Psychopathology

Question 1

Statistical infrequency

Answer 1

common behaviours are seen as normal
uncommon behaviours are seen as rare- abnormal
eg very low IQ or very high IQ is rare
s- may indicate underlying issue
-objective measures
w- not all rare behaviours are undesirable eg high IQ
- some behaviours may be seen as rare in some cultures but may be common in others
doesnt focus on the person

Question 2

Deviation from social norms

Answer 2

deviation from rules regulating how one should behave
social judgement about what is acceptable
norms- standards of acceptable behaviour/ expectations
social norms change over time and are different across cultures
s- may indicate underlying issue
w- difficult to define social norms
- may be judged by people from different cultures about their norms

Question 3

Deviation from ideal mental health

Answer 3

mental health is seen in the same way as physical health and any deviation is seen as dysfunctional eg not being able to deal with stress
Marie Jahoda- criteria of mental health; positive self attitude, self actualisation personal growth, accurate perception of reality etc
s-comprehensive definition, holistic
focuses on the person so can be used to diagnose MH issues
w- model is culturally relative
-very high standards so is unlikely we will fit them all
- doesn’t indicate how many we need to have IMH

Question 4

Failure to function adequately

Answer 4

a person is considered abnormal if they are unable to cope with the demands of everyday or if abnormal behaviour interferes with adequate functioning
Rosenham and Siegelman - proposed 7 major abnormal features eg suffering, loss of control, irrational thinking etc..
s- may indicate underlying issue
focuses on the person
w- unusual behaviour may be a coping strategy for some
- culturally relative
- some dysfunctional behaviours may be seen as adaptive to the person so it is subjective
eg may be coping mechanisms if they are mourning etc

Question 5

Phobia characteristics

Answer 5

uncontrollable, irrational extreme reactions to an object or situation that are out of proportion to actual risk (anxiety disorder)
behavioural- panic, avoidant responses,
emotional- anxiety+fear, persistent + unreasonable
cognitive- selective attention, irrational beliefs, distortions

Question 6

Phobia explanations

Answer 6

Mowrer proposed the two process model where;
-phobias are acquired through classical conditioning
scratch (ucs)- pain (ucr) cat (ns) scratch + cat - pain
cat (cs)- fear (cr)
assoc is generalised to other, similar objects
-phobias are maintained through operant conditioning
whenever a phobic stimulus is avoided and fear is reduced, avoidance behaviour is reinforced, feels like a reward,
Watson and Rayner- little Albert, ‘taught’ a phobia by pairing a white rabbit with a loud noise
s- practical applications for treatment
w- doesn’t account for cognitive process
- not everyone who has a phobia has had a bad experience - menzies and clarke
- phobias may be due to biological preparedness (innate)- Seligman

Question 7

Phobia treatment- F

Answer 7

flooding- involves exposing people to their phobia
stops phobic responses quickly as avoidance behaviour isnt possible so patient learns phobic stimulus is harmless
a new CR is created where the CS is calm and not fear
client has to give fully informed consent + be prepared

s- Wolpe drove a woman with a phobia of cars around for 4 hours, her anxiety increased but could not be prolonged so decreased, removed fear responses
cost effective as results can be positive from one session
w- some people may not be able to make it through a whole flooding session which may make phobia worse

Question 8

Phobia treatment- SD

Answer 8

designed to gradually reduce anxiety through CC
1- functional analysis of phobia- identify nature of phobia
2- anxiety hierarchy least to most provoking stimuli
3- relaxation training- taught how to relax
4- gradual exposure- working through hierarchy
aims to teach patient more appropriate association

s- patient is actively involved so it is empowering for them and they can choose the pace at which they progress
Gilroy- studied 45 arachnaphobics who had SD and after 3 and 33 months, their fear response was lower than a control group who were only given relaxation techniques
Rotherbaum found that 93% of people who undertook SD for a fear of flying flew after the treatment
w- patient has to imagine themselves in phobic situation which may not be possible
slow process, not cost effective can take 10 sessions
works for learned phobias but not mental disorders

Question 9

Depression characterstics

Answer 9

mood disorder characterised by low mood and low energy levels
behavioural- anxiety, disruption to sleep, self harm
emotional- lowered mood, anger, lowered self esteem
cognitive- poor concentration, dwelling on negatives

Question 10

Depression explanations - 1

Answer 10

Aaron Beck- three parts to cognitive vulnerability
faulty information processing- errors in logic, focusing on negative aspects
negative self schemas- package of ideas developed through experiences, about self, interpret info about themselves in a negative way
negative triad- three kinds of negative views that contribute to depression; negative views of world
(hostile place), self (i’m incompetent )and future (it will not get any better)
- supporting evidence as Cohen found that cognitive vulnerability was a good predictor for later depression
- practical application for CBT
- doesn’t explain all theories of depression eg bipolar

Question 11

Depression explanations- 2

Answer 11

Ellis’ ABC model explains how irrational thoughts affect our behaviour and emotional stat
A- activating event/action - we experience negative events that trigger irrational belief
B- belief- your interpretation of the event which can either be irrational or rational
C- consequence- the feelings/ behaviour the belief causes
- practical application for REBT
- only offers partial explanation

Question 12

Depression treatment-1

Answer 12

CBT- cognitive behavioural therapy- changes how patient thinks and what they do, making them feel better
Beck-patient is assessed to measure severity of condition
identify patient’s ideas about world, self and future
client’s beliefs are directly challenged - made aware of negative views, irrational ideas replaces with optimistic beliefs, positive beliefs reinforced

s- CBT is not physically invasive
client learns how to use new skills
March et al found that CBT was as effective as antidepressants, CBT is first choice of treatment
w- success may be due to therapist patient relationship
emphasis on current but some patients may want to explore their past
success depends on patients willingness to take part

Question 13

Depression treatment- 2

Answer 13

REBT- rational emotive behavioural therapy- aims to identify and dispute patients irrational thoughts
based on (ABC)DE model
D- dispute; challenge the thoughts by questioning if they are empirical or logical
E- effect; see a more beneficial effect on thought and behaviour
- patient may become reliant on therapist
- takes time to start getting better

Question 14

OCD

Answer 14

anxiety disorder characterised by obsessions (thoughts) and compulsions (behaviours)

behavioural- compulsions- repetitive + reduce anxiety
emotional- anxiety, guilt, disgust, depression
cognitive- obsessive thoughts, coping strategies

Question 15

OCD explanations-1

Answer 15

genetic explanation- genes are involved in vulnerability to OCD
SERT gene involved in regulation of serotonin
diathesis stress model suggests that certain genes can leave a person more likely to suffer but there are also environmental triggers
-candidate genes- create genetic variability for OCD
-polygenic meaning a combination of genes causes OCD; not one particular gene (Taylor found up to 230 genes that could be involved with OCD), generally genes related to dopamine and serotonin

Question 16

OCD explanation neural

Answer 16

neural explanation- physical and psychological characteristics determined by NS/ brain
abnormal brain activity- high activity in orbito frontal cortex, part of brain responsible for decision making + logical thinking
pre frontal cortext activity increases when making you do a task then decreases when the task is completed but it may not turn off in ocd patients which is why they have compulsions to do things multiple times
serotonin- neurotransmitter involved in regulating mood
low levels of serotonin and high levels of dopamine linked with severe OCD

Question 17

OCD treatments

Answer 17

drug therapy aims to increase or decrease levels of certain neurotransmitters
SSRIs- block the re uptake of serotonin at synapse (pre synaptic nerve), more serotonin can bind to receptors which corrects issue of low serotonin
BZs- reduces anxiety by enhancing activity of GABA which has a quietening effect on the brain, more relaxed (inhibitory NT)
drugs are often used alongside CBT to reduce the emotional symptoms, treating the root of the disorder for a longer term solution

Question 18

OCD treatments ao3

Answer 18

s- Soomro compared SSRIs to placebo and found that they were effective for 70% of people in reducing symptoms
drugs are cost effective in comparison to therapy

w- side effects of taking drugs including nausea and insomnia which could make OCD worse
Griest compared ERPT to drugs and found it was as effective but some people cannot physically face therapy
therapy targets the root of the illness rather than just the symptoms

Question 19

neural exp ao3

Answer 19

s- increasing levels of serotonin (SSRIs) helps treat OCD
practical applications in treating OCD
Hu found lower levels of serotonin in OCD patients than in control group
Saxena reviewed brain scans and found link between high activity levels in brain with people with OCD- may be a symptom of OCD rather than cause
increasing serotonin is effective in treating OCD- Soomro 70% effective
w- lower serotonin may be linked with the accompanying depression of OCD patients rather than OCD itself
cause and effect- may be due to symptoms

Question 20

genetic exp ao3

Answer 20

s- supporting evidence from Nedstadt who found concordance rates of 68% in MZ twins compared to 31% in DZ twins showing genetic influence but may be differences in environment
Lewis found that 37% of patients with OCD had parents with it and 21% had siblings with it which suggest that the genetic vulnerability runs in families
w-Cromer found that over 50% of people with OCD had suffered a traumatic event so may be due to that (supports diathesis stress model)
may have learned OCD behaviours from seeing them in parents and siblings

Question 21

phobia exp ao3

Answer 21

research support for two process model as he found that by making presentations of a buzzer followed by electric shock, he could produce fear response in rats by just the sound of the buzzer
practical applications as systematic desensitisation works by gradually reintroducing the person to their phobia

Menzies + Clark found that only 2% with a water phobia had had a negative experience with water
not every person who had traumatic experience has a phobia- dinardo et al found that 50% of healthy, non phobic individuals had experienced an anxious encounter with a dog- other factors contribute to phobias
alternative explanation as seligman argued we have a biological preparedness to acquire certain fears for things that may be dangerous