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A-Level Psychology > Psycopathology > Flashcards

Psycopathology Flashcards

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1
Q

What are the four definitions of abnormality

A
  • statistical infrequency
  • deviation from social norms
  • failure to function adequately
  • deviation from ideal mental health
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2
Q

What is statistical frequency

A

Occurs when an individual has a less common characteristic
- being more depressed or less intelligent than most of the population

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3
Q

What is deviation from social norms

A

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

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4
Q

What is failure to function adequately

A

Occurs when someone is unable to cope with ordinary demands of day-to-day life

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5
Q

What is deviation from ideal mental health

A

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

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6
Q

What does Marie Jahoda say ideal mental health looks like

A
  • we have no symptoms or distress
  • we are rational and can perceive ourselves accurately
  • we can cope with stress
  • we self actualise
  • we have a realistic view of the world
  • we have good self esteem and lack guilt
  • we are independent of other people
  • we can successfully work, love and enjoy our leisure
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7
Q

What does David Rosenhan and Martin Seligman say we have to do to fail to function adequately

A
  • when a person no longer conforms to standard interpersonal rules: maintains eye contact, personal space
  • when a person experiences severe personal distress
  • when a person’s behaviour becomes irrational or dangerous to themselves or others
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8
Q

What is a phobia

A

An irrational fear of an object or situation

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9
Q

What are the different categories of phobias

A
  • specific
  • social
  • agoraphobia
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10
Q

What is a behavioural characteristic

A

Ways in which people act

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11
Q

What is an emotional characteristic

A

Related to a person’s feelings or mood

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12
Q

What is a cognitive characteristic

A

Refers to the process of ‘knowing’ including thinking, reasoning, remembering, believing

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13
Q

Examples of behavioural characteristics of phobias

A
  • panic
  • avoidance
  • endurance
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14
Q

Examples of emotional characteristics of phobias

A
  • anxiety
  • fear
  • emotional response is unreasonable
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15
Q

Examples of cognitive characteristics of phobias

A
  • selective attention to the phobic stimulus
  • irrational beliefs
  • cognitive distortions
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16
Q

What is depression

A

A mental disorder characterised by low mood and low energy levels

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17
Q

Examples of behavioural characteristics of depression

A
  • activity levels
  • disruption to sleep and eating behaviours
  • aggression and self harm
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18
Q

Examples of emotional characteristics of depression

A
  • lowered mood
  • anger
  • lowered self-esteem
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19
Q

Examples of cognitive characteristics of depression

A
  • poor concentration
  • attending to or dwelling on the negative
  • absolutist thinking
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20
Q

What is OCD

A

Obsessive compulsive disorder
- a condition characterised by obsessions and/or compulsive behaviour

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21
Q

What are obsessions

A

Cognitive
- recurring images/thoughts

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22
Q

What are compulsions

A

Behavioural
- repeated actions/behaviours

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23
Q

Examples of behavioural characteristics of OCD

A
  • compulsions are repetitive
  • compulsions reduce anxiety
  • avoidance
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24
Q

Examples of emotional characteristics of OCD

A
  • anxiety and distress
  • accompanying depression
  • guilt and disgust
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25
Q

Examples of cognitive characteristics of OCD

A
  • obsessions
  • cognitive coping strategies
  • insight into excessive anxiety
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26
Q

Which approach explains phobias

A

Behavioural approach

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27
Q

What approach explains depression

A

Cognitive approach

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28
Q

What approach explains OCD

A

Biological approach

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29
Q

What is an example of statistical infrequency

A

IQ and intellectual disability disorder

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30
Q

What is an example of deviating from social norms

A

Antisocial personality disorder
- psychopathy

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31
Q

Strengths of statistical infrequency

A

Real world application
- used in clinical practice

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32
Q

Weakness of statistical infrequency

A

Unusual characteristics can be positive
- never sufficient as the sole basis of defining abnormality

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33
Q

Strength of deviation from social norms

A

Real world application
- used in clinical practice

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34
Q

Weakness of deviation from social norms

A

Cultural and situational relativism
- someone from one culture might think that another culture is abnormal

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35
Q

Example of failure to function adequately

A

Intellectual disability disorder

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36
Q

Strength of failure to function adequately

A

Represents a threshold for help
- criteria allows for treatment to be targeted to those that need it most

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37
Q

Weakness of failure to function adequately

A

Discrimination and social control
- people who make unusual choices will be labeled as abnormal

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38
Q

Strength of deviation from ideal mental health

A

Comprehensive definition
- provides a checklist that we can compare ourselves to

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39
Q

Weakness of deviation from ideal mental health

A

May be cultural bound
- generalised to western countries
- difficult to apply from one culture to another

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40
Q

What are the different types of depression

A
  • major depressive disorder
  • persistent depressive disorder
  • disruptive mood dysregulation disorder
  • premenstrual dysphoric disorder
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41
Q

What is major depressive disorder

A

Severe but short term depression

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42
Q

What is persistent depressive disorder

A

Long term or recurring depression

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43
Q

What is disruptive mood dysregulation disorder

A

Childhood temper tantrums

44
Q

What is premenstrual dysphoric disorder

A

Disruption of mood prior to and/or during menstruation

45
Q

What is the two process model

A

An explanation for the onset and persistence of disorders that create anxiety, such as phobias.

46
Q

What are the two process in the two process model

A

Classical conditioning - onset
Operant conditioning - persistence

47
Q

What is the behaviourist approach

A

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

48
Q

Strengths of the behavioural approach in explaining phobias

A

Real world application
- exposure therapy

Phobias and traumatic experiences
- link between bad experiences and phobias

49
Q

Weaknesses of the behavioural approach in explaining phobias

A

Cognitive aspects of phobias
- does not completely explain the symptoms of phobias

Counterpoint to phobias and traumatic experiences
- the association between and frightening experiences is not as strong as expected

50
Q

What are the two ways of treating phobias

A
  • systematic desensitisation
  • flooding
51
Q

What are the three processes involved in systematic desensitisation

A
  • the anxiety hierarchy
  • relaxation
  • exposure
52
Q

What is systematic desensitisation

A

The gradual reduction of phobic anxiety through classical conditioning

53
Q

What is flooding

A

When a person is exposed to an extreme form of a phobic stimulus
- reduces the amount of anxiety triggered

54
Q

How does flooding work

A

There is no option to avoid the stimulus
- client learns that the phobic stimulus is harmless
- this process is called extinction
- person becomes exhausted and no longer anxious

55
Q

Strength of systematic desensitisation

A

Evidence of effectiveness
- helpful for people with phobias

People with learning disabilities
- often struggle with cognitive therapies that require complex rational thoughts
- most appropriate treatment

56
Q

Weakness of systematic desensitisation

A

Evolutionary phobias
- things our ancestors had phobias of
- passed down
- don’t have a traumatic event in the first place
- can’t break the link between phobias and fear with classical conditioning

VR isn’t as good as real like
- less effective than real exposure
- lacks realism

57
Q

Strength of flooding

A

Cost effective
- can take as little as one session
- more people can be treated

58
Q

Weakness of flooding

A

Traumatic
- highly unpleasant experience
- provokes tremendous anxiety
- therapists may avoid this treatment

59
Q

What is the cognitive approach

A

Focuses on how our mental processes (thoughts, perceptions, attention) affect behaviour

60
Q

What did Aaron Beck explain with the cognitive approach

A

Why some people are more vulnerable to depression than others

61
Q

What are the three parts of cognitive vulnerability

A
  • faulty information processing
  • negative self schema
  • the negative triad
62
Q

What is faulty information processing

A

When someone only looks at the negatives of a situation
- they won $1 million but last week someone won $3 million

63
Q

What is the negative triad

A

Three kinds of negative thinking that contribute to depression
- negative view of the world
- negative view of the future
- negative view of the self

64
Q

What was Beck’s way of explaining depression

A

Negative triad

65
Q

What was Ellis’ way of explaining depression

A

ABC model

66
Q

What is the ABC model

A

How irrational thoughts affect our behaviour and emotional state

67
Q

What are the three parts of the ABC model

A
  • activation event
  • beliefs
  • consequences
68
Q

Strengths of Beck’s negative triad

A

Research support
- association between cognitive vulnerability and depression

Real world application
- application in screening and treatment for depression
- cognitive behaviour therapy
- useful in more than one aspect of clinical practice

69
Q

Weakness of Beck’s negative triad

A

Only explains basic symptoms of depression
- ignores the more complex side of the mental disorder
- deeply angry or experience hallucinations that Beck cannot account for
- theory lacks depth

70
Q

Strength of Ellis’ ABC model

A

Real world application
- rational emotive behaviour therapy (REBT)
- REBT has real world value

71
Q

Weakness of Ellis’ ABC model

A

Reactive and endogenous depression
- only explains reactive depression
- can only explain some cases of depression

72
Q

What are the two ways to treat depression

A
  • cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)
  • rational emotive behavioural therapy (REBT)
73
Q

What are the cognitive elements of CBT

A
  • the client and the cognitive behaviour therapist work together to clarify the client’s problems
  • put together a plan to achieve them
  • identify where there might be negative/irrational thoughts
74
Q

What is CBT

A
  • uses both behavioural and cognitive techniques
  • identifies automatic throughs in the negative triad
  • challenges these thoughts
  • gives the client homework (reflect on something)
75
Q

What is REBT

A

Adds D and E to the ABC model
- dispute and effect
- involves vigorous argument
- breaks the link between negative life events and depression

76
Q

What are the different methods of disputing

A
  • empirical argument
  • logical argument
77
Q

What is empirical argument

A

Disputing whether there is actual evidence to support the negative belief

78
Q

What is logical argument

A

Disputing whether the negative thought logically follows from the fact

79
Q

What is behavioural activation

A

Gradually decreases the patients avoidance and isolation

80
Q

Strengths of the cognitive approach to treating depression

A

Evidence of effectiveness
- comparing CBT to antidepressant drugs
- widely seen as the first choice of treatment

Counterpoint to suitability for diverse clients
- suitable for a wider range of clients than originally thought

81
Q

Weaknesses of the cognitive approach to treating depression

A

Suitability for diverse clients
- lacks effectiveness for severe cases or those with learning disabilities
- CBT may only be appropriate for a specific range of people with depression

Relapse rates
- high relapse rates
- CBT may need to be repeated periodically

82
Q

What is the biological approach

A

Emphasises the importance of physically process in the body such as genetic inheritance and neural function
- everything psychological is at first biological

83
Q

What is the diathesis-stress model

A

Certain genes leave some people for likely to develop a mental disorder than others
- some environmental stress is necessary to trigger the condition

84
Q

What are the genetic explanations for OCD

A
  • candidate genes
  • OCD is polygenic
  • there are different types of OCD
85
Q

What are candidate genes

A

Create vulnerability to OCD
- involved in regulating the serotonin system
- 5HT1-D beta is involved in passing serotonin across the synapse

86
Q

What does polygenic mean

A

OCD isnt caused by one single gene but a combination

87
Q

What is the neural explanation for OCD

A

The view that the physical and psychological characteristics are determined by the behaviour of the nervous system

88
Q

What are the neural explanations for OCD

A
  • the role of serotonin
  • decision making systems
89
Q

What part of the brain effect decision making

A

The frontal lobes

90
Q

What part of the brain is associated with processing unpleasant emotions

A

Parahippocampal gyrus

91
Q

Strengths of genetic explanations of OCD

A

Research support
- twin studies
- some genetic influence in the development of OCD

92
Q

Weakness of genetic explanations of OCD

A

Environmental risk factors
- half of participants with OCD experience a traumatic event
- more severe cases had experienced multiple traumatic events
- genetic vulnerability is only a partial explanation

93
Q

Strength of neural explanations of OCD

A

Research support
- antidepressants
- biological factors are also responsible for OCD

94
Q

Weakness of the neural explanation for OCD

A

No unique neural system
- co-morbidity of depression and OCD
- serotonin may not be relevant to OCD symptoms

95
Q

What is the treatment for OCD

A

Drug therapy

96
Q

What is drug therapy

A

Aims to increase or decrease levels of neurotransmitters

97
Q

What are the main type of drugs in drug therapy for OCD

A

SSRIs

98
Q

What is an SSRI

A

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor

99
Q

How does an SSRI work

A
  • serotonin is released by certain neurons in the brain (presynaptic neuron)
  • travels across the synapse
  • neurotransmitter chemically conveys the message to the postsynaptic neuron
    Prevents the reuptake of serotonin into the presynaptic neuron by blocking reabsorption spots
100
Q

Why do doctors mix SSRIs and CBT

A
  • SSRIs help the patient feel less anxious/depressed
  • allow the patient to engage more with CBT
101
Q

What are alternatives to SSRIs

A
  • tricyclics
  • SNRIs
102
Q

What are tricyclics

A

Older type of antidepressant
- have severe side effects
- can last the patients whole life

103
Q

What are SNRIs

A

Serotonin noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors
- also increase levels of noradrenaline (fight or flight response)

104
Q

Strength of the biological approach to treating OCD

A

Evidence of effectiveness
- studies have shown a significant difference between SSRIs and placebos
- may be helpful for most people with OCD

Cost effective and non disruptive
- easy and convenient to take
- popular with patients and doctors

105
Q

Weaknesses of the biological approach to treating OCD

A

Counterpoint to evidence of effectiveness
- might not be the most effective treatment available
- might not be the optimum treatment

Serious side effects
- some people will have a reduced quality of life
- patients may stop taking drugs and therefor aren’t effective at all

A-Level Psychology (11 decks)

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