Wk2 Models of Psychopathology Flashcards
What are 3 things a model attempts to explain?
Origins of abnormal behaviour Treatment Prevention
What do models provide? 2
Representations of the real world Hypotheses that can be tested.
What are 4 aetiological models?
Genetics Biochemistry Neuroanatomy Endocrine system
What are 4 methods of studying gene-environment interactions?
- Pedigree method 2. Classical twin design 3. Adoption studies 4. Molecular genetics
What is the pedigree method?
Looking at how prevalent disorders are in families.
What is a short coming of the pedigree method?
Hard to disentangle nature vs nurture as genes and experience are shared.
What is a proband?
The first person to have a diagnosis in a family
What are concordance rates?
The rate at which disorders co-occur or are fully absent from twins
When are genetic contributions found in twin studies?
When the MZ are greater than DZ. (100%; 50%)
What are the implications of low and high concordance rates when MZ and DZ rates are equal?
Low - non-shared environment High - shared environmental contributions
What do adoption studies compare?
child’s concordance with biological vs adoptive relatives
What is a candidate gene study?
Is on allele more frequent in people with disorder vs without disorder
The effects of NT systems are ___?
Broad
What does serotonin do?
regulates behaviour, mood and thought processes (feel good)
What is low serotonin associated with?
Aggression Suicide Impulsive overeating Hyper-sexual behaviour
What drugs primarily affect serotonin system?
Tricyclic antidepressants SSRIs (Prozac)
GABA
Gamma Aminobutyric Acid
What does GABA seem to do? 3
Inhibits a variety of behaviours and emotions Anxiolytic effects Reduce overall arousal
How do benzodiazepines work?
Make it easier for GABA to attach to receptors of specialised neurons
What are 2 Noradrenalin circuits in the CNS?
Basic bodily functions (respiration) Emergency reactions
Dopamine and serotonin circuits …
Merge and crossover, influencing many of the same behaviours
What does dopamine mainly do?
Control movements, mood, thought processes
Functions of hindbrain?
Sustaining life, regulation of sleep
Functions of midbrain?
Regulation of some motor activities (fighting and sex), and sleep
Functions of forebrain?
Most sensory, emotional, and cognitive functioning
What does the limbic system do?
Links the forebrain with the midbrain and hindbrain; regulates emotion and learning
Damage to orbitofrontal cortex often leads to …
Disinhibited behaviour
How are hormones transmitted?
in the bloodstream
What are 2 functions of hormones?
Regulate physiological processes Coordinate internal bodily processes with external events
Prolonged stress can cause ___?
Dysfunction
What happens at the HPA axis? What are the key players?
The endocrine and CNS systems interact. The hypothalamus talks to the pituitary gland, which coordinates all the other hormones. The PitGl can then stimulate the adrenal glands to produce Adrenalin and cortisol.
Which disorders do we really need to medicate in conjunction with therapy?
Schizophrenia and bipolar
Why would the WHO find that developing countries might respond better to antipsychotics?
Because they have less drugs available and so spend less time switching meds. So less side effects and dealing with different withdrawal etc.
Do psychotropic drug approaches work and why do we do them?
Hard to tell if the chemical problems are a treatment or a cause. Yet, subject relief is still important.
What are the 5 stages of the psychodynamic model?
Oral Anal Phallic Latent Genial
What did Freud think fixation at 3 of his stages could cause?
Oral: - smoking - dependency - aggression Anal: - obssessiveness - meanness - untidiness Phallic: - vanity, self obsession - inferiority and envy
What are Freud’s 3 parts to personality?
Id - biological instincts Ego - motivated by reality, defence mechanisms to ward off unpleasant feelings Super Ego - conscience and ego ideal
How did Freud view symptom formation?
Traumatic childhood experience -> defence mechanism -> Symptoms
How did Freud view symptom removal?
Free association -> recovery of material -> awareness and interpretation
What did psychodynamic theory contribute?
- Impact of childhood experience on development 2. Impact of unconscious on behaviour 3. Continuity of normality and abnormality 4. Demystified mental illness 5. Defence mechanisms 6. Transference and counter-transference
What are limitations of psychodynamic theory?
- Difficult to verify empirical 2. Emphasises abnormality 3. Doesn’t contribute to prevention or early intervention methods
What is the humanistic model?
A positive view of human nature that emphasises free will and natural inclination to be happy
How does the humanistic model explain abnormal behaviour?
Need to receive positive regard is unmet and so have low self regard.
What is a discriminative stimulus?
External event that signals a behaviour will elicit a consequence
What treatments came out of Classical conditioning techniques?
Systematic desensitisation Aversion therapy Exposure therapy (relearning connections)
What treatments come from operant conditioning?
Positive reinforcement Extinction Token economies Behavioural activation (reengagement with rewards)
Benefits of behavioural model? 3
Possible to test in labs lab results support the model Many techniques still useful
Weaknesses of behavioural model? 3
No evidence that abnormal behaviour is due to improper conditioning Too simplistic Over-emphasis on learning and environmental determinants
What is the cognitive model?
Antecedent/Event -> Belief -> Consequence
What is the cognitive principle?
Emotions and behaviour are strongly influenced by cognitions (thoughts, beliefs, interpretations
What are beck’s common cognitive distortions? 4
Arbitrary inference Overgeneralising Dichotomous thinking Magnification and Minimisation
Benefits of cognitive model? 2
Complements behavioural therapy Empirically investigated
Weaknesses of cognitive model?
Mechanistic role of cognitions unclear Lack of evidence that Cog therapy is adding to behaviour therapy (looking at just averages)
What does mindfulness say about psychological problems?
They arise when we dwell in the past or ruminate on the future
What are 2 mindfulness-based therapies?
Mindfulness-based stress reduction Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy
Where did MBSR originate from?
developed for chronic pain and stress related illness
Where did MBCT originate from?
Developed for prevention of depressive relapse
What is ACT? How does it explain psychological problems?
Acceptance and mindfulness. Problems come from thought and language.
What is the goal of ACT?
Psychological flexibility
Explain the passengers on the bus metaphor.
Where are you headed? (values) What passengers? (Mindfulness) What do they say? (Fusion) What do they tell you to do? (Avoidance, fusion) What happens, do they harm you? (Consequence, deliteralisation) Who is in the driver’s seat? (Self as context) What if its possible to “drive where you choose” regardless of what they say? (Committed action)
Benefits (1) & weaknesses (2) of the third wave therapy approaches?
Alternative to CBT based treatments Not a huge body of evidence Same criticisms of CBT (mechanisms unclear)
What is the diathesis (3) stress (3) perspective?
Diatheses: - Genes - Biological characteristics - Psychological traits Stress: - Environmental trauma - Economic adversity - Loss of loved ones - Harsh family background These interact to create mental disorders.
