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A-Level Psychology > Psycopathology > Flashcards

Psycopathology Flashcards

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
Examples of cognitive characteristics of OCD
- obsessions - cognitive coping strategies - insight into excessive anxiety
26
Which approach explains phobias
Behavioural approach
27
What approach explains depression
Cognitive approach
28
What approach explains OCD
Biological approach
29
What is an example of statistical infrequency
IQ and intellectual disability disorder
30
What is an example of deviating from social norms
Antisocial personality disorder - psychopathy
31
Strengths of statistical infrequency
Real world application - used in clinical practice
32
Weakness of statistical infrequency
Unusual characteristics can be positive - never sufficient as the sole basis of defining abnormality
33
Strength of deviation from social norms
Real world application - used in clinical practice
34
Weakness of deviation from social norms
Cultural and situational relativism - someone from one culture might think that another culture is abnormal
35
Example of failure to function adequately
Intellectual disability disorder
36
Strength of failure to function adequately
Represents a threshold for help - criteria allows for treatment to be targeted to those that need it most
37
Weakness of failure to function adequately
Discrimination and social control - people who make unusual choices will be labeled as abnormal
38
Strength of deviation from ideal mental health
Comprehensive definition - provides a checklist that we can compare ourselves to
39
Weakness of deviation from ideal mental health
May be cultural bound - generalised to western countries - difficult to apply from one culture to another
40
What are the different types of depression
- major depressive disorder - persistent depressive disorder - disruptive mood dysregulation disorder - premenstrual dysphoric disorder
41
What is major depressive disorder
Severe but short term depression
42
What is persistent depressive disorder
Long term or recurring depression
43
What is disruptive mood dysregulation disorder
Childhood temper tantrums
44
What is premenstrual dysphoric disorder
Disruption of mood prior to and/or during menstruation
45
What is the two process model
An explanation for the onset and persistence of disorders that create anxiety, such as phobias.
46
What are the two process in the two process model
Classical conditioning - onset Operant conditioning - persistence
47
What is the behaviourist approach
A way of explaining behaviour in terms of what is observable and in terms of learning
48
Strengths of the behavioural approach in explaining phobias
Real world application - exposure therapy Phobias and traumatic experiences - link between bad experiences and phobias
49
Weaknesses of the behavioural approach in explaining phobias
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
What are the two ways of treating phobias
- systematic desensitisation - flooding
51
What are the three processes involved in systematic desensitisation
- the anxiety hierarchy - relaxation - exposure
52
What is systematic desensitisation
The gradual reduction of phobic anxiety through classical conditioning
53
What is flooding
When a person is exposed to an extreme form of a phobic stimulus - reduces the amount of anxiety triggered
54
How does flooding work
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
Strength of systematic desensitisation
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
Weakness of systematic desensitisation
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
Strength of flooding
Cost effective - can take as little as one session - more people can be treated
58
Weakness of flooding
Traumatic - highly unpleasant experience - provokes tremendous anxiety - therapists may avoid this treatment
59
What is the cognitive approach
Focuses on how our mental processes (thoughts, perceptions, attention) affect behaviour
60
What did Aaron Beck explain with the cognitive approach
Why some people are more vulnerable to depression than others
61
What are the three parts of cognitive vulnerability
- faulty information processing - negative self schema - the negative triad
62
What is faulty information processing
When someone only looks at the negatives of a situation - they won $1 million but last week someone won $3 million
63
What is the negative triad
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
What was Beck’s way of explaining depression
Negative triad
65
What was Ellis’ way of explaining depression
ABC model
66
What is the ABC model
How irrational thoughts affect our behaviour and emotional state
67
What are the three parts of the ABC model
- activation event - beliefs - consequences
68
Strengths of Beck’s negative triad
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
Weakness of Beck’s negative triad
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
Strength of Ellis’ ABC model
Real world application - rational emotive behaviour therapy (REBT) - REBT has real world value
71
Weakness of Ellis’ ABC model
Reactive and endogenous depression - only explains reactive depression - can only explain some cases of depression
72
What are the two ways to treat depression
- cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) - rational emotive behavioural therapy (REBT)
73
What are the cognitive elements of CBT
- 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
What is CBT
- uses both behavioural and cognitive techniques - identifies automatic throughs in the negative triad - challenges these thoughts - gives the client homework (reflect on something)
75
What is REBT
Adds D and E to the ABC model - dispute and effect - involves vigorous argument - breaks the link between negative life events and depression
76
What are the different methods of disputing
- empirical argument - logical argument
77
What is empirical argument
Disputing whether there is actual evidence to support the negative belief
78
What is logical argument
Disputing whether the negative thought logically follows from the fact
79
What is behavioural activation
Gradually decreases the patients avoidance and isolation
80
Strengths of the cognitive approach to treating depression
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
Weaknesses of the cognitive approach to treating depression
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
What is the biological approach
Emphasises the importance of physically process in the body such as genetic inheritance and neural function - everything psychological is at first biological
83
What is the diathesis-stress model
Certain genes leave some people for likely to develop a mental disorder than others - some environmental stress is necessary to trigger the condition
84
What are the genetic explanations for OCD
- candidate genes - OCD is polygenic - there are different types of OCD
85
What are candidate genes
Create vulnerability to OCD - involved in regulating the serotonin system - 5HT1-D beta is involved in passing serotonin across the synapse
86
What does polygenic mean
OCD isnt caused by one single gene but a combination
87
What is the neural explanation for OCD
The view that the physical and psychological characteristics are determined by the behaviour of the nervous system
88
What are the neural explanations for OCD
- the role of serotonin - decision making systems
89
What part of the brain effect decision making
The frontal lobes
90
What part of the brain is associated with processing unpleasant emotions
Parahippocampal gyrus
91
Strengths of genetic explanations of OCD
Research support - twin studies - some genetic influence in the development of OCD
92
Weakness of genetic explanations of OCD
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
Strength of neural explanations of OCD
Research support - antidepressants - biological factors are also responsible for OCD
94
Weakness of the neural explanation for OCD
No unique neural system - co-morbidity of depression and OCD - serotonin may not be relevant to OCD symptoms
95
What is the treatment for OCD
Drug therapy
96
What is drug therapy
Aims to increase or decrease levels of neurotransmitters
97
What are the main type of drugs in drug therapy for OCD
SSRIs
98
What is an SSRI
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor
99
How does an SSRI work
- 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
Why do doctors mix SSRIs and CBT
- SSRIs help the patient feel less anxious/depressed - allow the patient to engage more with CBT
101
What are alternatives to SSRIs
- tricyclics - SNRIs
102
What are tricyclics
Older type of antidepressant - have severe side effects - can last the patients whole life
103
What are SNRIs
Serotonin noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors - also increase levels of noradrenaline (fight or flight response)
104
Strength of the biological approach to treating OCD
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
Weaknesses of the biological approach to treating OCD
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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