psychopathology Flashcards
1
Q
what is statistical infrequency?
A
- numerically unusual behaviour or characteristic.
- i.e. IQ below 70 is part of the diagnosis of intellectual disability disorder.
2
Q
evaluate statistical infrequency.
A
- real-life application = simple means of assessing patients.
- unusual characteristics can be positive = some unusual behaviour doesn’t need treatment i.e. high IQ.
- not everyone benefits from a label = some people with low IQ function adequately and don’t benefit from a label.
3
Q
what is a deviation from social norms?
A
- social judgments about what is acceptable.
- these norms are culture-specific.
- i.e. antisocial personality disorder = impulsive, aggressive, irresponsible behaviour is not socially acceptable.
4
Q
evaluate deviations from social norms.
A
- not a sole explanation = other factors after such as distress to others.
- cultural relativism = unfair to judge someone from another culture.
- can lead to human rights abuse = the social norm approach maintains control over a minority group.
5
Q
what is failure to function adequately?
A
- failing to cope with the demands of everyday life.
- signs = not conforming to interpersonal rules, personal distress.
- IDD = failing to function is part of the diagnosis of intellectual disability disorder as well as low IQ.
6
Q
evaluate failure to function adequately.
A
- patient’s perspective = captures the experience of people with mental health problems.
- similarities to deviation = alternative lifestyles e.g. extreme sports may be an example of both.
- subjective judgements required during the assessment.
7
Q
what is a deviation from ideal mental health?
A
- Jahoda considered normality rather than an abnormality.
- includes lack of symptoms, rationality, self-actualisation, coping with stress
8
Q
evaluate deviations from ideal mental health.
A
- comprehensive definition = includes all the reasons why anyone might seek help.
- cultural relativism = ideas that are specific to Western cultures e.g. self-actualisation.
- universal high standards = very little people have “ideal” mental health.
9
Q
what are the behavioural characteristics of phobias?
A
- panic
- avoidance or endurance.
10
Q
what are the emotional characteristics of phobias?
A
irrational and unreasonable fear and anxiety.
11
Q
what are the cognitive characteristics of phobias?
A
- selective attention
- irrational beliefs
- cognitive distortions
12
Q
what are some behavioural explanations of phobias?
A
- two-process model (Mowrer: two ways of conditioning)
- acquisition by classical conditioning (UCS produces a fear response, UCS then associated with a neutral stimulus)
- maintenance by operant conditioning (avoidance of phobic stimulus reinforced by anxiety reduction so the phobia is maintained).
13
Q
evaluate the behavioural explanations for phobias.
A
- good explanatory power = explains how phobias can be acquired and maintained.
- alternate explanation for avoidance = may be motivated by seeking safety rather than anxiety reduction.
- incomplete explanation for phobias = cannot account for preparedness to acquire phobias of some stimuli and not others.
14
Q
what are the three stages of systematic desensitization?
A
- anxiety hierarchy identified = a list of situations ranked for how much anxiety they produce
- relaxation = reciprocal inhibition + relaxation includes imagery and/or breathing techniques.
- exposure = phobic stimulus exposed whilst relaxed at each level of hierarchy.
15
Q
evaluate systematic desensitization as a behavioural treatment for phobias.
A
- effective = more effective than relaxation done alone after 33 months.
- diversity = appropriate for learners with learning difficulties.
- acceptable for patients = patients prefer this to flooding meaning dropout rates are lower.
16
Q
what is flooding?
A
- exposes patients to a very frightening situation without a build-up.
- works by the extinction of the conditioned fear response.
- patients must give informed consent to be prepared for flooding.
17
Q
evaluate flooding as a behavioural treatment for phobias.
A
- cost-effective = when it works, it is more effective than systematic desensitization, therefore quicker and cheaper.
- less effective for complex phobias such as social phobias.
- traumatic treatment = drop out rate is high so ineffective.
18
Q
what are the behavioural characteristics of depression?
A
- agitated.
- increased or decreased sleeping/eating.
- aggression and self-harm.
19
Q
what are the emotional characteristics of depression?
A
- lowered mood.
- anger towards self and others.
- low self-esteem.
20
Q
what are the cognitive characteristics of depression?
A
- obsessive thoughts.
- cognitive strategies i.e. prayer.
- self-insight.
21
Q
what are the three aspects of beck’s cognitive theory on depression?
A
- faulty information processing = attending to the negative aspects of a situation.
- negative self-schemas = info about ourselves is accessed whenever we enter a self-relevant situation.
- negative triad = negative views of the world, self and future.
22
Q
evaluate beck’s cognitive theory.
A
- supporting evidence = solid support for the idea that certain cognitions make us vulnerable to depression (Clark and Beck).
- practical app. in CBT = negative thoughts identified and challenged with a therapist.
- doesn’t explain all aspects = can’t explain extreme anger, hallucinations and delusion.
23
Q
what are the three aspects of Ellis’s ABC model?
A
- activating event = a negative event that triggers a response.
- beliefs = beliefs that lead us to overreact to the activating event e.g. that life should always be fair.
- consequences = depression results when we overreact to negative life events.
24
Q
evaluate Ellis’s ABC model.
A
- partial explanation = some cases of depression follow life events but not all.
- practical application in CBT = irrational thoughts can be identified and challenged by a therapist.
- doesn’t explain all aspects = cannot easily explain extreme anger, hallucinations or delusions.
25
what is cognitive behavioural therapy?
- beck's CT = aims to identify negative thoughts and challenge them, including through testing them.
- ellis's REBT = aims to identify and challenge irrational beliefs by argument
- behavioural activation = includes techniques from CT and REBT but also behavioural techniques.
26
evaluate cognitive behavioural therapy.
- it is effective = significantly more effective than no treatment (Culipers)
- may not work for severe cases = not effective where patients are too depressed to engage with therapy.
- patient-therapist relationship = all therapies fairly similar.
27
what are the behavioural characteristics of OCD?
- compulsions usually decrease anxiety.
| - avoid situations that trigger anxiety.
28
what are the emotional characteristics of OCD?
- intense anxiety
- depression
- guilt and disgust
29
what are the cognitive characteristics of OCD?
- obsessive thoughts
- cognitive strategies e.g. prayers
- self-insight (awareness of irrationality)
30
what is the genetic explanation for OCD?
- candidate genes = genes that may be involved with producing symptoms of OCD (SERT reducing serotonin levels and COMT increasing dopamine levels).
- OCD is polygenic = 230 genetic variations
- Different combinations of genes may cause different types of OCD
31
evaluate the genetic explanation of OCD.
- good supporting evidence = Nestadt twins (68% identical twins shared OCD vs. 31% non-identical)
- too many candidate genes = little predictive value.
- environmental risk factors = OCD associated with trauma, not entirely genetic.
32
what is the neural explanation for OCD?
- serotonin = low levels of serotonin linked to OCD.
| - decision-making systems = frontal lobes and parohippocampal gyrus may be malfunctioning.
33
evaluate the neural explanation of OCD.
- supporting evidence = antidepressants solely focused on boosting serotonin have been proved to alleviate symptoms.
- not clear what mechanisms involved = all neural systems involved in some cases.
- shouldn't assume neural abnormalities are the cause, but could be a result of it.
34
what are the drug treatments used to treat OCD?
- SSRIs = antidepressants that increase levels of serotonin at the synapse, so it does not get reabsorbed by the pre-synaptic neuron.
- combining SSRIs in other treatments i.e., CBT
- alternatives to SSRIs = clomipramine (acts on serotonin plus other systems or SNRI (noradrenaline).
35
evaluate drug treatments for OCD.
- effective at tackling symptoms = SSRIs are superior to placebos in treating OCD.
- cost-effective = compared to psychological treatments drugs are cheap and non-disruptive.
- can have side effects = indigestion, blurred vision, loss of sex drive (worse for clomipramine).
