Psychopathology

Social norm = unwritten rule of society
Implicity norm- not openly stated e.g not asking someones age
Explicity norm- openly stated e.g eat with mouth closed

+ it distinguishes between normal and abnormal
+ protects society by stopping individuals abnormal behaviour
- social norms change over time e.g being homosexual (now seen as normal, previously seen as a mental illness)
- hard to distingush between eccentric e.g dying hair blue and abnormal

Failure to function adequately= cannot cope with everyday life e.g going to work. May be due to a mental illness such as depression.
Rosenhan and Seligman suggested 7 main features including: maladaptive behaviour, personal distress and unpredictability. The Global Assessment of Functioning scale used to diagnose. 10 is a constant harm to self and others.

+ a checklist is easy to assess behaviour
- hard to judge what is adequate, so subjective
- some psychopaths can function normally e.g Harold Shipman (doctor)who killed elderly people

Deviation from ideal mental health= looking at mental health signs rather than physical health.
Jahoda's 6 criteria:
Self actualisation- personal growth and development
Autonomy- being independent and self reliant
Resistance to stress- effective coping mechanisms to deal with stress
Environmental mastery- compotent in all aspects of life
Accurate perception of reality- percieving the world in a non-distorted fashion

+ looks at positives rather than negatives
+ holistic. looks at all aspects of behaviour
- some people are incapable of fulfilling the criteria e.g children can't achieve Autonomy (independence)
- subjective criteria as they are hard to measure

Statistical infrequency= data which is collected to show what is normal e.g average shoe size.
It can be shown by a standard deviation - normal distriubution so most of data clustered around the mean.

+ objective as based on facts
+ provides evidence for assistance if particularly high/ low
- some normal behaviours are undesireable e.g depression. 27% elderly get it
- some abnormal behaviors are desireable e.g an IQ over 150
- Western view. In other cultures e.g Asian, they don't diagnose depression as much

Anxiety disorder which people experience in response to a certain stimuli

e.g Agrophobia- fear of open spaces
     Social phobias- public speaking etc
     Simple phobia- spiders, snakes, lions

Symptoms:
Behavioural- avoidance= avoiding the phobia
                      disruption of function= hindering everday life

Emotional- anxiety, fear e.g panic attacks

Cognitive- recognition of abnormal reaction. Irrational thinking and selective attention

Mood disorder. Have to experience at least 2 symptoms everyday for 2 weeks to be diagnosed.

Unipolar
Behavioural- insomnia, lack of energy, weight changes

Emotional- constant depressed mood, worthlessness and lack of enthusiasm

Cognitive- reduced concentration, poor memory, suicidal thoughts

Bipolar (same as above) but including mania:
Behavioural- irrational behaviour e.g buying an expensive car, high energy, talkative

Emotional- elevated mood, irritable and lack of guilt

Cognitive- delusions, irrational thought processes

Anxiety disorder

Obsessions- irrational thoughts which are unpleasant e.g everywhere is covered in germs
Compulsions- repetitive behaviors which relieve anxiety e.g washing hands

Symptoms:
Behavioural- repetitive behaviours e.g washing hands, hindered functioning, social impairment

Emotional- high levels of anxiety

Cognitive- realisation of inappropritaness, irrational persistant thoughts, selective attention

Two process model:
CLASSICAL CONDITIONING: causing phobia
- UCS (loud noise) -> UCR (fear)
- NS (white fluffy rabbit) -> NR 
- UCR + NS -> UCR (fear)
- CS (white fluffy bunny) -> CR (fear) or Phobia

OPERANT CONDITIONING: maintaining phobia
Positive reinforcement = reward (so repeated) e.g attention caused by phobia
Negative reinforcement= avoidance e.g escaping unpleasant 

+ Research evidence. Little Albert- Lab experiment on 11 month boy without parents permission. Produced phobia of white fluffy rabbits suggesting phobias acquired from environment. Unethical - no permission, psychological harm.
- Not everyone experiences a traumatic event. Some may have never come across e.g Lion.    Evolutionary response.
- If combined with biological approach to give better understanding

Systematic Desensitisation
1. Muscle relaxation techniques
2. Hierarchy of needs. In vitro- imagined. In- vivo- real
3. Only continue once relaxed
4. Treated

+ No side effects unlike drugs
+ Treats the root of the cause
- Some people are unable to imagine to in-vitro doesnt work
- time-consuming and requires trained professional

Flooding
Going straight to the top of the hieracrhy of needs e.g exposing them to a dog

+ Quicker
- Unethical- psychological harm and potential physical harm (heart attacks)

Becks Negative Triad
People become depressed because of negative schemas of the world. These are produced in childhood by parents having unrealistic expectations. They lead to Cognitive Biases such as overgeneralisation (sweeping conclusions) and Selective abstraction (looking at one side of the situation). 
Negative views of self, future and the world. 

Ellis' ABC Model
A- activating event
B- beliefs (rational/ irrational)
C- consequences (positive/ negative)

+ Practical applications. It has led to treatment of Depression through CBT.
+ scientific explanation for cognitive aspect, so more valid. 
- Negative beliefs may be realistic e.g lonely, mourning etc...

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
e.g Ellis REBT

Cognitive aspect- changes maladaptive thoughts. Clients are given 'homework' e.g reframing thoughts
Behavioural aspect- providing clients with coping mechanisms e.g pleasant event scheduling such as meeting a friend and hypothesis testing to challenge thoughts.

+ Long-term treatment. Treats the root of the problem
+ Research evidence. Davide et al found 14 weeks of REBT was more effective than 6 months of drugs.
- requires a highly trained professional.
- clients have to be motivated to do it.

Behaviour is caused by physical things in the body.

GENETIC EXPLANATIONS
The idea that disorders such as OCD are inherited through genes. (High concordance rate)
COMT gene- one form of COMT gene has lower activity meaning less dopamine.
SERT gene- affects transport of Serotonin creating lower levels

NEURAL EXPLANATIONS
Abnormal levels of neurotransmitters- low levels of serotonin and high levels of dopamine are associated with OCD.
Abnormal brain circuits- the caudate nucleas suppresses 'worry signals' from the OFC to the thalamus. Hoewever when broken it can create a worry circuit creating OCD.
Strep cough has been linked to OCD because the antibodies attack the caudate nucleus.

+ research carried out is scientific and can be measured making reliable.
+ research evidence. Hu found lower levels of serotonin in 169 OCD sufferers than 253 non-sufferers 
- not all OCD sufferers respond to drugs, so nit necessarily related to neurotransmitters
- could be an evolutionary response e.g continous washing and cleaning

Drug Therapy
BZs (reduce anxiety)
GABA reacts with receptors on post-synaptic neurons causing a channel to flow. This slows activity, therefore reducing dopamine levels.

SSRIs - selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (anti-depressants)
Normally Serotonin is reabsorbed by the pre-synaptic neuron. However SSRIs prevent this from occuring meaning there are greater levels of serotonin in the synapse, producing an elevated mood.

+ easy to take and effective
+ Research evidence. Soomro found SSRIs more effective than placebos at reducing symptoms up to 3 months after.
- doesn't treat the cause of the disorder and only works short-term
- side effects such as nausea, insomnia and addiction occur.