Psychopathology

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  • Created by: D.P.Giles
  • Created on: 07-06-21 14:14
What are the four definitions of abnormaility?
Deviation from social norms
Statistical infrequency
Failure to function adequately
Deviation from ideal mental health
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What is meant by deviation from social norms?
Abnormal behaviour can be seen as a deviation from unstated rules about how someone should behave. Anything that violates these rules is seen as abnormal.
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What is a limitation of deviation from social norms as an explanation of abnormality?
Not valid over time.

Deviance is related to degree and context.
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What is meant by statistical infrequency?
Abnormality is defined as those behaviours that are seen as extremely rare.
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What is a limitation of statistical infrequency as an explanation of abnormality?
The cut-off point is subjectively determined.

Some abnormal behaviours are desirable.
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What is meant by failure to function adequately?
People are judged o their ability to go about daily life. If they can't do this and are also experiencing distress then it is considered as a sign of abnormality.
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What is a limitation of failure to function adequately as an explanation of abnormality?
Who judges?

Some behaviour is functional.
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What is deviation from ideal mental health?
Abnormality is defined in terms of mental health ad behaviours that are associated with competence and happiness. Ideal mental health would include a positive attitude towards the self, resistance to stress and accurate perception of reality.
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What are three of Jahoda's six criteria for ideal mental health?
Self attitudes
Personal growth
Integration
Autonomy
Accurate perception of reality
Mastery of the environment
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What is a limitation of deviation from ideal mental health as an explanation of abnormality?
Unrealistic criteria.

Mental health and physical health are not the same thing.
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What is depression?
A mood disorder were an individual feels sad and/or lacks interest in their usual activities. Further characteristics include irrational thoughts, raised or lowered activity levels and difficulties with concentration, sleeping and eating.
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What is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder?
An anxiety disorder where anxiety arises from both obsessions and compulsions. Compulsions are a response to obsessions and the person believes that the compulsions will reduce anxiety.
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What are phobias?
A group of mental health disorders charactersied by high levels of anxiety related to a particular stimulus or group if stimuli. The anxiety interferes with normal living.
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What are emotional characteristics?
Characteristics related to the way people feel.
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What are behavioural characteristics?
Characteristics that relate to the way people act.
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What are cognitive characteristics?
Characteristics that relate to the way people think.
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What is an example of an emotional characteristic of phobias?
Anxiety

Unproportionate emotional response
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What is an example of a behavioural characteristic of phobias?
Panic

Avoidance

Freezing
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What is an example of a cognitive characteristic of phobias?
Selective attention

Irrational beliefs

Cognitive distortions
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What is an example of an emotional characteristic of depression?
Lowered mood

Lowered self-esteem

Anger
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What is an example of a behavioural characteristic of depression?
Lethargy

Disruption to sleep

Disruption to eating behaviour
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What is an example of a cognitive characteristic of depression?
Poor concentration

Attending to and dwelling on the negatives

Absolutist thinking
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What is an example of an emotional characteristics of OCD?
Anxiety and distress

Accompanying depression

Guilt and disgust
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What is an example of a behavioural
characteristics of OCD?
Compulsions

Avoidance
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What is an example of a cognitive
characteristics of OCD?
Obsessive thoughts

Cognitive strategies to deal with obsessions

Insight into excessive anxiety
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What is classical conditioning?
Learning through association.
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What is operant conditioning?
Learning through reinforcement.
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What is negative reinforcement?
Behaviour is reinforced when an action removes an aversive (negative) stimulus.
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What is meant by the two process model?
A theory that explains the two processes that lead to the development of phobias. They begin with classical conditioning and are maintained through operant conditioning.
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According to behaviorism how are phobias initiated?
A neutral stimulus is paired with an anxious experience (UCS). The previously neutral stimulus, now a conditioned stimulus now produces anxiety.
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According to behaviorism how are phobias maintained?
The avoidance of the phobic stimulus reduces fear and is therefore reinforcing.
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How would the social learning theory explain phobias?
Phobias are acquired through modelling the behaviour of others.
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Outline the case of Little Albert.
Several white furry objects including a white rat were consistently paired with a loud banging sound (UCS). After several pairings any furry white object, now a conditioned stimulus produced a fear response (CS).
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Name a strength of the behavioural approach to explaining phobias.
Practical application - has lead to the development of treatments such as flooding and systematic desensitisation.

External Validity - people with phobias often recall a specific incident when their phobia appeared.
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Name a weakness of the behavioural approach to explaining phobias.
Diathesis stress model - combination of environmental and biological factors.

Biological preparedness - phobia may be more reflective of evolutionary pressures.

Reductionist - ignores biological and other psychological explanations.
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What is flooding?
A client is exposed to an extreme form of the threatening situation under relaxed conditions until the anxiety reaction is extinguished.
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What is systematic desensitisation?
A client is gradually exposed to or imagines the threatening situation until the anxiety reaction is extinguished.
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What is counterconditioning?
The patient is taught, through classical conditioning, to associate the phobic stimulus with a new response that runs counter to the original association.
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What is a desensitisation hierarchy?
A person is gradually introduced to a feared situation one step at a time so that it's not overwhelming. The patient practises relaxation one step at a time.
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Name a strength of the behavioural approach to treating phobias.
Requires less effort than other therapy types.

SD can be self administered.

SD is effective in 75% of cases and flooding is more effective.
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Name a weakness of the behavioural approach to treating phobias.
Not appropriate for all phobias.

Individual differences.
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What is Ellis' ABC model?
A cognitive approach to understanding mental disorders, focusing on the effect of irrational beliefs on emotions.
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What are the three components of Ellis' ABC model?
A - Activating event
B - Beliefs
C - Consequences
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How are those with depression's ABC model different from a neurotypical person?
The beliefs are irrational rather than rational. The consequences are unhealthy rather than healthy.
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What is musturbatory thinking?
Thinking that certain ideas or assumptions must be true in order to be true in order for an individual to happy.
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Name an example of musturbatory thinking?
I must be approved of or accepted by people I find important.

I must do well or very well or I am worthless.

The world must give me happiness or I will die.
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What is the negative triad?
A cognitive approach to understanding depression, focusing on how negative expectations lead to depression.
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What are the three components of the negative triad?
Negative view of self, the future and the world.
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Name a strength of the cognitive approach to treating depression.
Practical application - has been used to develop CBT.

Support for the role of irrational thinking - negative thinking leads to depression.
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Name a weakness of the cognitive approach to treating depression.
Reductionist - doesn't take into consideration biological factors or other psychological factors.

Irrational beliefs may be realistic - Depressive realists tend to see things the way they are.
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What is a concordance rate?
A measure of genetic similarity.
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What is the concordance rate of OCD clients and their parents?
37%
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What is the concordance rate of OCD clients and their siblings?
21%
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What is the diathesis stress model?
The idea that an individual gene creates a vulnerability and other factors affect what condition develops.
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What candidate genes have been identified as related to OCD?
The SERT gene - regulates the production of serotonin.

The COMT gene - regulates the production of dopamine.
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What is the role of serotonin?
A neurotransmitter that regulates mood.
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What is the role of dopamine?
A neurotransmitter that effects motivation and drive.
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What part of the brain is different in those with OCD?
The frontal lobe.
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Name a strength of the biological approach to explaining OCD.
Research support - from family and twin studies.

Practical applications - has lead to the development of drug therapies.
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Name a weakness of the biological approach to explaining OCD.
Problems with twin studies - twin studies rely on the fact that MZ twins are more similar genetically than DZ twins. MZ twins are more likely to encounter similar experiences.

Reductionist - ignores environmental factors.
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What are drug therapies?
Treatments involving drugs usually to treat neurotransmitter levels.
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Name a drug that is used to treat OCD?
SSRIs

Tricyclics

Benzodiazepines
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What are SSRIs?
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors. An antidepressant used in the treatment of serotonin.
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How do SSRIs work?
They block the terminal buttons on the pre-synaptic neurons to block the reabsorption of serotonin.
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How to Tricyclics work?
Blocks the transporter mechanism that reabsorbs serotonin and noradrenaline.
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How do Benzodiazepines work?
Slows down the nervous system by enhancing the activity of GABA.
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What is the role of noradrenaline?
To govern the autonomic nervous system's activity.
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What is the role of GABA?
To regulate the excitement in the nervous system, thus acting as a natural form of anxiety reducer.
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Name a strength of the biological approach to treating OCD.
Effective - drugs were more effective than placebos.

Requires little effort.
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Name a weakness of the biological approach to treating OCD.
Side effects - such as insomnia, hallucinations, aggression.

Treat the symptoms not the cause.
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What is meant by deviation from social norms?

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Abnormal behaviour can be seen as a deviation from unstated rules about how someone should behave. Anything that violates these rules is seen as abnormal.

Card 3

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What is a limitation of deviation from social norms as an explanation of abnormality?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

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What is meant by statistical infrequency?

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Card 5

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What is a limitation of statistical infrequency as an explanation of abnormality?

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