psychopathology (mocks)

Question 1

behavioral characteristics of depression

Answer 1

change in activity levels - fatigue 
insomnia
change in appetite - weight loss
aggression
self harm 
withdrawn and irritable

Question 2

deviation of social norms

Answer 2

concerns behaviour that is different from the accepted standards of behaviour in a community or society.
explicit = laws
implicit = expectations
e.g. an individual with anti-personal disorders - explicit stealing, implicit lying

Question 3

failure to function adequately

Answer 3

occurs when someone is unable to cope with ordinary demands of day to day living independently in society
show signs of personal suffering or stress (viewers distress)
e.g a depressed individual struggling to go to work or having self care

Question 4

statistical infrequency

Answer 4

occurs when an individual has a less common characteristic
they are minority
eg. obtaining an IQ of 70 or less = intellectual disability disorder

Question 5

deviation from ideal mental health

Answer 5

occurs when someone doesn’t meet a set criteria for good mental health.

• positive view of yourself
• capable of personal growth and self-actualisation
• being independent
• accurate view of reality
• able to resist stress
• being able to master your environment

Question 6

the two process model of phobias

Answer 6

Mowrer - developed - learnt through classical conditioning and maintained through operation conditioning
classical conditioning = associate two stimuli -
don’t fear = NS, something that triggers fear= US, association formed= CS, phobia = CR

Question 7

Watson and Rayner - little albert

Answer 7

aim - to see if a phobia can be developed through classical conditioning
method - 11 month old Albert, showed various objects that he didn’t respond to including a white rat.
- then the started to cause a loud noise by Albert head when he saw a rat 3 times to startle him.
results - albert start to show a phobia toward rat and other objects that looked like rats. - phobias can be developed through classical conditioning and they are generalized to other objects

Question 8

operant conditioning - phobia maintance

Answer 8

negatively reinforced - behavior is strengthened when the negative consequence is removed

• also the reduction in anxiety
• meaning they are more likely to repeat the behavior in the future - avoidance

Question 9

strength of the two process model of phobias - research support

Answer 9

Watson and Rayner - demonstrated the process of classical conditioning in the formation of phobias with little albert.
this show support to classical conditioning involvement in phobia and the generalization can occur to other phobia stimuli

however this research is a case study so it is hard to generalize the results as it is an unique case.

Question 10

strength of the two process model of phobias- application

Answer 10

behaviorists ideas can be applied to the treatment of phobias
systematic desensitization - help unlearn their fears
or flooding - stop the negative reinforcement
therapies have been successfully treat phobias, providing further support for the effectiveness of the behaviorists explanation

Question 11

a weakness of the two process model of phobias - ignore other factors

Answer 11

ignore the role of cognitive process in the development of phobias
such as irrational thinking leading phobias not just learning it.
e.g. claustrophobia maybe cause by thought like I will suffocate
furthermore, CBT treatment are more successful in treating phobias than the behaviorists treatments. - combination of both may cause phobias.

Question 12

define neurotransmitter

Answer 12

chemical messengers which covey information between neurons

Question 13

the neural explanation of OCD - neurotransmitters

Answer 13

serotonin - role in sleep, memory, emotions, appetite and social behaviors

• believe to play a role in preventing repeating tasks
• low levels of serotonin led to OCD

dopamine - associated with motor functions and pleasure/ impulsive behavior
- high level of dopamine led to OCD

Question 14

the neural explanation of OCD - brain structure

Answer 14

serval areas in the frontal lobe affect the development of OCD - abnormal brain circuit
2 areas = the basal ganglia and orbitofrontal cortex
basal ganglia = cluster of neurons, one role - coordination of movement (brain injurie = OCD)
orbitofrontal cortex = converts sensory information into thoughts and actions - PET scans show high levels activity in OCD brains. - high level led to compulsions
worry circuit - candidate nucleus and thalamus - impulses

Question 15

strength of the neural explanation - research support

Answer 15

research support - abnormality in brain structure leds to OCD
metanalysis of OCD studies that used brain scans and neuro imaging techniques
found consistent evidence of an association between the OCF and OCD
the meta-analysis didn’t suggest a reason for the abnormalities in the OCF functions and that it can be the result of abnormal neuroanatomic development or a failure of synaptic pruning

Question 16

weakness of the neural explanation of OCD - not unique neural system

Answer 16

neural mode is that the serotonin-OCD link are may not be unique to OCD
many people how suffer with OCD also have clinical depression - co-morbidity
this means that depression may have the same disruption to the action of serotonin
logical problem with serotonin levels leading to OCD as this disruption can also be seen in depression
this means that serotonin may not be relevant OCD symptoms

Question 17

however evaluation of the neural explanation of OCD - correlation and causation

Answer 17

+ evidence to show that the neural system in individual with OCD is abnormal. biological model of mental disorders states that these brain dysfunctions is causing OCD.
- however, this correlation between the abnormalities and OCD do not indicate the causal relationship. as it is possible that OCD caused these brain abnormalities instead of the other way round or that another factor causes both