Psychopathology - exp and treatments

Question 1

who created the two process model for phobias?

Answer 1

Mowrer (1947)

Question 2

What does the two process model for phobias consist of?

Answer 2

1. Classical conditioning - initiation. In one traumatic pairing, the phobic stimulus is associated with fear or danger, e.g. a balloon (NS) being associated with the UCS of the “bang”, creating a CR of fear at balloons.
2. Maintenance of phobia - operant conditioning. Avoidance reduces the stress and thus reinforces avoidant behaviour.

Question 3

Name two positive evaluations of the behavioural approach to explaining phobias.

Answer 3

Any one from:
Research support
People often recall one traumatic incident that started a phobia
Behavioural therapies are relatively successful in treating phobias and lend credibility to the explanation.

Question 4

Name the research support for the behavioural explanation of phobias.

Answer 4

Watson and Rayner’s experiment creating a phobia in “Little Albert”. He was taught to fear white mice.

Question 5

How may social learning theory be an explanation of phobias?

Answer 5

We learn abnormal behaviours by imitating those around us.

Phobias may be communicated from parent to child, as the parent is the main role model for the child. `

Question 6

Name two negative evaluations of the behavioural explanation of phobias.

Answer 6

Any from:
Some cannot identify one traumatic incident that started their phobia.
Phobias of frequently encountered frightening stimuli (e.g. fast traffic) are rare.
Individual differences to phobias - may also be diathesis stress (genetic predisposition to phobias also important).

Question 7

Describe the process of systematic desensitisation.

Answer 7

Counterconditioning.

1. Taught relaxation techniques to use in presence of phobic stimulus
2. Presented with increasingly more challenging scenes with phobic stimuli on a desensitisation hierarcy - e.g. moving from in vitro to in vivo
3. Patient eventually masters the feared situation.

Question 8

Explain the process of flooding.

Answer 8

The individual is taught relaxation techniques to use in presence of phobic stimulus.
Experiences intense exposure to the phobic stimulus in one session.

Question 9

Name the four definitions of abnormality.

Answer 9

• Statistical Infrequency
• Failure to function adequately
• Deviation from social norms
• Deviation from ideal mental health

Question 10

Name two examples from the DSM’s description of Failure to Function Adequately.

Answer 10

Any two from:

• Understanding and Communicating
• Self care
• Getting along with people
• Life activities
• Getting around
• Participation in society.

Question 11

Name three examples from Jahoda’s list of Ideal Mental Health.

Answer 11

Any three from:

• Reality - accurate perception
• Autonomy
• Personal growth (Self actualisation)
• Integration into society.
• Self- attitudes, a high self esteem and sense of identity
• Mastery of environment

Question 12

Who proposed the idea that irrational thinking (cognitive) played a part in depression?

Answer 12

Albert Ellis (1962)

Question 13

Label the three elements of Ellis’ A B C model.

Answer 13

A = Activating event 
B = Belief that comes from the event (either rational or irrational) 
C = Consequence - either healthy or unhealthy. 

E.g.
A = Getting fired at work
B = “The company was overstaffed” (Rational)
C = Healthy emotion

A = Getting fired at work 
B = "The boss had it in for me" (Irrational) 
C = Unhealthy emotion, may lead to depression.

Question 14

What did Ellis claim were the source of irrational beliefs?

Answer 14

Mustorbatory thinking. Thinking that certain ideas MUST be true in order for an individual to be happy.

Question 15

Give an example of a musturbatory thought.

Answer 15

Any from:

• “I must be approved of by people I find important”
• “I must do well or I am worthless”
• “The world must give me happiness or I will die”

Question 16

Who stated that negative schemas (cognitive) played a part in depression?

Answer 16

Beck (1967). Thinking is biased towards the negative in a cognitive bias.

Question 17

What were the three elements in Beck’s negative triad?

Answer 17

1) Negative view of the self
2) Negative view of the world
3) Negative view of the future

Question 18

Name two negative evaluations of the Cognitive explanation for Depression.

Answer 18

Any two from:

• Problem with causality - irrational thinking may not cause depression although they are related.
• Ignores biological and environmental explanations of depression. E.g. the success of SSRIs in treating depression and evidence of neurotransmitters having a role in depression.
• Blames the client rather than situational factors, e.g. a woman may be depressed because she’s in an abusive household, not because of her negative schema.

Question 19

Name one positive evaluation of the Cognitive explanation for depression.

Answer 19

Success rate in application- CBT: Ellis (1957) Found a 90% success rate for CBT after an average of 27 sessions. This lends validity to his explanation.

Question 20

Ellis proposed a treatment in challenging irrational thoughts. What was the D E F in his treatment?

Answer 20

D = Dispute the irrational thoughts
E = Effects from disputing
F = Feelings (emotions) that are produced.

Question 21

What are three ways of disputing irrational thoughts (Ellis)?

Answer 21

1) Logical disputing: “Does this thought make sense?”
2) Pragmatic disputing: “Is thinking in this way useful to me?”
3) Empirical disputing: “What is the evidence that this thought is true?”

Question 22

What are three other elements of treating depression through therapy?

Answer 22

1) Homework - testing whether irrational beliefs are true outside of therapy sessions.
2) Behavioural activation - staying physically active and partaking in activities combats depression
3) Unconditional positive regard - makes the client feel worth something.

Question 23

Name two strengths of the cognitive treatment of depression.

Answer 23

• Success in practice - Ellis (1957) claimed a 90% success rate after an average of 27 sessions.
• Research support for behavioural activation - Babyak et al. (2000) found that sufferers who consistently underwent behavioural activation had a lower relapse rate than those only in the medication group.

Question 24

Name two weaknesses of the cognitive treatment of depression.

Answer 24

Any two from:

• CBT works less well for those with rigid irrational beliefs or ones grounded in reality, e.g. someone with abusive parents.
• Ignores the use of alternative treatments, e.g. the success of SSRIs in helping depression.
• CBT is a high-effort treatment that may not be suitable for everyone.

Question 25

Name two genes that may play a part in OCD.

Answer 25

1) The COMT gene

2) The SERT gene

Question 26

What is the COMT gene?

Answer 26

It regulates dopamine in the brain. OCD sufferers have been found to have lower COMT activity and higher dopamine in the brain.

Question 27

What is the SERT gene?

Answer 27

It affects serotonin transport. OCD sufferers have lower levels of serotonin so this may be implicated in OCD.

Question 28

What is the likely influence of genes overall in OCD?

Answer 28

The Diatheis-Stress explanation: it is likely that the relationship between genes and OCD is more complex than one explanation. We may be genetically predisposed to OCD, but environmental stressors will determine whether it develops.

Question 29

Which neurotransmitters may be involved in OCD?

Answer 29

• Abnormally high levels of dopamine

- Abnormally low levels of serotonin

Question 30

Describe how a neural “worry circuit” would contribute to OCD.

Answer 30

In a normal brain, when the Orbitofrontal Cortex (OFC) sends alarms to the thalamus, the Caudate Nucleus (CN) suppresses any unimportant alarms. If the CN is damaged, even very minor things may cause alarms in the thalamus which creates a worry circuit.

OFC —> CN (BLOCKER) —> Thalamus

Question 31

Name two strengths of the biological explanation of OCD.

Answer 31

• Success in treatment lends validity to the explanation. Soomro et al. (2008) meta analysis of 17 studies, found SSRIs to be better than placebos.
• Real world application to genetic screening for the COMT gene (however, this leads to ethical discussions about whether we should screen for this).

Question 32

Name two weaknesses of the biological explanation of OCD.

Answer 32

• Alternate explanations, e.g. psychological - two process model can be applied to OCD.
• The same genes are present in lots of similar disorders so it is hard to place specific genes as responsible for OCD, e.g. tourette’s syndrome.

Question 33

Name three different types of drugs used to treat OCD.

Answer 33

1) SSRIs
2) Tricyclics
3) Anti-anxiety drugs (benzodiazepines)

Question 34

How do SSRIs work?

Answer 34

Re-uptake of serotonin into the neuron is inhibited. This means serotonin spends a longer time on the active site, and has a greater effect on the brain.

Question 35

How do tricyclics work?

Answer 35

It works similarly to SSRIs but targets two neurotransmitters: Noradrenaline and serotonin.

Question 36

How do anti-anxiety drugs (benzodiazepines) work?

Answer 36

They enhance GABA activity, which has a general quietening effect on the nervous system.

Question 37

Name two strengths of the biological treatment of OCD.

Answer 37

• Effectiveness of treatment: Soomro et al. (2008) found in a meta-analysis of 17 studies that SSRIs are more effective in OCD treatment than placebos.
• They are generally lower effort than other treatment like CBT as they are easy to take.

Question 38

Name two weaknesses of the biological treatment of OCD.

Answer 38

• Side effects, especially from tricyclics, can be unwanted. Tricyclics can lead to hallucinations and an irregular heartbeat.
• Not a lasting cure - drug treatments only last as long as you have medicine. Relapse often occurs after drug intake discontinues.
• Publication bias favouring studies that show positive results for antidepressants. May affect the validity of the research.