Psychopathology

What are the 4 definitions of abnormality?

Statistical infrequency, deviation from social norms, failure to function adequately and deviation from ideal mental health

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What is statistical infrequency?

Behaviours that are statistically rare are seen as abnormal. It depends on the normal distribution showing the proportions of people with the characteristic you are interested in. Behaviour falling outside n. distribution are perceived as abnormal

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What is deviation from social norms?

Behaviour that deviates from the societies commonly accepted 'unwritten' social rules of behaviour can been seen as evidence of abnormality

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What is failure to function adequately?

An inability to cope with day-to-day living. Behaviour is considered abnormal if it causes individual suffering, thus drawing attention to personal experiences associated with mental disorders.

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What is deviation from ideal mental health?

Failure to meet the criteria for perfect psychological wellbeing. There are criteria needed to be classified as normal such as self actualisation and positive attitude towards oneself

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Two limitations of statistical infrequency

Not all statistical infrequent behaviour are considered abnormal e.g. being highly intelligent. Not all abnormal behaviours are infrequent in society e.g. about 10% will suffer from depression

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Two strengths of statistical infrequency

Most objective because it collects factual data about how common a behaviour is in society. It doesn't judge behaviours as wrong or unacceptable - more ethical than other definitions that do base their judgments on what is wrong

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Two limitations of deviation from social norms

Social norms change with time - unreliable. Ethnocentric bias when diagnosing people using this definition - it is based on Western social norms which reflect the behaviour of the majority population

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Two strengths of deviation from social norms

Takes into account situational&developmental norms accepting that some behaviours are normal and abnormal in different settings and ages. Allows us to help people showing abnormal behaviour who may not realise they have an issue

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Three limitations of failure to function adequately

Abnormality is not always accompanied with dysfunction. 'Normal functioning' is subjective because it is based on people's opinions. Failure to function is sometimes a normal response to situations

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One strength of failure to function adequately

It recognises the personal experiences of sufferers which is a positive criticism because it supports the fact that most people with a mental illness seek help because they feel they cannot cope

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Two limitations of deviation from ideal mental health

Uses over demanding criteria because it is very difficult if not impossible to achieve all of the criteria at once. Autonomy is not desirable in all cultures

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Two strengths of deviation from ideal mental health

Focuses on positive aspects of mental health rather than what is undesirable in society - doesn't label people. Allows targeting of 'abnormal' areas to work on to achieve normality

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What is a phobia?

An irrational fear of an object or situation

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What are the three types of characteristics of phobias?

Behavioural, cognitive, emotional

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What are the behavioural characteristics of phobias?

Avoidance to prevent coming into contact with the phobic stimulus. Panic behaviours such as crying, screaming, running away or freezing

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What are the cognitive characteristics of phobias?

Selective attention to the phobic stimulus - concentrate only on the stimulus when it is seen. Irrational beliefs and distorted perception about the phobic stimulus

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What are the emotional characteristics of phobias?

Emotional responses which are unreasonable to the actual danger presented. Persistent anxiety and fear

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The behavioural approach believes that phobias are learned through the two process model...

1. Acquisition by classical conditioning. 2. Maintenance by operant conditioning

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Maintenance of phobias is done through operant conditioning by...

1. Behaviour is maintained through negative reinforcement. 2. Avoiding the phobia stimulus reduces levels of fear and anxiety

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Which one of the following is a behavioural characterisitc of phobias? Agression, fear, anxiety or avoidance

Avoidance

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Which one of the following is an emotional characteristic of phobias? Humour, anger, sadness or fear

Fear

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Which one of the following is a cognitive characteristic of phobias? Agression, avoidance, selective attention or anxiety

Selective attention

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Billy starts screaming and crying when he sees a small spider. This is best described as: selective attention, avoidance, distorted perception or unreasonable emotional responses

Unreasonable emotional responses

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The two process model of phobias assumes:

Behaviours are aquired through classical conditioning

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The two process model is supported by the case study of:

Little Albert

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What type of operant conditioning is involved in the maintenance of phobias?

Negative reinforcement

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Which one of the following is NOT a criticism of the two process model? It can't explain why some phobias are more common than others, it cannot be used to help treat phobias, it over emphasises the behavioural characteristics of phobias

It cannot be used to help treat phobias

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Which one of the following is NOT normally part of systematic desensitisation? Learning relaxation techniques, gradual exposure to the phobic stimulus, immediate exposure to the phobic stimulus, constructing an anxiety hierarchy

Immediate exposure to the phobic stimulus

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Gradually substituting the fear response to the conditioned stimulus with a relaxation response is called?

Counter conditioning

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Symptom substitution occurs when: the patient has more than one phobia, the patient has no symptoms, the underlying cause isnt resolved so it emerges as a phobia of something else or the underlying cause is fully resolved so the symptoms disappear

The underlying cause isn't resolved so it emerges as a phobia of something else

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The principle that it is impossible to hold two opposing emotions at the same time is called: gradual exposure, reciprocal inhibition, flooding or counter conditioning

Recpricol inhibition

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Josie has phobia of spiders. Which one of the following would be best at the bottom of her anxiety hierarchy? Seeing a picture of a toy spider, holding a real spider, holding a toy spider or seeing a real spider in a box

Seeing a picture of a toy spider

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Extinction occurs when the patient experiences: the neutral stimulus without the conditioned response, the conditioned response with the conditioned stimulus or the conditioned stimulus without the unconditioned stimulus

Conditioned stimulus without the unconditioned stimulus

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Flooding may be better than systematic desensitisation because... its less invasive, its quicker and more cost effective, it treats the underlying cause or its more ethical

Its quicker and more cost effective

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Max has a phobia of heights. Which one of the following would be most effective in a flooding session? Standing at the bottom of the Eiffel tower, imagining standing at the top of the Eiffel tower, seeing a picture of it or standing at the top of it

Standing at the top of the Eiffel tower

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What is the aim of systematic desensitisation?

To remove the fear response of a phobia by training the individual to gradually substitute the fear response with a relaxation response to the conditioned stimulus

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What are the 3 stages of systematic desensitisation?

Train the patient to relax (deep muscle relaxation or drugs), establish an anxiety hierarchy and gradual exposure

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What are 3 strengths of systematic desensitisation?

Ethical - informed consent and right to withdraw, empowers the patient - the patient is in control, not an invasive treatment - doesn't invade personal life

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What are 2 limitations of systematic desensitisation?

Can be impractical e.g. fear of flying as you need to face the fear completely - it can't have a hierarchy, only treats the symptoms not the underlying cause so another phobia would occur in another way as the fear is still there -symptom substituion

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What does flooding involve?

It involves the immediate exposure to the phobic stimulus without the gradual build up

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How does flooding work?

The conditioned response to the phobia stimulus (fear) is extinguished when the patient experiences the conditioned stimulus (phobia) without the unconditioned stimulus

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What are 3 strengths of flooding?

Quicker and more cost effective than SD, not an invasive treatment and not unethical - informed consent is given and they have the right to withdraw at any point

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What are 2 limitations of flooding?

Only treats the symptoms not the underlying cause - symptom substitution and more traumatic than SD - some patients may quit before they are fully treated

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What is depression?

It is defined as a disorder characterised by low mood and energy levels

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There ar 2 types of depression, what are they and how long do they last?

Major depressive disorder - severe but often short term. Persistent depressive disorder - long term or recurring episodes

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What are the behavioural characteristics of depression?

Irritability, aggression and self harm, reduced activity levels or agitation, disruption to sleep and eating habits

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What are the cognitive characteristics of depression?

Poor concentration, absolutist thinking - everything is either all good or all bad no in between, selective attention to negative things

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What are the emotional characteristics of depression?

Lowered mood, low self esteem, anger towards self or others

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What is the cognitive explanation of depression?

Beck's Negative Triad - negative views about the world, negative views about the future, negative views about oneself

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What is faulty information processing?

Selectively attending to negative things, magnify negatives and minimise positives, absolutist thing - black and white

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What are negative self schemas?

A self schema is the mental representation we carry about ourselves. People with negative self schema interpret all information about themselves in a negative way

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Another model is Ellis' ABC model, in which it stats irrational thoughts cause depression. State how the model works

A - Activating event. B - Beliefs/thoughts about the activating event. C - Consequences of these thoughts - emotional or behavioural

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What are cognitive behavioural therapies?

They focus on changing the way the client thinks - the individual is in control of this

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What are the key aims of cognitive behavioural therapies?

To challenge maladaptive, irrational ways of thinking and replace them with adaptive, rational ones

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What are the two best known cognitive behavioural therapies?

Beck's cognitive therapy and Ellis' Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT)

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What are 2 limitations/disadvantages of Cognitive Approach to depression?

Is negative thinking always irrational - may not have evidence to support the negative thinking, causality issues - the approach states that the causes of depression are negative thoughts but a symptom is also negative thoughts

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What are 2 strengths/advantages of Cognitive Approach to depression?

Empowering - models allows patient to recognise that they have broken/negative thoughts, lets them get therapy and they are in control of getting help. Boury et al found there was solid support for all of these cognitive vulnerabilities

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Which psychological approach is used to explain depression?

Cognitive

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Which of the following is not an aspect of Beck's Cognitive Theory? The negative triad, negative self schemas, faulty information processing or the ABC model

The ABC model

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Which of the following is not in the negative triad? Negative view of the world, self, new situations, future

Negative view of new situations

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The B in Ellis' ABC model stands for...

Beliefs

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Cognitive explanations can be criticised for ignoring the influence of

Biological factors

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Cognitive explanations of depression have successfully been applied to treating the disorder through the use of? Systematic desensitisation, SSRIs, person centred therapy or cognitive behaviour therapy

Cognitive behaviour therapy

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Which of the following is a limitation of the ABCDE model? It takes a long time to work, some irrational beliefs don't have an activating event, it is upsetting for patients, there is no evidence linking activating events to depression

Some irrational beliefs don't have an activating event

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Which of the following is not a technique used in Beck's cognitive therapy? Behavioural activation, reality testing, patient as a scientist, ABCDE model

ABCDE model

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What does Beck's Cognitive Therapy involve?

Reality testing - patient as scientist, homework and behavioural activation

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What are the behavioural characteristics of OCD?

Compulsions (repetitive and done to reduce anxiety); avoidance behaviour

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What are the cognitive characteristics of OCD?

Obsessive, intrusive thoughts; insight into excessive anxiety; cognitive coping strategies

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What are the emotional characteristics of OCD?

Anxiety and distress; depression; guilt and disgust

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What are the neural explanations for OCD?

Neurotransmitters, decision making, evidence to support and causality and co-morbidity with depression

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What are the genetic explanations for OCD?

Family studies, candidate genes, polygenic

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Psychopathology

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