psychology psychopathology

Question 1

what are the 4 definitions of abnormality

Answer 1

statistical infrequency- when an individual has a less common characteristic

deviation from social norms
- behaviour that is different from the accepted standards withing society

failure to function adequetely - occurs when someone is unable to cope with day to day living

devaiation from ideal mental health- not meeting criteria for ideal mental health

Question 2

what are the two treatments for phobias?

Answer 2

systematic desensitization is gradually reducing phobic anxiety through classical conditioning (learn to relax in the presence of the phobic stimulus)

flooding - immediate exposure to phobic stimulus, fightening with not build up

Question 3

what are the 3 processes involved in systematic desensitization

Answer 3

anxiety heirarchy: made by patient and therapist, a list of situations concerning the phobia from least to most frightening

relaxation - therapist teaches patient to relax as deeply as possible e.g through breathing excercises

exposure, patient is exposed to the phobic stimulus while in a relaxed state across multiple sessions from the bottom of the heirarchy moving up. treatment is successful when the patient can stay relaxed in situations high on the AH.

Question 4

what does flooding lead to

Answer 4

extinction - the patient quickly learn the phobic stimulus is harmless if they are unable to avoid it.

a conditioned response of fear is extinguished when the conditioned stimulus is encountered without the ucs. CS no longer produces the CR.

Question 5

evaluation of phobia treatments

Answer 5

Behavioural treatments dont treat the underlying cause of phobias (irrational beliefs) but just symptoms like panic so cbt may be better as it targets the underlying cause.

research supporting sd.gilroy followed 42 patients treated for arachnophobia with 3 sessions of sd compared to a control group with no exposure and just relaxation. groups were assessed at 3 months and 33 months and SD group showed less fear at each point. this leads to LT solutions

a strength of flooding is its quick and cost effective. this is due to the immediate exposure to the stimulus so it can take up to one session. patients can be free of their symptoms asap.

SD is suitable for all patients. gradual approach makes it less traumatic and there are pleasant elements like learning new relaxation techniques. this is reflected in the low refusal nd low drop out rates. good for people w learning disbalilties who may not understand what’s going in in flooding

Question 6

what is the two process model

Answer 6

Mowrer proposed that phobias are aquired through classical conditioning(learning via association) and maintained through operant conditioning(behaviour is shaped and maintained through consequences).

Question 7

explain classical conditioning of phobias with the white rat

Answer 7

learning to associate sm which we initially have no fear of (ns) with something that already triggers a fear response (ucs). this produces a CS which produces a CS of fear

loud noise (ucs) -> fear response

(ucr)

white rat + loud noise (ns + ucs) -> fear response (ucr)

white rate (cs) -> fear response (cr)

Question 8

how are phobias negatively reinforced

Answer 8

The behaviour is strengthened because the unpleasant consequence is removed.

we continue to maintain a behaviour (running away) in order to avoid the negative consequence

therefore we are likely to avoid the stimulus the next time we are confronted with it because we know it will make us calm down

Question 9

what does biological preparedness suggest

Answer 9

innate predisposition to aquire certain fears (e.g heights and deadly animals) which will increase our chances of survival

Question 10

evaluations of phobia explanations

Answer 10

two process model cant explain all phobias. evolutionary phobias dont have to be learned through classical conditioning . outline biological preparedness. theres more to acquiring phobias than conditioning.

real life application in the treatment of phobias

weakness is the behavioural approach to phobias doesnt explain cognitive
characteristics e.g selective attention and irrational beliefs. e.g social phobias are heavily associated with irrational thinking behaviourist approach doesnt consider the role of internal mental processes.

real life application to support behaviourist approach. watsona nd rayner taught little albert a phobia of white rats by repeatedly pairing a loud bang noise with the neutral stimulus of the white rat which then became associated with the fear of the loud bang

Question 11

behavioural characteristics of phobias

Answer 11

avoidance

panic

endurance

Question 12

emotional characteristics of phobias

Answer 12

anxiety and fear

Question 13

cognitive characteristics of phobia

Answer 13

cognitive distortions

irrational beliefs

selective attention to the phobic stimulus

Question 14

behavioural symptoms of ocd

Answer 14

compulsions and avoidance

Question 14

emotional symptoms of ocd

Answer 14

anxiety, distress, depression, guilt and disgust

Question 15

cognitive symptoms of ocd

Answer 15

obsessive thoughts e.g catastrophic thinking, hyper vigilance, insight into excessive anxiety and thoughts

Question 16

aol for the genetic explanation ocd

Answer 16

individuals inherit specific genes from their parents that make them vulnerable to the onset of ocd

polygenic - taylor found up to 230 genes involved

COMT gene is common in ocd patients. low activity of COMT gene means high dopamine

sert gene affects the transport of serotonin which causes low levels of serotonin linked with ocd

Question 17

evaluation of the genetic explanation of OCD

Answer 17

theres support for genetic. nestadl et al in their twin studies found that 68% of mz twins shared ocd whilst only 31% of dz twins did. closer related means more chance of ocd.however the mz twins could be more similar in terms of shared environments so env. factors may play more of a role, we cant condclude that its genes.

environmental risk factors may increase risk of ocd. cromer et al found more than half patients had a severe traumatic event so ocd cant be entirely genetic and theres a greater risk if theres an environmental trigger. diathesis stress model biological reductionism

Question 18

neural explanation of ocd : neurotransmitters

Answer 18

Abnormal levels of neurochemicals like dopamine and serotonin are associated with the abnormal transmission of mood related information and obsessive thoughts.

people with OCD have:
high dopamine and low serotonin which leads to low moods –> accompanying depression

Question 19

evaluations of the neural explanation of OCD

Answer 19

theres an issue with cause and effect. explanation says cause for ocd is the abnormal functioning of the lateral frontal lobe causes impaired decision making. however what if the ocd is what cause the abnormal functioning of lfl

real life application. some anti depressants work by increasing serotonin. Drugs help reduce ocd symptoms proving low levels of serotonin is included in ocd. however lots of people with ocd also have depression so these low serotonin levels could be that they have depression aswell and they are just treating derpression

Question 20

Explain the process of the neurotransmitter serotonin and how do ssris stop reuptake

Answer 20

When serotonin is released from the pre-synaptic neuro into the synapse, it travels to the receptor sites on the post-synaptic neuron. Serotonin which is not absorbed into the post-synaptic neuron is reabsorbed into the pre-synaptic neuron.

SSRIs increase the level of serotonin available in the synapse by preventing it from being reabsorbed into the presynaptic neuron. This increases level of serotonin in the synapse and results in more serotonin being received by the post-synaptic neuron

Question 21

ao3 evaluation for the treatment of ocd

Answer 21

Drug therapy is supported by research. Soomro et al did meta analysis and found that SSRI’s were more effective than placebos. reduction in symptoms for 70% however they found the best results when ssris were combined with cbt. however evidence may be biased by drug companies who dont publish all of their answers.\

serious side effects - nausea, vomiting , diahroeha

drugs are quick and cheap. ssri perscription is £9 when cbt is £60 a week. ssris are non disruptive to the patients daily life cbt requires time in a therapy session. however once they stop taking ssris theyre more likely to relapse so its not a long term solution

Question 22

behavioural symptoms of depression

Answer 22

over and under eating

reduced activity levels

disruption of sleep

insomnia

agression and self harm e.g cutting and irritable

Question 23

cognitive symptoms of depression

Answer 23

poor concerntration

dwelling on the negative

absolutist thinking

Question 23

emotional symptoms of depression

Answer 23

belief of being worthless hopeless and inadequete low self esteem anger/lowered mood

Question 24

ao1 explain becks cognitive theory of depression

Answer 24

beck believes people are vulnerable to depression because of their cognitions: faulty information processing : depressed people focus on the negative aspect of a situation and ignore the positives negative self schemas: we use schemas to interpret the world, interpret all information about themselves badly negative triad: negative views about the world negative views about the future negative views about oneself

Question 25

what does cbt and Rebt do?

Answer 25

cbt identifies the irrational belief and then challenges it rebt is a form of cbt abc + de for dispute and effect aim: break the link between negative life event and depression logical argument - dispute using facts empirical argument - dispute if theres evidence to back up their beliefs

Question 25

ao1 explain ellis' abc model

Answer 25

depression is a result of irrational thoughts A- activating event. get depressed when a negative even triggers irrational beliefs e.g poor grade B -(irrational) beliefs musturbation: the belief we must always succeed . utopianism- belief that life should be fair. e.g i will never succeed c- consequences e.g feeling worthless and depressed

Question 26

ao3 evaluation of becks cognitive theory of depression

Answer 26

evidence to support.grazioli and terry assessed 65 pregnant women for cognitive vulnerability and depression before and after birth. They found that those women judged to have been high in cognitive vulnerability were more likely to suffer post-natal depression. however not representative one group of women. doesnt explain all depression. some patients have cotard syndrome and hallucinations and bizarre beliefs. becks theory is incomplete as it cant explain these symptoms like a biological explantation can.e.g neurotransmitters

Question 27

ao3 evaluation for ellis abc model

Answer 27

partial explanation. it states depression is caused by an activating agent but that only explains reactive symptoms of depression in response to an event when its not always clear what lead to someones depression at a given time beck and ellis contributed to treatments for depression. cbt is identifying and challenging irrational thoughts. rebt utilises abc adding dispute and effect to breakdown evens and thoughts. march found that Cbt was effective at treating symptoms and risk of relapse at 81%

Question 28

A01 depression treatments

Answer 28

Becks cognitive therapy; the aim is to identify negative thoughts and then challenge them cognitive therapy identifies irrational beliefs (thought catching) and challenging it. it impacts maladaptive behaviours and emotions thats are the product of some thoughts reality testing : clients have to gather evidence e.g when they enjoyed an event or recieved praise and compare evidence with thought to t=see if they match. This is used to prove clients wrong. rebt = ABC + D(dispute)E(effect) (form of CBT)- focus on disputing irrational thoughts that cause c. empirical and logical dispute behavioural activation : activities to improve mood

Question 29

A03 evaluations of treatment of DEPRESSION

Answer 29

Cbt takes time and is expensive. average of 12 sessions and £60 per session and they may have to miss work to attend so ssris at £9 may be better. However cbt is cheaper in the long term as its done in 12 sessions but drugs are forever. cbt may not be effective for sever and disabled cases. It requires complex rational thinking and with a lack of motivation this may be hard to engage with making them feel more hopeless. cbt has economic impacts. depression is costly to the economy through absenteeism , low productivity and unemployment. In the long term Cbt decreases risk of relapse and helps people go back to work.

Question 30

what are the a03 evaluations of statistical infrequency

Answer 30

doesnt distinguish between desiraable and undesirable behaviours. it suggests behaviour shown less often is abnormal but some abnormal behaviours are desirable like having an IQ over 150 though very few people do we would say its undesirable and some normal behaviours are undesirable like depression. Real life application SI is **used in clinical practice to assess the severity of symptoms** e.g iq below 70 means intellectual disability disorder(beck depression inventory a score of 30+ means sever depression(top 5% ) useful in diagnostic assessment processed

Question 31

a03 evaluations of deviation from social norms

Answer 31

incomplete definition. in uk hearing voices and hallucinating is unacceptable whereas it may be normal as in african cultures they believe they're communicating with ancestors.its not universal useful in clinical practice.e.g key characteristics for APD is failure to conform to culturally acceptable behaviour e.g recklessness, aggression, violating the rights of others. **These signs of the disorder are all deviation from social norms. ​acts as a criteria for mental illeness.** This shows how deviation from social norms criterion has value in psychiatry

Question 32

a03 evaluation of deviation from ideal mental health

Answer 32

this is unrealistic. most of us would be considered abnormal. doesn't say how many need to be missing for abnormality. difficult to measure environmental mastery. no one can master their environment everyday and not be insecure some days not a universal definition because collectivstic cultures dont really value self actualization, would be dismissed as self indulgence and wouldn't be seen as ideal mental health and autonomy thats mainly westeren cultures. even variations with in Europe, in Germany independence is important but in Italy its not

Question 33

a03 evaluation for failure to function adequetely

Answer 33

this may be deviation from social norms. if a person doesnt live a normal life e.g hold down a job they may be abnormal however are they failing to function or deviating from social norms e.g not having a job or permanent life could be an alt lifestyle like new age travellers. limits personal freedom and discriminate against minority groups represents a threshold for professional help. most people carry on with life despite 25% of people having mental health problems this criterion allows people who cant function to get professional help as they need it the most. this is good as waiting times are really long

Question 34

neural explanation of ocd: abnormal brain structures

Answer 34

OCD is associated with impaired decision making and illogical thinking which could be due to abnormal functioning of the lateral frontal lobes of the brain There is also evidence that the left Para hippocampal gyrus, associated with processing unpleasant emotions, functions abnormally in OCD patients

Question 35

neural explanation of ocd: abnormal brain circuits

Answer 35

people with ocd have a damaged caudate nucleus which normally suppresses worry signals from the orbitalfrontal cortex. when the caudate nucleus is damaged it fails to supress minor worry signals from the OFC and the thalamus is alerted which sends signals back to the OFC acting as a worry circuit PET scans show when a person with a germ obsession holds a dirty cloth, there is heighted activity in the OFC.

Question 36

What are 2 treatments for OCD other than serotonin

Answer 36

Tricyclics block the transporter mechanism that re absorbs both serotonin and noradrenaline, prolonging their activity in the synapse SNRI's increase the levels of serotonin and noradrenaline and are tolerates by those for whom ssris are not effective for

Question 37

outline the 6 aspects to jahodas criteria

Answer 37

positive attitude towards the self self actualization autonomy mastery of the environment accurate perception of reality resistance to stress

Question 38

statistical infrequency

Answer 38

behaviour that is rare or uncommon. occupies the extreme ends of a normal distribution curve intellectual disability disorder can be defined using this model.

Question 39

deviation from social norms

Answer 39

in society there are standards of acceptable behaviour that are set by the social group and adhered to by those within the group. anyone who behaves differently from those social norms is classed as abnormal. e.g in the past homosexuality used to be classed as abnormal/ a mental disorder/ illegal this judgement was based on social deviations of what was considered normal

Question 40

failure to function adequately

Answer 40

if a person is unable to cope with the demands of day to day living e.g can't hold down a job or maintain a relationship. Behaviour is maladaptive, irrational or dangerous. not functioning must cause distress and suffering to the individual, and or other people e.g schizophrenia, bizarre behaviour, causing distress. irrational and unpredictable around other people which makes it hard to hold down a job

Question 41

deviation from ideal mental health

Answer 41

jahoda identified 6 characteristics of what it is to be normal and an absence of these characteristics indicates abnormality. e.g people with depression have low self esteem, struggle to make decisions(not autonomous) and experience high levels of stress concerning their low mood