Psychopathology

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What are the 4 definitions of abnormality?
1. Statistical infrequency 2. Deviation from social norms 3. Failure to function adequately 4. Deviation from ideal mental health
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What is statistical infrequency?
Behaviours that are statistically rare should be seen as abnormal
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What are the strengths of statistical infrequency?
It gives abnormality a measurement and it is very objective
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What are the weaknesses of statistical infrequency?
Peoples idea of abnormal is subjective and not all infrequent behaviours are abnormal and not all abnormal behaviour is infrequent. Also the whole population may not be taken into account.
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What is deviation from social norms?
Each society has their own understanding of what is abnormal and socially undesirable behaviour
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What is an example of an abnormal behaviour that deviates from social behaviour?
Psychopathy (Antisocial persnoality disorder)
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What are the strengths of deviation from social norms?
It takes into consideration the social dimensions of behaviour and it allows for understanding that a behaviour may be seen as normal in one situation but not in another.
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What are the weaknesses of deviation from social norms?
Many people break social norms but are seen as eccentric. Also norms change over time.
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What is failure to function adequately?
Individuals are seen as abnormal when they cannot cope with everyday life
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What are the 7 features of abnormality by Rosenhan and Seligman?
1. Suffering 2. Maladaptiveness 3. Vividness and and unconvention 4. Unpredictable and loss of control 5. Irrational 6. Causes observer discomfort 7. Violates moral and social standards
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What are the strengths of failure to function adequately?
It helps diagnose mental disabilities and it is generalisable
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What are the weaknesses of failure to function adequately?
Abnormality is not always accompanied with dysfunction.
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What is deviation from ideal mental health?
Rather than identifying what is abnormal, Jahoda identified 6 characteristics of what is to be normal and an absence of characteristics indicates abnormality.
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What are Jahoda's 6 characteristics?
1. High self esteem 2. Self actualisation 3. Resistance to strength 4. Autonomy (independence) 5. Accurate perception of reality 6. Mastery of the environment (ability to love)
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What are the strengths of deviation from ideal mental health?
It takes a positive approach to mental problems and the focus on what is desirable rather than what is undesirable
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What are the weaknesses of ideal mental health?
It has over demanding criteria and the criteria is difficult to measure
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What approach is used to explain phobias?
Behaviourism
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What is operant conditioning?
Changing behaviour because of a reward or for avoidance of a fear.
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Why is operant conditioning used to explain phobias?
Once a fear is established then individual begins to avoid it. This is because it reduces anxiety.
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What does avoidance do to a phobia?
It strengthens it
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What is a phobia?
An anxiety disorder which interfers with daily living. It is an irrational fear that produces a conscious avoidance of the feared thing.
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How much of the population suffer from a phobia?
2.6%
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What is used to diagnose a phobia?
DSM - V
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What are the 5 features of the DSM - V?
1. persistent fear of the object/situation 2. Exposure to the phobic stimulus almost always produces an anxiety response 3. Fear is excessive 4. The phobic stimulus is either avoided or causes anxiety 5. Phobic reactions interfere with daily living
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What does DSM - V stand for?
Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (V is just the number features)
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What are the 2 treatments used for phobias?
Behavioural treatment of: systematic desensitization and flooding
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How are phobias acquired and maintained?
Acquired by classical conditioning and maintained by operant conditioning
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What do the 2 behaviour treatments aim to do?
1. Reduce phobic anxiety through classical conditioning where a new response to the phobic stimulus to be paired with relaxation - this is counter conditioning 2. Reduce phobic anxiety through operant conditioning where you cannot avoid the stimulus
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What is systematic desensitisation?
Wolpe said two competing emotions cannot occur at the same time so if fear is replaced with relaxation the fear can no longer occur.
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What does systematic desensitisation aim to do?
It aims to teach a patient to learn a more appropriate association & is designed to reduce an unwanted response such as anxiety to the stimulus
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Systematic desensitisation uses reciprocal inhibition. What is this?
The process of inhibiting anxiety by substituting a competing response.
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What are the 3 processes used in SD? (part 1)
1. An anxiety hierarchy is made, it is used to face them with the stimulus from least to most frightening. 2. The patient is trained in relaxation techniques 3. The patient is exposed to stimulus whilst practicing relaxation techniques
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What are the 3 processes used in SD? (part 2)
They do this by achieving relaxation up every stage of the hierarchy until they reach the most frightening.
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What is flooding?
You overwhelm the individuals senses with the stimulus that causes anxiety until they realise no harm will occur.
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How does flooding work?
It stops the phobic response quickly without the option for avoidance so the patient learns the stimulus is harmless - this is called extinction. The result is that the conditioned does no longer produce the conditioned response
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What are the good points of the flooding?
1. it is effective with specific phobias where the object can be identified 2. It s suitable for a diverse range of people as it is simple and the patient can control it 3. It is cost effective as it is a quick thing
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What are the bad points of the flooding?
1. It is less effective for some types of phobias which are more complex like social ones because they have cognitive aspects 2. Treatment is traumatic
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What are the 3 characteristics of a phobia?
1. Behavioral - how the person acts around the stimulus 2. Emotional - how the person feels when experiencing the anxiety caused by the stimulus 3. Cognitive - How a person thinks about the phobic stimulus
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What is depression?
A mood disorder - a disorder which affects the emotional state of those suffering from them, it will cause their irrational mood to be disoriented or inappropriate to the circumstances
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How is depression characterised?
Low mood and low energy levels
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What is used to diagnose depression?
DSM - V
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How much of the population suffer from depression?
5%
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What are the 4 categories of depression? (part 1)
1. Major depressive disorder - is severe but short term 2. Persistent depressive disorder - long term or recurring depression including sustained major depression 3. Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder - childhood temper tantrums
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What are the 4 categories of depression? (part 2)
4. Premenstrual dysphoric disorder - disruption to mood prior to and/or during menstruation
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What are the 3 characteristics of depression?
1. Behavioural - how they act when depressed 2. Emotional - How they feel when depressed "empty, worthless" 3. Cognitive - how a person thinks when in a depressed state and their tendency to focus on the negative
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What approach is used to explain depression? Why?
The cognitive approach - because they believe depression is caused by distorted and irrational thinking which causes maladaptive behaviour
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Beck believed there were 3 parts to cognitive vulnerability. What are they?`
1. Faulty info processing 2. Negative self schemas 3. The negative triad
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What is the negative triad?
*
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Another psychologist used a different model to describe and explain depression. What is Ellis' model
A - Activating event B - Individuals belief about the event which results in C - An emotional consequence
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What are the positives and negatives of Beck's theory?
+ It has good supporting evidence + It has practical application in CBT - It does not explain all aspects of depression such as its range of symptoms
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What are the positive and negatives of Ellis' theory?
- Only offers a partial explanation + It has practical application in CBT - It does not explain more complex aspects of depression
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What is the influence of biology in depression?
1. When there are chemical imbalances of increased serotonin helps to evaluate depression through SSRI's 2. Gene could cause it
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What is the diathesis stress approach?
Individuals with a genetic vulnerability for depression are more prone to the effects of living in a negative environment which leads to negative irrational thinking
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What is CBT?
A way of talking about: - how you think about yourself, the world and others - what affects your thoughts and feelings
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What does CBT aim to do?
Therapy aims to deal with the challenging negative thoughts
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Therapy includes behavioural techniques such as behavioural activation what is this?
Encouraging patients to engage in activities they are avoiding
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What does CBT involve?
*
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Therapists use both Beck and Ellis' techniques. What is Beck's cognitive therapy?
The client is assessed to discover the severity of their condition and then the therapist establishes baseline, prior to treatment, to help monitor improvement.
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Therapists use reality testing what is this?
Patient "I am useless" Therapist would then ask a time the patients has ever been successful in life. This is to show empirical evidence so the clients beliefs are directly challenged
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What is Ellis' rational emotive behaviour therapy? Its an extension of ABC (part 1)
REBT extends the ABC model to ABCDE. D = Dispute (challenge the thoughts E = Effect (see a more beneficial effect). The main technique is to identify and dispute the patients irrational thoughts. Ellis argues that irrational thoughts are the cause.
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What is Ellis' rational emotive behaviour therapy? Its an extension of ABC (part 2)
REBT is based on the premise that whenever whenever we become upset, it is not the events taking place that upsets us its the beliefs. Ellis believed that irrational beliefs make impossible demands on the individual.
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What is Ellis' rational emotive behaviour therapy? Its an extension of ABC (part 3)
REBT challenges the individual to prove these statements and then replace them with more reasonable realistic statements (empirical disputing/logical disputing)
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What does OCD stand for?
Obsessive compulsive disorder
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What is obsession?
A persistent thought, idea, impulse or image that is experienced repeatedly, feels intrusive and causes anxiety
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What is compulsion?
A repetitive and rigid behaviour or mental act that a person feels driven to perform in order to prevent or reduce anxiety
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What are the DSM description of the main symptoms of OCD?
1. Recurrent obsessions and compulsions 2. Recognition by the individual that the obsessions and compulsions are excessive and/or unreasonable 3. The person is distressed or impaired and daily life is disrupted by the obsessions or compulsions
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What are the signs and symptoms of an OCD sufferer?
Behavioural - repetitive actions Emotional - the feeling may be depression that accompanies the obsessions and compulsions Cognitive - Ocd sufferers usually plagued with obsessive thoughts and they tend to develop cognitive strategies
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What approach is used to explain OCD?
Biological
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What kind of study was used to prove that OCD was effected biologically through genetics?
Twin studies
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What is the concordance rare in monozygotic and dizygotic twins?
100 % for Mono and 80% in Di
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What are the genetic explanations of OCD? (part 1)
1. Candidate genes cause it: SERT (regulating serotonin which is a neurotransmitter that facilitates messages transfer across synapses ) and COMT (regulates the production of dopamine - neurotransmitter that effects motivation and drive) t
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What are the genetic explanations of OCD? (part 2)
2. The diathesis stress model suggests that people gain a vulnerability towards OCD through genes but an environmental stressor is also needed. It has a biological origin but environmental trigger
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What are the genetic explanations of OCD? (part 3)
3. OCD is thought to be polygenic meaning that its development ins not determined by a single gene but as many as (230) meaning there is little predictive power
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What are the positive and negatives of candidate genes?
+candidate genes have been used to implicate OCD through research - Each genetic variation only increases risk of OCD - There are too many genes involved
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What are the positives and negative of the environmental explanation?
+Individuals gain a vulnerability towards OCD through genes that is triggered by an environmental stressor - Its more productive to focus on environmental causes than biological
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There are some neural explanations to OCD. What are they?
1. Abnormal levels of certain neurotransmitters 2. Certain brain circuits may be abnormal
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What things in the brain have been associated with causing OCD?
1. The hypersensitivity of the basal ganglia causes repetitive motor behaviour 2. The orbital frontal cortex and thalamus, if over reactive cause OCD, the thalamus is used in checking and cleaning and the OFC in decision making.
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What are the positives of the neural explanations?
+ Advances in tech have allowed researchers to investigate specific areas of the brain more accurately and OCD sufferers seem to have excessive activity in the orbitofrontal cortex + Cleaning and checking behaviours are from the thalamus
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What are the negatives of the neural explanations?
- Neural changes could be a result of suffering from the disorder and are the not the cause - There are inconsistencies in research
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What are drug treatments for OCD? (part 1)
1.Antidepressants: SSRIs that inhibit reuptake of serotonin 2. MAOIs which is a class of antidepressants used when SSRIs do not work.They block the enzyme that breaks down noradrenaline and serotonin, so there is more available in the brain.
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What are drug treatments for OCD? (part 2)
3: Anti-anxiety: benzodiazepines - sedatives that inhibit the nervous system
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What are the side effects of SSRIs?
Agitated, feel sick, dizziness, blurred vision, low libido, erectile dysfunction
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What are the side effects of MAOIs?
Dizzy when standing, sleepy, weakness, headaches, peripheral neuropathy
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What are the side effects of Benzodiazepines?
Hypotension, slow heart rate, respiratory issues, nausea, blurred vision
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What is statistical infrequency?

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Behaviours that are statistically rare should be seen as abnormal

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What are the weaknesses of statistical infrequency?

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What is deviation from social norms?

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