psychopathology

Question 1

statistical infrequency

Answer 1

occurs when an individual has a less common characteristic.
bottom/top 2% on normal distribution curve considered abnormal

Question 2

deviation from social norms

Answer 2

sees any behaviour which differs from that which society expects as abnormal.
(passed through socialisation and can change overtime/culture)

Question 3

failure to function adequately

Answer 3

abnormality judged as inability to deal with the demands of everyday living.
eg •stops them from working
•causing them or others harm
•stops them being hygienic
•causes observer discomfort

Question 4

deviation from ideal mental health

Answer 4

absence of signs of good mental health used to judge abnormality.
Jahoda developed these ideals:
1.accurate perception of reality
2.positive attitude to him/herself
3.self actualisation
4.resistance to stress
5.environmental mastery
6.be independent of other people

Question 5

cultural relativism

Answer 5

the idea that one cannot judge behaviour properly unless it is viewed in the cultural context from which it originated.

Question 6

individualistic culture

Answer 6

culture where they put the self as more important.

Question 7

collectivist culture

Answer 7

cultures where they put the groups needs before their own.

Question 8

definition of phobias

Answer 8

a persistent and irrational fear of a specific situation, object or activity which is consequently either strenuously avoided or endured with marked distress.

Question 9

definition of depression

Answer 9

depression is a mental health disorder that is characterised by persistent sadness and a lack of interest or pleasure in previously rewarding or enjoyable activities.

Question 10

definition of OCD

Answer 10

obsessive compulsive disorder is a common mental health condition where a person has obsessive thoughts (internal) and compulsive behaviour (external).

Question 11

emotional characteristics of depression

Answer 11

•sadness
•avolition
•anger

Question 12

emotional characteristics os OCD

Answer 12

•anxiety and distress.
•embarrassment and shame.

Question 13

behavioural characteristics of phobias

Answer 13

•panic.
•avoidance.

Question 14

behavioural characteristics of depression

Answer 14

•reduction in energy.
•insomnia or increased sleep.
•appetite changes.

Question 15

behavioural characteristics of OCD

Answer 15

•compulsive behaviour.
•avoidance.

Question 16

cognitive characteristics of phobias

Answer 16

•irrational thought process.
•cognitive distortions.

Question 17

cognitive characteristics of depression

Answer 17

•negative thoughts.
•poor concentration.
•memory bias.

Question 18

cognitive characteristics of OCD

Answer 18

•obsessive thoughts.
•sufferer is aware these obsessive thoughts are irrational.

Question 19

DSM

Answer 19

diagnostic statistical manual, published by the american psychiatric association

Question 20

ICD

Answer 20

international statistical classification of diseases, published by the world health organisation.

Question 21

behavioural approach

Answer 21

theory of learning that states all behaviours are learned through interaction with the environment through conditioning.

Question 22

what is classical conditioning

Answer 22

learning through association

Question 23

what is operant conditioning

Answer 23

learning through reinforcement

Question 24

mowrers (1960) two process model

Answer 24

•phobias are acquired or initiated through classical conditioning.
•phobias are maintained or continued through operant conditioning.

Question 25

how are phobias initiated

Answer 25

ucs —> ucr ns + ucs —> ucr ns —> cr

Question 26

how are phobias maintained

Answer 26

• operant conditioning takes place as behaviour is reinforced. • a person avoids a feared object to reduce anxiety and is therefore reinforced (negative reinforcement)

Question 27

systematic desensitisation

Answer 27

first type of counter-conditioning, where patients learn to respond to feared stimuli with relaxation instead of anxiety. fear and relaxation cannot co-exist (reciprocal inhibition). it involves: •the anxiety hierarchy •relaxation •gradual exposure

Question 28

how does systematic desensitisation work

Answer 28

•involves the client and therapist designing a list of hierarchy of frighting/ stressful events or objects. •finally the therapist helps the client gradually work their way up the hierarchy while maintaining deep relaxation. •at each stage, if the client becomes upset they can return to an earlier stage and regain their relaxed state.

Question 29

flooding

Answer 29

• flooding involves immediate exposure to a very frightening situation to prevent avoidance, learning that the stimuli is not harmful. •flooding sessions are typically longer than SD with one session usually lasting 2-3 hours, however sometimes only one long session is needed to cure a patient. • some patients even get so exhausted they reach relaxation

Question 30

how does flooding work

Answer 30

•flooding stops phobic responses very quickly as prevents avoidance behaviour, so the patient quickly learns that the phobic stimules is harmless. In classical conditioning terms this process is called extinction • A learned response is extinguished when the conditioned stimuli is encountered without the learnt response of fear as the association with the UCS has been broken. •In some cases the patient may achieve relaxation simply because they become exhausted by their fear responte due to the immediate exposure.

Question 31

cognitive approach to explaining depression

Answer 31

the cognitive approach links psychological disorders such as depression to dysfunctional thinking or irrational thinking

Question 32

Beck (1967)

Answer 32

states that depression is caused by faulty information processing - overgeneralisation -absolutist thinking

Question 33

becks negative triad

Answer 33

people have 3 negative schemas the world, future and self. world - creates impression there’s no hope anywhere. future - further hopelessness and wormed depression. self - enhances depressive feeling, confirm low self esteem.

Question 34

Ellis (1962) cause of depression

Answer 34

states that depression is caused by irrational thinking

Question 35

ellis ABC model

Answer 35

Activating event = the adversity or event to which there is a reaction Beliefs = the belief or explanation about why the situation occurred Consequences = the feelings and behaviour the belief now causes. in essence the external event is “blamed” for the unhappiness being experienced.

Question 36

Mustabatary thinking

Answer 36

thinking that certain ideas or assumptions must be true in order for an individual to be happy.

Question 37

what do both cognitive treatments have in common

Answer 37

all CBT starts with an initial assessment, in which the patient and therapist identify the patients problems.

Question 38

identify and replace irrational thoughts

Answer 38

changing the irrational beliefs then had a positive impact upon the behaviour or consequence. In this cause the depressive symptoms are reduced.

Question 39

client and therapist

Answer 39

patient is seen as an expert, the patient and therapist agree on a set of goals and plan of action to achieve these goals.

Question 40

homework

Answer 40

challenging negative thoughts if often done outside the sessions as homework

Question 41

Beck (1967) negative triad - challenging negative thoughts

Answer 41

•the therapist will help the patient to identify negative thoughts in relation to Becks negative triad. •the patient and therapist will work together to challenge these irrational thoughts by discussing evidence for and against them.

Question 42

Beck (1967) - client as scientist

Answer 42

the patient will be encouraged to test the validity of their negative thoughts and may be set homework, to challenge and test their negative thoughts

Question 43

Ellis (1962) - ABCDE treatment

Answer 43

•dispute - the therapist asks the client to challenge their irrational thoughts and beliefs. •effective response - the therapist asks the client to think of more rational responses.

Question 44

Ellis (1962) - challenging irrational thoughts

Answer 44

effective disputing changes self-defeating beliefs into more rational beliefs. catastrophising —>more rational interpretations

Question 45

Nestadt et al (2000) genetic explanation of OCD

Answer 45

first degree relatives of OCD sufferers had a higher chance of developing the disorder 12% first degree with OCD 3% control group

Question 46

terms associated with the genetic explanation

Answer 46

•OCD is likely to be polygenic •230 candidate genes •aetiologically heterogeneous

Question 47

COMT gene

Answer 47

a mutation of the COMT gene causes low levels of the COMT enzyme. this enzyme breaks down dopamine, so low levels of the enzyme means high levels of dopamine. this causes compulsions in OCD

Question 48

SERT gene

Answer 48

creates a protein which removes serotonin and recycled it. when a mutation of this gene creates too much of the protein, serotonin levels go down

Question 49

diathesis stress model - interactionist approach

Answer 49

certain genes leave some people more likely to suffer a mental disorder but it is not certain as some environmental stress if necessary to trigger the condition.

Question 50

biological neural explanations use what approach

Answer 50

abnormal levels of neurotransmitters

Question 51

serotonin

Answer 51

•is important for the regulation of mood and has an overall calming effect on the brain. •low levels of serotonin means that the brain does not communicate information about mood effectively.

Question 52

dopamine

Answer 52

•is a neurotransmitter which is important for maintaining interest and motivation. •high levels of dopamine should therefore help to maintain a compulsive though or behaviour, therefore leading to a symptom of OCD.

Question 53

the worry circuit

Answer 53

1. orbital frontal cortex sends worry signal to thalamus. 2. on the way the caudate nucleus is supposed to suppress unimportant signals. 3. therefore if the caudate nucleus is damaged the thalamus is alerted too often, resulting in more worry and causing compulsive/obsessive behaviour.

Question 54

what does SSRI stand for

Answer 54

selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors

Question 55

choy & schneier (2000) - first line treatment

Answer 55

SSRIs are first line of treatment as they are the preferred drug for treating anxiety disorders such as OCD.

Question 56

what levels of serotonin are linked with OCD

Answer 56

low levels of serotonin

Question 57

how do SSRIs work

Answer 57

•SSRIs increase levels of serotonin in the brain. people with OCD reabsorb too much serotonin and therefore have low amounts and are anxious. •SSRIs block the reabsorption site and prevent the serotonin being recycled. the levels of serotonin in the synapse will increase, thus improving symptoms of anxiety.

Question 58

what does SNRI stand for

Answer 58

serotonin and noradrenaline re-uptake inhibitors

Question 59

how do SNRIs work

Answer 59

block the transporter mechanism that re-absorbs both serotonin and noradrenaline. when levels are low a person is unable to focus their attention which may result in anxiety/ compulsions

Question 60

role of noradrenaline in OCD

Answer 60

low noradrenaline does not cause OCD, preventing re-uptake of this neurotransmitter (increasing it) has been associated with relief symptoms and anxiety

Question 61

why are SNRIs second line treatment

Answer 61

greater side effects so only used when SSRIs are not effective

Question 62

benzodiazepines

Answer 62

commonly used to reduce anxiety. they are manufactured under various trade names, most common valium it diazepam.

Question 63

which neurotransmitters do benzodiazepines work on

Answer 63

inhibitory neurotransmitters - calms and reduces the activity of neurones.