin to quickly results in lower results received and a shorter duration of serotonin’s effect

Question 23

Name three drugs used to treat OCD

Answer 23

SSRIs
Tricyclics
Benzodiazepines

Question 24

Describe how SSRIs treat OCD

Answer 24

they block the re-uptake of serotonin at the presynaptic membrane, increasing serotonin concentration at receptor sites on the post-synaptic membrane.

Question 25

Describe how tricyclics treat OCD

Answer 25

they block the mechanism that re-absorb both serotonin and noradrenaline into the presynaptic cell after it has fired.

Question 26

Describe how benzodiazepines treat OCD?

Answer 26

they slow down the activity of the CNS by enhancing the activity of neurotransmitters that when released has a general quieting effect on many of the neurons in the brain.