Psychopathology : Key Vocabulary Flashcards
What is Ellis’ ABC model? Can you name its three components?
Ellis’ explanation for how irrational thoughts affect behvaiour
A= activating event
B= Beliefs
C= Concequences
What is agoraphobia?
Extreme or irrational fear of entering open or crowded places, or leaving one’s home, or of being in places from where escape is difficult.
What is the ‘Basal ganglia’?
Region of the brain involved in the coordination of movement that has been linked to OCD.
What is this definition referring to;
antianxiety drugs used to treat OCD as they have a quieting effect on the brain and reduce anxiety caused by obsessive thoughts.
Benzodiazepines
What is bipolar depression?
Condition where a person has periods of elevated mood (mania) as well as periods of depression.
What is catastrophising?
Cognitive error where you exaggerate a minor setback and turn it into a major disaster.
What is CBT?
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a commonly used therapy which involves challenging and replacing irrational thoughts.
What is this definition referring to?
Error in thinking caused by simplified information processing.
Cognitive Bias
What are compulsions?
Irresistible urges to behave in certain ways
What is this definition referring to?
Gene which has a variation which results in higher levels of dopamine and this variation is more common in patients with OCD
COMT gene
Describe what is meant by counter-conditioning
Learning a new response to the phobic object/situation e.g. replacing fear with relaxation.
Describe what is meant by cultural relativism
The idea that cultural norms and values are culture specific and no-one culture is superior to another culture.
Define deviation from ideal mental health
Not meeting criteria which suggest you are mentally healthy.
Define deviation from social norms
A behaviour that deviates from social norms is one that is very different from how we would expect people to behave.
What is this definition referring to;
Higher levels of this neurotransmitter have been associated with the compulsions shown by OCD patients.
Dopamine
What is the DSM-5?
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition is the standard classification of mental disorders used in the United States.
What is empirical dispute?
REBT technique where the therapist seeks evidence for a person’s thoughts.
Define failure to function adequately
When a person’s behavior means they are unable to cope with the demands of everyday life.
What is an anxiety hierarchy?
Constructed by client and therapist.
A list of situations related to the phobic object/situation arranged in order from least to most frightening.
What is the difference between flooding (in-vitro) and flooding (in-vivo)?
Flooding in-vitro involves imagined exposure to the person’s phobic stimulus.
Flooding in-vivo involves actual exposure to the phobic stimulus.
What is hindsight bias?
The way that social norms change over time.
What is the ICD 10?
The 10th revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, produced by the World Health Organisation.
What is logical dispute?
REBT Technique where the therapies disputes the logic of a person’s thoughts.
What are negative self schemas?
Negative information we hold about ourselves based on negative past experiences that can lead to cognitive biases.
What is Beck’s negative triad?
Three types of negative thinking (self, the world and the future) that Beck suggested occur automatically in people who are depressed.
What is an obsession?
An idea or thought that continually preoccupies or intrudes on a person’s mind.
What is this definition referring to?
A region of the brain which converts sensory information into thoughts and actions- higher activity has been found here in OCD patients.
Orbifrontal cortex
What is overgeneralisation?
Cognitive error where you make a sweeping conclusion from a single incident.
What is REBT? What does it stand for?
Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy is a type of CBT based on Ellis’s ABC model.
What is meant by selective attention?
Focusing on one piece of information while ignoring other information viewed as irrelevant.
What is serotonin? What is low levels of it associated with?
Neurotransmitter which regulates mood - lower levels are associated with OCD.
What is this definition referring to?
gene which affects the transport of serotonin, causing lower levels of serotonin which is associated with OCD.
SERT gene.
What is a simple or specific phobia?
Irrational fear of an object (e.g. spiders) or situation (e.g. flying).
What is a social norm?
The rules of behavior that are considered acceptable in a group or society.
What is a social phobia?
Irrational fear of a social situation (e.g. speaking in public).
What are SSRIs
Antidepressant drugs used to treat OCD which work by preventing the re-absorption and breakdown of serotonin.
What is meant by a statistical infrequency?
A behaviour that is statistically infrequent does not happen very often.
What is systematic desensitisaton?
A behaviour therapy designed to gradually reduce a phobia through the principle of classical conditioning.
What is the two-process model?
Behavioural explanation for phobias which suggests they are acquired through classical conditioning and maintained through operant conditioning.
What is unipolar depression?
A major depressive episode that occurs without the manic phase.
