Psychopathology descriptions Flashcards
- Social norms
- explicit norms
- implicit norm
- acceptable standards or behaviour created by society
- written rule/ law eg. can’t use phones when driving
- unwritten rule eg. eating dinner with cutlery
failure to function adequately
people are unable to continue with normal everyday activities eg. going to work, washing etc.
4 definitions of abnormality
Deviation from social norms
Failure to function adequately
Statistical infrequency
Deviation from ideal mental health
Features of failure to function adequately
Rosenham + Seligman
-Personal distress
-Observer discomfort
-Unpredictability
-Irrationality
-Maladaptiveness
Statistical infrequency
defines abnormality as a behaviour that deviates from the average.
If your behaviour if more than 2 SD from the mean, it is considered abnormal
Deviation from ideal mental health
we are abnormal if we don’t meet the criteria for ideal mental health
Characteristics of ideal mental health
Jahoda
-positive attitude towards oneself
-self actualisation = experiencing personal growth/development
-autonomy = being independent
-resisting stress
-accurate perception of reality
-environmental mastery = competent in all aspects of life
Phobia definition
persistent fear which is disproportional to the danger the object actually poses
Behavioural approach to explaining phobias
Uses two process model- phobias are learnt through classical conditioning and reinforced by operant conditioning via negative reinforcement
Little albert
Watson + Rayner
-little albert had a fear of loud noises
-paired a loud noise (UCS) with a white rat (NS) to cause a CR of fear to the white rat
3 stages of systematic desensitisation
-Fear hierarchy
-Relaxation techniques
-Exposure
Reciprocal inhibition
it is impossible to feel fear and relaxation at the same time, so therapy is used to make relaxation the dominant emotion to counter condition a phobia
2 ways exposure can be done
-Vivo = in real life, eg. a real spider
-Vitro= imagines exposure to phobic stimulus eg. virtual reality
How many sessions does SD take on average
6-8
Flooding
individual is exposed to the phobic stimulus for one long session, until the individual feels fully relaxed.
during flooding the phobic stimuli is experienced without the UCS and so patient stops feeling fear (CR) and is replaced with a new CR of relaxation
Negative triad
-who proposed the triad
-why people are depressed
-what is the triad
Beck
-people become depressed due to seeing the world negatively because of negative schemas
-the triad is a pessimistic and irrational view of 3 key elements in a person’s belief systems
1.view of self
2.view of future
3.view of world
5 cognitive errors
1.catastrophizing - the worst will occur and there’s nothing I can do
2.all or nothing- I can’t do it perfectly do I won’t do it
3.over generalisation- I never do anything right
4. selective abstraction- only focusing on the negatives of the day
5.global judgements- I’ve made a mistake, I’m useless
ABC model
Ellis
People who are suffering from depression mistakenly blame external events for their unhappiness. The irrational way they interpret these events is what causes depression
A= activating event eg. low grade on test
B= beliefs eg. feel a failure
C= consequences eg. feel worthless
Mustabatory thinking
thinking certain ideas or assumptions must be true in order for an individual to be happy
3 most important irrational beliefs proposed by Ellis is
-I must be approved or accepted by people
-I must do very well, otherwise I’m worthless
-The world must give me happiness
CBT
Aim- challenge irrational thoughts within the negative triad and make them more rational. If we change irrational thinking, maladaptive behaviour will also change,
Works by:
-challenges irrational thinking, looks for evidence
-alters dysfunctional behaviours, by overcoming cognitive obstacles stopping them from doing something
REBT (rational emotive behaviour therapy)
Aim- change irrational beliefs into rational beliefs so individuals react to events in healthy ways
Works by:
-tackling mustabatory thinking, so people accept themselves with their faults
-Challenging irrational thoughts, extended ABC model to D,E for dispute + effect.
Biological approach to explaining OCD
5 explanations
Twin study- Miguel et al tested if OCD had higher concordance rates in MZ or DZ twins. Found 53% chance of MZ twins to both have OCD compared to 22% for DZ twins
Family study- Lewis found 37% of OCD sufferers had parents with OCD
COMT gene- involved in production of dopamine. People with OCD have less active COMT genes, therefore, produce more dopamine
SERT gene- affects transmission of serotonin. SERT less active, causing less serotonin, causing more anxiety
Epigenetics- people may have gene for OCD but is only expressed due to outside factors. It’s this activation that causes mental illnesses
The brain- specifically orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) for OCD. OFC sends signal to basal ganglia. If basal ganglia damaged, it doesn’t stop minor worries meaning the thalamus is alerted. This causes the impulse to be brought to your attention
Biological approach to treating OCD
Drug therapy
-SSRIs (selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors)
-act as an inhibitor, to prevent re-uptake of serotonin
-this means serotonin stays in synapse for a longer period of time
-so impulses can pass to post synaptic neuron smoothly
-SNRIs (Serotonin-noradrenaline re-uptake inhibitors)
-similar to SSRIs but also inhibit adrenaline meaning serotonin and adrenaline levels are increased
