Pyschopathology Flashcards
deviation from social norms
different behaviour to what people would consider normal
limiation of social norms definition
subjective as vary from culture to culture and also change over time
statistical infrequency
anything at extreme ends of the scale are abnornmal ( IQ Test)
2 factors affecting statistical infrequency
frequency and duration of behaviour
strength and weakness of statistical infrequency definition
strength - objective
Weakeness- doesn’t consider how desirable a trait is
FFA
if a person can function adequately in everyday life
Strengths and weaknesses of FFA
strength - objective so personal
weakness- people want different things
WHODAS Scale
1-6 scale from no difficulty to extreme difficulty of everyday tasks
strengths of Jahodas ideal mental health
covers all the reasons why someone may seek help
Jahodas 6 conditions of ideal mental health
High self esteem
growth and self actualisation
mastery of environment
cope with stress
Autonomy -independence
accurate perception of reality
Limtation of Jahodas ideal mental health
looks at mental health being simailr to physical health
Phobia
an extreme fear and anxiety triggered by something
behavioural characteristics of phobias
avoidance- strengthened by negative reinforcement as by avoiding it youre avoiding the negative feeling
emotional characteristics of phobias
extreme anxiety
cognitive characteristics of phobias
aware of the anxiety
DSM 3 categories of phobias
Agrophobia - fear of leaving home
Social - interaction with others
specific - fear to specific object
Two process model - phobias
phobias are a result of CC of anxiety response to a NS
OC explains how phobias are maintained , negative reinforcement when avoid
A03 of two process model- little albert
little albert shows CC of a phobia
systematic desensitization
two competing emotions can’t occur at the same time so fear is replaced with relaxation and the fear can’t continue
Systematic desentisation 3 stages
1 - patient must learn relaxation techniques as they must be able to relax at every stage
2- hierarchy of stimuli causing least to most anxiety
3- patient works there way through the hierarchy practicing relaxation techniques and until the therapist is happy you are totally relaxed, they won’t move onto the next stage
Systematic desentisation - in vivo in vitro
invivo - patient imagines
in vitro - patient actually undergoes
systematic desensitisation strengths
is effective for most specific phobias
suitable for a diverse range of patients
more pleasant than flooding
Systematic desensitisation weaknesses
doesn’t improve social phobias as much
takes time
result of flooding - CC
learned response is extinguished when the CS is encountered with the US , meaning the CS no longer produces CR ( fear)
Flooding
full exposure to the phobia with no relaxation techniques , anxiety can only reach a certain point
Flooding - weaknesses
not effective for complex phobias such as social phobias
traumatic for patients
can make it worse
Flooding -strengths
stops phobic responses v quickly
extinction - gets rid of it
cost effective
OCD
anxiety disorder caused by intrusive thoughts followed by actions that have to be carried out
Cognitive characteristics of OCD
obesesive thoughts
Emotional characteristics of OCD
extreme anxiety
Behavioural characetristics of OCD
compulsions - repetative behaviour
Genetics and OCD
studies show that Genes have an influence over OCD
SERT and COMPT gene prevelant
OCD concordance rate
87%
Neural explanation for OCD
hyperactive prefrontal cortex, reduce seratonin , excessive dopamine
Drugs for OCD
SSri and SRi - increase seratonin levels
A03 of SSri
improve OCD symptoms on some but worsens on others
unpleasant side effects
Depression
mental illness causing prolonged low mood
Behavioural characteristics of depression
loss of appetite , loss of sleep, loss of energy
emotional characteristics of depression
intense sadness, worthlessness
Cognitive characteristics of depression
negative thoughts , low self esteem
cognitive approach and deppression
depression is due to faulty mental processes - cognitive bias and negative schemas
Becks negative Triad - depression
depressed people have negative thoughts about themselves the world and the future, maintained by cogntitve bias and negative schemas
Ellis ABC Model - depression
A - activating event
B - irrational belief
C - consequence ( depression)
CBT - Depression
attempts to change the way a patient thinks
shows a client their thoughts are causing them to be depressed
client does homework - proves beliefs wrong
CBT strength
very effective in treating depression
short
long lasting as patient is helping themselves
systematic desensitization - Wolpe
two competing emotions can’t occur at the same time so fear is replaced with relaxation and the fear can’t continue
A03 - statistical infrequency- labelling
not everyone benefits from a label as knowledge of having an intellectual disability isn’t always a good thing especially if they are living a fufilled life
A03 - statsical infrequency - alternative explanations
is not a sole explanation , other factors need to be considered such as FFA
A03 - FFA - objective judgements
someone has to judge if the patient is distressed , some patients may say they are distressed but may not be judged as suffering making it objective
A03 - FFA - patients perspective
although it is objective it does attempt to include subjective experience of the individual so does acknowledge the importance of the patient experience
A03 - deviation from ideal mental health- comprehensive
covers a broad range of criteria and can cover almost every reason people may seek help
A03 - treating phobias - symptom substitution
when one phobia disappears another may take it’s place however does get rid of original phobia so
A03 - Becks triad - Research evidence - Grazioli and Terry
they assessed 65 pregnant women for cognitive vulnerability and depression before and after birth , those who were cognitively vulnerable were more likely to develop post natal depression
A03 - Becks triad - doesn’t explain all aspects
explains all the basic symptoms of depression however doesn’t explain symptoms such as hallucinations and bizzaire beliefs- same case with ABC
A03 - ABC model - partial explanation
not all depressive cases are triggered by an event so the model only applies to some people
A03 - ABC - CBT
has led to useful applications in CBT
A03 - Depression - alternative explanations
studies of attachment show that insecurely attached infants are more vulnerable to depression
A03 - CBT and depression - research evidence
compared drug therapy , CBT and combination as 3 variables
- 81% for Drugs
- 81% for CBT
- 86% for combination
suggests CBT is a good first treatment for NHS
A03 - CBT and depression - severity
may not work with more severe cases as patients may not be able to motivate themselves to get to it or participate
A03 - CBT- Relationship between therapist
Rozenweigh suggested the success of CBT may actually be down to the relationship with the therapist rather than the techniques being used
A03 - CBT - over emphasis on cognition
a huge emphasis is put on how we think however situational factors may also be causing depression such as poverty and if these are overlooked and not changed then treatment won’t be affective
A03 - neural explanation of OCD - drugs
SSRis are an effective form of treatment for OCD and involve producing more seratonin , showing it must be responsible
A03 -neural explanation of OCD - unclear
it’s unclear what mechanisms are actually involved in OCD as research has identified other brain systems that may be involved sometimes
A03 - biological explanation for OCD - too many genes
evidence that genetics do play a role but there hasn’t been huge success in pinning down specific genes as several genetic variations are involved
A03 - neural explanations of OCD - co morbidity
many who suffer OCD also become depressed , depression often involves disruption to seratonin levels so could this be the cause of it in OCD patients
A03 - SSRI’s and OCD effectiveness
Soomro compared 17 studies using placebos and SSRis and found that SSris always showed better results
symptoms decline for 70% of patients who take SSris
A03 - drug treatment
chepaer compared to therapy treatment , providing good value for NHS and less time involved
