Psychopathology: OCD

Question 1

What is OCD?

Answer 1

a condition characterised by obsessions and compulsive behaviour

Question 2

What are the behavioural characteristics of OCD?

Answer 2

• compulsive behaviours are repetitive
• compulsions reduce anxiety produced by obsessions
• avoiding situations that may trigger anxiety

Question 3

What are the emotional characteristics of OCD?

Answer 3

• anxiety and distress that accompanies both obsessions and compulsions
• OCD is often accompanied by depression
• OCD sometimes involves negative feelings such as guilt and disgust

Question 4

What are the cognitive characteristics of OCD?

Answer 4

• obsessive thoughts that recur over and over
• cognitive coping strategies in order to cope with the obsessions
• having insight into their irrational compulsions and obsessions

Question 5

What is the biological approach to explaining OCD?

Answer 5

a perspective that addresses the importance of physical processes in the body in causing OCD

Question 6

What is the genetic explanation for OCD?

Answer 6

the idea that genes are responsible for causing OCD, and that it’s an inherited disorder

Question 7

What are candidate genes?

Answer 7

genes that increase vulnerability to OCD, some of which are involved in regulating serotonin levels

Question 8

How is OCD polygenic?

Answer 8

it is caused by a combination of genetic variations that increase vulnerability

Question 9

How is OCD aetiologically heterogenous?

Answer 9

the origins of OCD vary between different people, as they can be caused by different groups of genes in different people

Question 10

What are some strengths for the genetic explanation of OCD?

Answer 10

• strong base of evidence from twin studies, which revealed that 68% of MZ twins shared OCD, as opposed to 31% of DZ twins
• there is evidence that particular genes cause repetitive behaviours in other species such as mice

Question 11

What are some negatives for the genetic explanation of OCD?

Answer 11

• OCD can also be caused by environmental factors, such as traumatic experiences
• it is easy to generalise evidence, but the human mind is much more complex than that of a mouse

Question 12

What is the neural explanation for OCD?

Answer 12

the idea that genes are likely to affect levels of neurotransmitters as well as parts of the brain

Question 13

What is the role of serotonin in OCD?

Answer 13

• if a person has low levels of serotonin, then normal transmission of information doesn’t take place, causing low mood
• some cases of OCD can be explained by this

Question 14

What are some positives of the neural explanation?

Answer 14

• supporting evidence means that this explanation can help develop treatments for OCD

Question 15

What are some negatives of the neural explanation?

Answer 15

• the serotonin-OCD link may not be unique to serotonin, as many people with OCD also have depression

Question 16

How does drug therapy work for mental disorders?

Answer 16

it aims to increase or decrease levels of neurotransmitters to increase or decrease their activity in the brain

Question 17

What are SSRIs?

Answer 17

SSRI stands for selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, and they aim to increase levels of serotonin in order to treat OCD

Question 18

What are some positives of drug treatment for OCD?

Answer 18

• there is strong evidence of effectiveness, which shows that SSRIs reduce symptom severity
• they are cost effective and non-disruptive to people’s lives

Question 18

How do SSRIs work?

Answer 18

Serotonin is released by presynaptic neurons, and then travels across a synapse. The neurotransmitter chemically conveys the message from the presynaptic to the postsynaptic neuron, and then it is reabsorbed. SSRIs block the reuptake channels, meaning the rate of reabsorption is much slower, so levels of serotonin increase

Question 18

What are some negatives of drug treatment for OCD?

Answer 18

• harmful side effects, which can be long lasting for some people