Psychopathology: Glossary Flashcards
Define statistical infrequency
Occurs when an individual has a less common characteristic, for example being more depressed or less intelligent than most of the population.
Define deviation from social norms
Concerns behaviour that is different from the accepted standards of behaviour in a community or society.
Define failure to function adequately
Occurs when someone is unable to cope with ordinary demands of day-to-day living.
Define deviation from ideal mental health
Occurs when someone does not meet a set of criteria for good mental health.
Define phobia
An irrational fear of an object or situation.
Define behavioural
Ways in which people act.
Define emotional
Ways in which people feel.
Define cognitive
Refers to the process of thinking - knowing, perceiving, believing.
Define depression
A mental disorder characterised by low mood and low energy level.
Define OCD
Obsessive compulsive disorder
A condition characterised by obsessions and/or compulsive behaviour.
Define behavioural approach
A way of explaining behaviour in terms of what is observable and in terms of learning.
Define classical conditioning
Learning by association. Occurs when two stimuli are repeatedly paired together - an unconditioned (unlearned) stimulus and a new ‘neutral’ stimulus. The neutral stimulus eventually produces the same response that was first produced by the unlearned stimulus alone.
Define operant conditioning
A form of learning in which behaviour is shaped and maintained by its consequences. Possible consequences of behaviour include positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement or punishment.
Define systematic desensitisation
A behavioural therapy designed to reduce an unwanted response, such as anxiety, to a stimulus. SD involves drawing up a hierarchy of anxiety-provoking situations related to the phobic stimulus, teaching the patient to relax, and then exposing them to phobic situations. The patient works their way through the hierarchy whilst maintaining relaxation.
Define 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. This takes place across a small number of long therapy sessions.
Define cognitive approach
The term ‘cognitive’ means ‘mental processes’, so this approach is focused on how our mental processes (thoughts, perceptions, attention) affect behaviour.
Define negative triad
Beck proposed that there were three kinds of negative thinking that contributed to becoming depressed: negative views of the world, the future and the self. Such negative views lead a person to interpret their experiences in a negative way and so make them more vulnerable to depression.
Define ABC model
Ellis proposed that depression occurs when an activating event (A) triggers an irrational belief (B) which in turn produces a consequence (C), i.e. an emotional response like depression. The key to this process is the irrational belief.
Define CBT
Cognitive behavioural therapy
A method for treating mental disorders based on both cognitive and behavioural techniques. From the cognitive viewpoint the therapy aims to deal with thinking, such as challenging negative thoughts. The therapy also includes behavioural techniques such as behavioural activation.
Define irrational thoughts
Also called dysfunctional thoughts. In Ellis’s 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.
Define biological approach
A perspective that emphasises the importance of physical processes in the body such as genetic inheritance and neural function.
Define 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 (inherited).
