Psychopathology key words

Question 1

Statistical infrequency

Answer 1

occurs when an individual has a less common characteristic

Question 2

Deviation from social norms

Answer 2

concerns behaviour that is different from the accepted standards of behaviour in a community or society

Question 3

Failure to function adequately

Answer 3

occurs when someone is unable to cope with ordinary demands of everyday living

Question 4

Deviation from ideal mental health

Answer 4

occurs when someone does not meet a set of criteria for good mental health

Question 5

Phobia

Answer 5

an irrational fear of an object or situation

Question 6

Behavioural

Answer 6

ways in which people act

Question 7

Emotional

Answer 7

ways in which people feel

Question 8

Cognitive

Answer 8

refers to the process of thinking - knowing, perceiving, believing

Question 9

Specific phobia

Answer 9

object or situation

e.g. animal or flying

Question 10

Social phobia

Answer 10

social situation e.g. public toilet

Question 11

Agoraphobia

Answer 11

outside, public places

Question 12

Depression

Answer 12

a mental disorder characterised by low mood and low energy levels

Question 13

Major depressive disorder

Answer 13

severe, short term

Question 14

Persistent depressive disorder

Answer 14

major, long term

Question 15

Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder

Answer 15

childhood temper tantrums

Question 16

Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

Answer 16

disruption of mood before/after mentruation

Question 17

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

Answer 17

a condition characterised by obsessions/compulsive behaviour

Question 18

compulsion

Answer 18

behaviour, something you do

Question 19

obsession

Answer 19

cognition, takes place in mind

Question 20

Behavioural approach

Answer 20

a way of explaining behaviour in terms of what is observable and in terms of learning

Question 21

Classical conditioning

Answer 21

learning by association

occurs when 2 stimuli are repeatedly paired together

Question 22

Operant conditioning

Answer 22

a form of learning in which behaviour is shaped and maintained by its consequences

Question 23

Systematic desensitisation

Answer 23

a behavioural therapy designed to reduce an unwanted response, such as anxiety, to a stimulus.
involves drawing up a hierarchy of anxiety-provoking situations related to the phobic stimulus, teaching the patient to relax, and then exposing them to the phobic situations. The patient works their way through the hierarchy whilst maintaining relaxation

Question 24

Flooding

Answer 24

a behavioural therapy where a 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

Question 25

Cognitive approach

Answer 25

how mental processes (thoughts, perceptions, attention) affect behaviour

Question 26

Negative triad

Answer 26

Beck proposed that there were 3 types of negative thinking that contributed to becoming depressed: negative views of the world, the future and the self
lead person to interpret experiences in negative way so more vulnerable to depression

Question 27

ABC model

Answer 27

Ellis proposed that depression occurs when an activating event (A) triggers an irrational belief (B) which intern produces a consequence (C) i.e. emotional response like depression.

Question 28

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy

Answer 28

a method for treating mental disorders based on both cognitive and behavioural techniques
from cognitive viewpoint, therapy aims to deal with thinking, such as challenging negative thoughts
behavioural techniques include behavioural activation

Question 29

Irrational thoughts

Answer 29

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 and lead to mental disorders like depression

Question 30

Biological approach

Answer 30

a perspective that emphasises the importance of physical processes in the body such as genetic inheritance and neural function

Question 31

Genetic explanations

Answer 31

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

Question 32

Neural explanations

Answer 32

the view that physical and psychological characteristics are determined by the behaviour of the nervous system, in particular the brain as well as individual neurons

Question 33

Drug therapy

Answer 33

treatment involving drugs, i.e. chemicals that have a particular effect on the functioning of the brain or other body systems
drugs affect neurotransmitter levels