Psychopathology & Understanding Abnormal Behaviours Flashcards
What is the current definition of psychological abnormality? (Not the one used in DSM-5)
It is a psychological dysfunction within an individual that is associated with distress or impairment in functioning and a response that is not typical or culturally expected.
Define psychological dysfunction
Refers to a breakdown in cognitive, emotional or behavioural functioning.
Psychological dysfunction is often considered to be;
- on a continuum or
- categorical?
Why?
On a continuum as it is difficult to know where to draw the line between normal and abnormal dysfunction.
What are the three criteria that define a psychological disorder?
- Psychological dysfunction
- Distress or impairment
- Atypical or Not Culturally Expected
The distress criterion for a psychological disorder is satisfied if the individual is ….. ?
Extremely upset
It is important to remember that being extremely upset, although satisfying the distress criterion , does not by itself define problematic abnormal behaviour. Why is this the case?
As it is in many situations normal to be distressed, for example, someone close to you dies.
For the purpose of defining a psychological disorder, provide an example of when being shy would be considered an impairment.
The individual is so shy that they find it impossible to date or even interact with people and thus make every attempt to avoid interactions even though they would like to have friends.
Due to the difficulty with defining what constitutes a psychological disorder, the definition used in the DSM-5 extends upon the definition being ….?
Thus the most widely accepted definition describes:
Behavioural, psychological, or biological dysfunctions that are unexpected in their cultural context and associated with present distress or impairment in functioning, or increased risk of suffering, death, pain, or impairment.
What is the main difference between counselling psychologists and clinical psychologists?
Counselling psychologists tend to study and treat adjustment and vocational issues encountered by relatively healthy individuals.
Clinical psychologists usually concentrate on more severe psychological disorders.
Many mental health practitioners take a scientific approach to their clinical work and are therefore called what?
Scientist-practitioners
A scientist-practitioner when studying psychology disorders has what 3 main focuses?
- Clinical description
2 . Causation (etiology) - Treatment and outcome
What is one important function of the clinical description?
To specify what makes the disorder different from normal behaviour or from other disorders.
What does the clinical description represent?
The unique combination of behaviours, thoughts and feelings that make up a specific disorder.
In addition to having different symptoms, age of onset, and possibly a different sex ratio and prevalence, most disorders follow a somewhat individual pattern, or course. For example, what courses do schizophrenia and mood disorders follow?
- schizophrenia follows a chronic course, meaning it is likely to last a lifetime
- mood disorders follow an episodic course, in that the individual is likely to recover within a few months, only to suffer a recurrence of the disorder at a later time.
Some disorders have a time-limited course, which means?
The disorder will improve without treatment in a relatively short period with little or no risk of recurrence.
To say that a disorder has an acute onset means?
The disorder begins suddenly.
To say that a disorder has an insidious onset means?
The disorder develops gradually over an extended period of time.
Why is it important to know the typical course of a disorder?
So that we can know what to expect in the future and how best to deal with the problem.
If someone is suffering from a mild disorder with acute onset that we know is time limiting, what might we advise?
Not to bother with expensive treatment because the problem will be over soon enough.
The anticipated course of a disorder is called the what!
Prognosis
To say the prognosis is good means?
The individual will probably recover.
To say the prognosis is guarded means?
The probable outcome doesn’t look good.
Give an example of a psychological disorder that presents differently for children as opposed to adults & what impact does this commonly have on child’s diagnosis ?
Severe anxiety and panic - children often assume they are physically ill as they have trouble understanding that there is nothing physically wrong. Because their thoughts and feelings are different from an adults experience of pain and anxiety, children are often misdiagnosed and treated for a medical disorder.
We refer to the study of changes in abnormal behaviour as?
Developmental psychopathology.
Etiology, or the study of origins, has to do with what a disorder begins (what causes it) and includes what three dimensions?
Biological
Psychological
Social
Give an example of what classified as a psychological dysfunction.
Your out on a date which should be fun but if you experience severe fear all evening and just want to go home, even though there is nothing to fear and this severe fear happens on every date.
If a new drug or psychosocial treatment is successful in treating a disorder, it may give us some hints about the nature of the disorder and its causes. Give an example of how.
If a drug with a specific known effect within the nervous system alleviates a certain psychological disorder, we know something in that part of the nervous system might either be causing the disorder or helping to maintain it.
For thousands of years, humans have tried to explain and control problematic behaviour. Name the 3 major models date back to the beginning of civilisation and although old, care still used today to explain why someone is “acting like that”.
- The supernatural
- The biological
- The psychological
Mass hysteria may simply demonstrate the phenomenon of what?
Emotional contagion
What is emotional contagion?
Is when the experience of an emotion seems to spread to those around us.
Referring to mass hysteria and emotional contagion - if one person identifies a ‘cause’ of the problem, others will probably assume that their own reactions have the same source. In popular language, this shared response is sometimes referred to as ?
Mob psychology
The biological tradition waxed and waned during the centuries after Hippocrates & Galen but was invigorated in the 19th century because of what two factors?
- The discovery of the nature and cause of syphilis
- Support from the well respected American psychiatrist John P Grey
The psychological tradition; Plato thought that the 2 causes of maladaptive behaviour were what?
- The social and cultural influences in one’s life
- The learning that took place in that environment
It was the rise of what therapy that turned asylums from a prison like environment to that more akin to hospitals, thus becoming habitable and therapeutic?
Moral therapy
Note - moral actually refers to emotional or psychological factors. Yet the tenants of moral therapy included treating patients as normally as possible in a setting that encouraged and reinforced normal social interactions.
Dorothea Dix’s work campaigned endlessly for reform in the treatment of insanity & her work became known as what?
The mental hygiene movement.
What was the unforeseen consequence of Dix’s heroic reform of treatment of insanity?
It contributed (in addition to influx of immigrants following the civil war) to the substantial increase in the number of mental patients which ultimately resulted in staffing shortages, which was an essential criteria for moral therapy.
Psychoanalytical theory: the release of emotional material became known as?
Catharsis
Psychoanalytical theory: A fuller understanding of the relationship between current emotions and earlier events is referred to as?
Insight
The mind according to Freud has 3 major functions or parts being?
id
Ego
Superego
The id is the source of our …..?
Strong sexual and aggressive feelings or energies.
According to Freud, the energy within the id is called?
The libido
Describe a) the type of thinking & b) the drive with the;
Id
Ego
Superego
Id
Illogical, emotional and irrational
Pleasure principle
Ego
Logical, rational
Reality principle
Superego
Conscience
Moral principles
The superego represents the moral principles instilled in us by?
Our parents and culture.
What parts of the mind did Freud believe to be unconscious and which parts conscious?
The id and superego believed to be unconscious,
The ego which is seen as the mediator between the id and superego, believed to be conscious secondary processes that represent only a small portion of the mind.
Give an example of Freud’s defensive mechanism displacement.
I get a bad mark on my test and I am angry as I believe it was unfairly marked, but instead of releasing my anger at the marker (as this might not be in my best interest), I lash out at the store clerk instead.
According to Freud, anxiety is a signal that alerts the ego to marshal defense mechanisms. Describe the origins of the anxiety.
The ego fights a continual battle to stay on top of the warring id and superego. Occasionally, their conflicts produce anxiety that threatens to overwhelm the ego.
Instead of displacing anger some people may instead redirect energy from conflict or underlying anxiety into a more constructive outlet such as work. This process is called?
Sublimation
Defence mechanisms have been subjected to scientific study, and there is some evidence that they may be of potential import in the study of psychopathology. Provide an example.
Perry and Bond noted that reduction in unadaptive defense mechanisms, and strengthening of adaptive mechanisms such as humour and sublimation, correlated with psychological health (coping styles).
Provide 7 defense mechanisms.
- Denial
- Displacement
- Projection
- Rationalisation
- Reaction formation
- Repression
- Sublimation
Freud theorised that during infancy and early childhood we pass through a number of psychosexual stages of development. Name these 5 stages.
- Oral
- Anal
- Phallic
- Latency
- Genital
Jung suggested that spiritual and religious drives are as much a part of human nature as are sexual drives. He introduced the concept of the …. ….. , which is a wisdom accumulated by society and culture that is stored deep in individual memories and passed down from generation to generation.
Collective unconscious
Adler focused on feelings of inferiority and the strive for superiority. He created the term?
Inferiority complex
Unlike Freud, both Jung and Adler believed that the basic quality of human nature is ….. and that there is a strong drive towards ….-…… . Jung and Adler believed that by removing…. to both …. and …. …… the individual would…. and flourish.
Positive
Self-actualisation
Barriers
Internal
External growth
Improve
In a multidimensional integrative approach to psychopathology, there are 4 broad dimensions that interact. Name these 4 influences.
- Biological influences
- Behavioural influences
- Emotional & cognitive influences
- Social influences
Multidimensional integrative approach to psychopathology: name some of the biological influences using the text example Janelle
- inherited overreactive sinoaortic baroreflex arc
- vasovagal syncope; heart rate and blood pressure increase, body overcompensates
- light-headedness and queasiness
- Janelle faints
Multidimensional integrative approach to psychopathology: name some of the behavioural influences using the text example Janelle
- conditioned response to sight of blood; similar situations- even words produce same reaction
- tendency to escape and avoid situations involving blood
Describe quantitative genetics.
Examines the contribution of genes that code for dimensional , rather than discrete traits (phenotypes).
Describe molecular genetics.
Focuses on examining the actual structure of genes with increasing advanced technologies such as DNA microarray; these technologies allow scientists to analyse thousands of genes at once and identify broad networks of genes that may be contributing to a particular trait.
Multidimensional integrative approach to psychopathology: name some of the emotional and cognitive influences using the text example Janelle
- fear of fainting, worrying about health
Multidimensional integrative approach to psychopathology: name some of the social influences using the text example Janelle
Janelle s fainting causes disruptions in school and home:
- friends and family rush to help her
- principle suspends her (thinks she is being manipulative and acting as nothing physically wrong)
- doctors say nothing is physically wrong
What is the diathesis-stress model?
- Individuals inherit tendencies to express certain traits or behaviours, which may then be activated under conditions of stress.
- Janelle’s stress at seeing the dissection in biology (a situation she could not escape), activated her genetic tendency to faint.
Using the text example of Janelle, detail the diathesis-stress model in action.
Janelle inherited a tendency to faint at the sight of blood. This tendency (vulnerability) is the diathesis.
Apply the gene-environment correlation model using the text example of Janelle .
Remember: A genotype-environment correlation occurs when people with different genotypes are exposed to different environments depending on their genotype.
Thus, Janelle, with a genetic vulnerability to develop blood-injury-injection phobia, will have an increased probability of having a personality trait, say for example impulsiveness - that makes her more likely to be accident prone that would result in her seeing blood.
Describe the phenomenon referred to as epigenetics.
Although the environment cannot change our DNA sequence, it can have an influence on the DNA by changing the gene expression.
In terms of epigenetics and environmental influences on gene expression, research indicates that the strongest influences is?
The effects of early parenting influences and other early experiences.
Major neurotransmitters relevant to psychopathology include …?
- norepinephrine (also called noradrenaline)
- serotonin
- dopamine
- gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)
- glutamate (the most common)
The more ancient part of the brain, the brain stem consists of what 2 regions?
Hindbrain and midbrain
The hindbrain contains what 3 structures?
- medulla
- pons
- cerebellum
The hindbrain regulates?
Many automatic activities such as breathing, the pumping action of the heart and digestion.
The cerebellum controls?
Motor coordination
Abnormalities in the cerebellum may be associated with?
Autism but the connection with motor coordination is not clear
The midbrain coordinates?
Movement and sensory input and contains part of the reticular activating system which contributes to processes of arousal and tension, such as whether we are asleep or awake.
What is located at the top of the brain stem and what are the associated functions of these 2 structures?
Thalamus and hypothalamus
Involved broadly with regulating behaviour and emotion.
They act to relay between the forebrain and the brain stem.
At the base of the forebrain, just above the thalamus and hypothalamus is the?
Limbic system
The limbic system includes what structures?
- hippocampus
- amygdala
- cingulate gyrus
- septum
The limbic system helps regulates?
Emotional experiences and expressions and to some extent our ability to learn and to control our impulses.
The basal ganglia, also located at the base of the forebrain, include the caudate nucleus. Damage to these structures results in?
Changing our posture or twitching or shaking.
Two types of neurotransmitters most studied in regards to psychopathology are?
Monoamines and amino acids
Neurotransmitters in the monoamine class include?
Norepinephrine, serotonin and dopamine.
Neurotransmitters in the amino acid class include?
Glutamate and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) also known as the chemical brothers
Two major neurotransmitters affect much of what we do. These are?
Glutamate and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)
Describe the role of glutamate.
Is an excitatory transmitter that turns on many different neurons, leading to action.
Describe the role of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA).
Is an inhibitory transmitter which acts to inhibit or regulate the transmission of information and action potentials
What is the best known effect of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)
To reduce anxiety
What affect does the class of drugs called benzodiazepines have on gamma-aminobutyric acid molecules.
Makes it easier for GABA molecules to attach themselves to the receptors of specialised neurons.
Benzodiazepines are commonly called ?
Minor tranquillisers
Is GABA’s effect specific to anxiety?
No, we now know it has a broader influence
Finish this sentence: GABA seems to reduce….
Overall arousal somewhat and to temper our emotional responses
5-hydtoxytrytamine is the technical name for what neuro transmitter?
Serotonine
Extremely low levels of serotonin are associated with? (Think facets of personality)
Less inhibition and with instability, impulsivity, and the tendency to over react to situations.
Low serotonin activity has been associated with what types of behaviours?
Aggression, suicide, impulsive overeating and excessive sexual behaviour.
Low serotonin activity does not directly cause problematic behaviour but makes one vulnerable. Why is this important to remember?
Other currents in the brain, or other psychological or social influences may well compensate for low serotonin activity.
Name an experiment that illustrates the interaction of psychosocial factors and brain function on neurotransmitter activity.
Insel et al.s rhesus monkey experiment where one group of monkeys had free access to toys and treats, whereas the other group only got the toys and treats when the first group did.
In regards to the Insel et al. Rhesus monkey experiment: Later in their lives, the monkeys were administered a benzodiazepine inverse agonist. What was the effect for the monkeys in both groups?
The benzodiazepine has the opposite effect to GABA, thus monkeys in both groups experienced an extreme burst of anxiety,
The monkeys who had control over access to toys and treats, didn’t act anxious but instead turned angry and aggressive.
The monkeys with no control over access to toys and treats ran to a corner of the cage and displayed signs of severe anxiety and distress.
Movement, breathing and sleeping depend on the most ancient part of the brain, which is present in most animals.
Brain stem
Which neurotransmitter binds to neuron receptor sites, inhibiting postsynaptic activity and reducing overall arousal?
Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)
Which neurotransmitter is a switch that turns on various brain circuits?
Dopamine
Which neurotransmitter seems to be involved in our emergency reactions or alarm responses?
Norepinephrine
Thus area contains part of the reticular activating system and coordinates movement and sensory output?
Midbrain
Which neurotransmitter is believed to influence the way we process information, as well as to moderate or inhibit our behaviour?
Serotonin
More than 80% of the neurons in the human central nervous system are contained in this part of the brain, which gives us distinct qualities.
Cerebral cortex
This area is responsible for most of our memory, thinking , and reasoning capabilities and makes us social animals.
Frontal lobe
Emotion scientists now agree that emotion is composed of what 3 related components?
Behaviour, physiology, cognition
Using a behavioural/cognitive influence term, identify the following description.
Dalia noticed that every time Tyrone behaved well at lunch, the teacher praised him. Dalia decided to behave better to receive praise herself.
Modeling
Using a behavioural/cognitive influence term, identify the following description.
Tyler stopped trying to please his father because he never knows whether his father will be proud or outraged.
Learned helplessness
Using a behavioural/cognitive influence term, identify the following description.
Piper fell into a lake as a baby and almost drowned. Even though Piper has no recollection of the event, Piper hates to be around large bodies of water.
Implicit memory
Using a behavioural/cognitive influence term, identify the following description.
Juanita is as scared to death of the tarantula, even though she knew it wasn’t likely to hurt her.
Prepared learning
The principle of equifinality is used in developmental psychopathology to indicate what?
That we must consider a number of paths to a given outcome.
The contributions of what 7 influences /areas must be considered when thinking about psychopathology?
Psychoanalytic theory
Behavioural and cognitive science
Emotional influences
Social and cultural influences
Genetics
Neuroscience
Life-Dian developmental factors
What we ….. is strongly influenced by our social environments.
Fear
The likelihood of you having a particular phobia is powerfully influenced by your….
Gender
A large number of studies have demonstrated that the greater the number and frequency of ….. relationships and …. the longer you are likely to live.
Social, contacts
The effect of social and interpersonal factors on the expression of physical and psychological disorders may differ with ….
Age
The mental status exam includes what 5 categories? P 90
Appearance and behaviour
Thought processes
Mood and affect
Intellectual functioning
Sensorium
P 106 a relative lack of confounds in a study would indicate good …., whereas good generalisability of the results would be called good ….
Internal validity
External validity
