Psychopathology (Paper 1)

Question 1

What is psychopathology

Answer 1

The study of abnormal thoughts, behaviours and feelings

Question 2

Deviation of social norms

Answer 2

Society sets unwritten rules (social norms) i.e. behaviour which goes against/contravenes unwritten rules/expectations in a given society/culture is sign of psychopathology.
-E.g. talking to self when walking down street

Question 3

Statistical infrequency

Answer 3

-A person’s trait, thinking or behaviour is classified as abnormal if it is rare or statistically unusual
-E.g. IQ average is 100. If IQ is below 70 then it would be classed as statistically infrequent and abnormal

Question 4

Deviation from ideal mental health

Answer 4

1. Personal growth (Self Actualisation: should
   reach your potential)
2. Reality perception (should know what’s real)
3. Autonomy (should be independent)
4. Integration (should ‘fit in’ with society and be able to cope with stressful situations)
5. Self-attitudes (should be positive: high self esteem)
6. Environmental mastery (should cope in your environment
   -Jahoda believed that if just one of the list was missing we have an abnormality

Question 5

Failure to function adequately

Answer 5

-Abnormality judged as inability to deal with the demands of everyday living
-Behaviour is maladaptive, irrational or dangerous
-Behaviour causes personal distress and distress to others

Question 6

What is OCD

Answer 6

OCD is an anxiety disorder where sufferers experience persistent and intrusive thoughts occurring as obsessions, compulsions or a combination of the two

Question 7

Obsession

Answer 7

A persistent thought, idea, impulse or image that experienced repeatedly, feels intrusive and causes anxiety

Question 8

Compulsion

Answer 8

A repetitive and rigid behaviour or mental act that a person feels driven to perform in order to prevent or reduce anxiety

Question 9

Behavioural characteristics

Answer 9

Repetitive actions, avoidance of situations that trigger

Question 10

Emotional characteristics

Answer 10

Anxiety and distress, depression as compulsions bring temporary relief, guilt and disgust

Question 11

Cognitive characteristics

Answer 11

Obsessive thoughts, intrusive and persistent thoughts, irrational thinking

Question 12

Genetic explanation

Answer 12

Inherited from parents through genes, if you inherit certain genes you may be more likely to adapt OCD

Question 13

Twin study Billett et al (1998)

Answer 13

Meta-analysis (a study combining the results of lots of studies) of 14 twin studies
– On average Monozygotic (identical) twins 2 x more likely to develop the disorder than DiZygotic (non-identical) twins. This is because they share 100% of same genes.

Question 14

Family study Nestadt et al (2000)

Answer 14

80 patients with OCD & 343 of their near relatives compared with control group without mental illness
& their relatives.
Strong link with near family 5x greater risk if had first degree relative.

Question 15

COMT gene

Answer 15

This gene is associated with the production of an enzyme that regulates the function of dopamine and helps to reduce it’s action. The variation in the COMT gene decreases the amount of COMT available and therefore dopamine is not controlled and there is probably too much dopamine (associated with OCD)..
• This gene variation is more common in patients with OCD, in comparison to people without OCD.
• It appears that this gene is also mutated in individuals with OCD

Question 16

SERT gene

Answer 16

This gene affects the transport of serotonin, creating lower levels of it. Low levels of serotonin have been implicated with OCD.
• The SERT gene appears to be mutated in individuals with OCD.
• The mutation causes an increase in transporter proteins at a neuron’s membrane.

Question 17

Neural explanation

Answer 17

Neural mechanisms refer to regions of the brain, structures and the neurotransmitters involved in sending messages through the nervous system.

Question 18

Frontal Lobes

Answer 18

The lateral (side) bits of the frontal lobes are the part of your brain responsible for decision making and logical reasoning (executive functioning).
• Abnormal functioning or damage of this region is linked to OCD, especially conditions like hoarding disorder, whereby patients cannot stop collecting more junk

Question 19

Abnormal brain circuits

Answer 19

The Orbitofrontal Cortex (OFC) circuit.
• The OFC sends ‘worry’ signals.
• These signals are normally suppressed by the caudate nucleus.
• In OCD the caudate nucleus is thought to be damaged so it cannot suppress the signals which become increasingly excited – increasing compulsive behaviour and anxiety.
• Impulses arising in the OFC are passed to the caudate nuclei, which acts as a filter screening out irrelevant or unimportant impulses. The most powerful ones are passed onto the thalamus. Then the individual is driven to think more about them and to take action

Question 20

Neurotransmitters

Answer 20

Abnormalities, or an imbalance in the neurotransmitter serotonin, could also be related to OCD. Reduced serotonin and excessive dopamine may cause OCD.

Question 21

Drug therapy

Answer 21

Drug therapy assumes that there is a chemical imbalance in the brain
This can be corrected by drugs, which either increase or decrease the levels of neurotransmitters at the synapse

Question 22

SSRI’S

Answer 22

SSRI’S prolong reabsorption of serotonin in the synapse making them more likely to eventually bind to receiving neuron increasing serotonin levels.

Question 23

SNRI’S

Answer 23

These drugs block transporter mechanism that absorbs serotonin and
noradrenaline back into the pre-synaptic neuron after it has fired.
Therefore leaving more of these neurotransmitters in the synapse,
prolonging their activity

Question 24

PROS AND CONS OF DRUG THERAPY

Answer 24

Pros:Proven to have a positive effect on increasing serotonin. In turn this will make the person feel better and cheaper than therapy
Cons: Side effects, some drugs don’t work for everybody and by the time it’s taken to figure this out the case could get worse

Question 25

What are phobias

Answer 25

Phobias are a Anxiety disorder and Irrational fears that produce a conscious avoidance of the feared object or situation

Question 26

Diagnosis of a phobia

Answer 26

Intense, persistent, irrational fear a particular object, event or
situation.
Response is disproportionate and leads to avoidance of phobic object, event or situation.
Fear is severe enough to interfere with everyday life.

Question 27

Emotional characteristics of phobias

Answer 27

Anxiety, fear, unpleasant response when encountering phobic stimulus

Question 28

Behavioural characteristics of phobias

Answer 28

Panic e.g. crying screaming and fainting, avoidance, lack of endurance in phobic situation

Question 29

Cognitive characteristics of phobias

Answer 29

Irrational thought processes-I will die if I go on a plane, Person knows that their fear is excessive, Thinking resists rational arguments about the phobia

Question 30

Two process theory

Answer 30

A phobia is sustained through classical conditioning (as explained in behavioural approach) and the feat is maintained by operant conditioning e.g the relief felt by avoiding the phobic object.

Question 31

Little Albert

Answer 31

Albert was first introduced to a white rat and showed no fear response.
During the experiment, each time Albert approached the rat the experimenters made a loud noise by striking an iron bar with a hammer. Albert showed distress at the sound and soon became afraid to approach the rat.
Albert had developed a conditioned fear of the rat, which became generalized to other stimuli that were similar to the white rat, e.g. a white rabbit.

Question 32

Systematic desensitisation

Answer 32

1. Therapist trains client in deep relaxation techniques e.g. controlling breathing/focussing/visualising a peaceful scene/progressive muscle relaxation. Aim is to
   replace fear response with relaxation
2. Therapist asks client to create a fear hierarchy from the least feared situation to the highest level of fear associated with the phobia. E.g. imagine a phobia of spiders at the bottom of the hierarchy cold be the word ‘spider’, then it could be a picture of a spider, then a spider in a jar, then being next to a spider lastly the spider on your arm.
3. As the client works their way up through the hierarchy they have to perform their relaxation techniques at each stage. Once the client feels comfortable at each level they
   can move up to the next stage of the hierarchy. If at any level their fear becomes too much they move down to the previous one until they feel in a relaxed state.
4. They then continue in the hierarchy – the same procedure is repeated
5. Over series of sessions, clients will cope with every level of hierarchy. They can stop and restart at a lower level. Eventually, they cope with most of the feared situations at the top of the hierarchy.
6. An alternative to visualising fearful situations is to use real life situations

Question 33

Flooding

Answer 33

Immediate exposure to a very frightening situation
Prevention of avoidance, until they are calm/anxiety has receded/fear is extinguished
Learns that the stimulus is harmless
No longer produces the conditioned fear
response