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Psychology - Paper 1 > Psychopoathology > Flashcards

Psychopoathology Flashcards

1
Q

Describe the characteristics of phobias

A

Behavioural

  • panic
  • avoidance

Emotional
-anxiety

Cognitive
- irrational beliefs

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2
Q

Describe the approach to treating OCD and evaluate it

A

SSRIs

  • selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor
  • increases levels of serotonin in synapses where it has been limited

SSRIs with therapy

  • often drugs and therapy are paired to get the best results
  • participants are able to engage more effectively in therapy

+ effective
> Soomoro compared SSRIs to placebos and found significantly better results
+ cost-effective
> cheap compared to psychological treatments so can save NHS money
>non disruptive to family lives
- side-effects
> eg, blurred vision, tremors, sleepy etc
> people may stop taking them as a result

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3
Q

Describe deviation from social norms and evaluate it

A

When an individuals behaviour is different from the accepted standards of society

\+ real life application
   >eg, antisocial personality disorder
- culturally relative
   >norms vary a lot
   >eg, homosexuality
- contextual
   >no set guidelines
   >eg, bikini on beach/in school
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4
Q

Evaluation of the treatment of phobias

A

+ effective
>Gilroy found a group of ppts that were treated with systematic desensitisation were much less fearful than a control group
+ patient-centred
>involves relaxation and causes less trauma
- cost effective
>only one session often

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5
Q

Evaluation of explanations of OCD

A

+ supporting evidence
> Nestadt = reviewed twin studies and found 68% of identical twins shared OCD compared with 31% of non identical.
- twin studies are flawed and non-identical twins are often exposed to different situations (eg exercise etc)
- ignores environmental factors
> past experiences may affect it or exposure to different things

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6
Q

Describe the characteristics of OCD

A

Behavioural
- compulsions = repetitive and reduce anxiety

Emotional
- anxiety and unpleasantness

Cognitive
- obsessive thoughts

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7
Q

Explain the approach to treating depression

A

Becks CBT

  • identify automatic thought on negative triad
  • tests these beliefs
  • ‘patient as scientist’ involves them having homework in getting enjoyable moments from their lives to use as evidence

Ellis’ REBT

  • disputing thoughts is the main aim
  • often involves a vigorous argument
  • making them realise their ideas are not true in the real world
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8
Q

Describe the characteristics of depression

A

Behavioural

  • low activity levels
  • insomnia/hypersomnia, increase/decrease weight loss
  • self-harm

Emotional

  • lowered mood
  • lowered self esteem

Cognitive

  • poor concentration
  • dwell on the negative
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9
Q

Describe statistical infrequency and evaluate it

A

When an individual has a less common characteristic than the rest of the population

\+ real-life application
   >eg, intellectual disability disorder
- unusual characteristics are positive
   >eg, IQ 
- labels can be harmful
   >can still live a very happy life
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10
Q

Evaluate the explanations for depression

A

+ practical application
>used in CBT therapy to identify and challenge thoughts
- a partial explanation
>patients experience anger/hallucinations
>only applies to some types of depression

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11
Q

Describe the two approaches to explain depression

A

Beck

  • faulty information processing
  • negative self schemes
  • negative triad: world, view, self

Ellis (ABC)

  • irrational thoughts triggered by an ACTIVATING EVENT
  • this causes our BELIEFS
  • there are CONSEQUENCES to having these beliefs
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12
Q

Describe the explanations of OCD

A

Genetic:

  • Lewis found 37% of patients with OCD had parents with it and 21% had a sibling with it
  • candidate genes = genes which create vulnerability for OCD
  • it is polygenetic = Taylor found there could be up to 230 different genes involved including dopamine etc.

Neural:

  • levels of neurotransmitters and brain structure is associated with OCD
  • serotonin is responsible for relaying mood information and this doesn’t take place in OCD cases
  • may be associated with impaired decision making (frontal lobes damaged)
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13
Q

How do we explain phobias and evaluation

A

Two-process model

Acquisition by classical conditioning

  • ‘little albert’
  • created a phobia in a 9 year old of a white rat using a loud noise

Maintenance by operant conditioning
- negative reinforcement means they will avoid the phobia as it takes away negative feelings so they will never get over it

+ real life application
>reasoning used in therapies and makes sense etc
- alternative motives
>positive feelings of safety may be a motive

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14
Q

What are the 4 definitions of abnormality

A

Statistical infrequency
Deviation from social norms
Failure to function adequately
Deviation of ideal mental health

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15
Q

Describe deviation from ideal mental health and evaluate it

A

When’s someone deposit meet the criteria for good mental health Jahoda

  • cope with stress
  • realistic view of the world
  • good self esteem
  • independent of others
  • no distress

+ comprehensive definition
>covers a broad range of criteria and is a good starting point
- culturally relative
>eg, most suited to individualistic cultures - independence etc
- unrealistically high standard
>no one can always maintain these
>the majority would be classed as abnormal

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16
Q

How to treat phobias

A

Systematic desensitisation

  • anxiety hierarchy = list of situations involving the phobic stimulus from least to most frightening put together by both patient + therapist
  • relaxation = teaches patient to relax as deeply as possible
  • exposure = puts the two together so once patient is relaxed in presence of phobic stimulus they move up hierarchy

Flooding

  • bombardment of phobic stimulus instantly
  • done so anxiety reaches its peak until it can no longer continue and so they become more relaxed
17
Q

Evaluation of CBT/REBT

A

+ effective
> March - compared CBT to antidepressants in adolescents and found 81% of both groups significantly improved
- may not work in severe cases
> patients may not be motivated or able to get up and go to therapy and not want to take part in discussions
- patient-therapist interaction
>may be due to the rapport made between them not the actual technique used

18
Q

Describe failure to function adequately and evaluate this

A

Wh n someone is unable to cope with the ordinary demands of day to day life

\+ measurable
   >it can be relatively objective
\+ focused on individual
   >includes experience of individual
- subjective judgements
   >hard to see how people are coping may be living a different lifestyle

Psychology - Paper 1 (4 decks)

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