psychopathology

Question 1

definitions of abnormality - statistical infrequency

Answer 1

. when individual has less common characteristics, ex. being more depressed/less intelligent than most people
. ex. IQ/intellectual disability disorder
. average IQ is 100 in normal distribution, most people score range of 85-115 (68%), only 2% people score below 70
. people below 70 are seen as abnormal

Question 2

definitions of abnormality - deviation from social norms

Answer 2

. beh. that’s diff. from accepted standards of beh. in community/society
. group of people choose to define beh. as abnormal on basis that it offends their sense of what the norm is
. norms r specific to culture we live in
. however social norms may be diff. for each generation/culture
. few beh. considered universally abnormal

Question 3

evaluation - real world application for statistical infrequency

Answer 3

. strength
. usefulness in clinical practice for formal diagnosis and assess severity
. ex. becks depression inventory
. therefore shows value of statistical infrequency criterion, useful in diagnostic/assessment procedures

Question 4

evaluation - unusual characteristics can be +ve. ; statistical infrequency

Answer 4

. limitation
. infrequent charac. can be +ve as well as -ve
. people don’t think someone is abnormal for having a high IQ or low depression score
. therefore SI can form part of the assessment/diagnostic procedures but never sufficient as sole basis of defining abnormality

Question 5

evaluation - real world application for deviation from social norms

Answer 5

. strength
. deviation used in clinical practice
. ex charac. of antisocial personality disorder are aggression
. these signs r deviations from social norms
. therefore shows deviation from social norms criterion has value in psychiatry

Question 6

evaluation - cultural and situation relativism ; deviation from social norms

Answer 6

. limitation
. variation b/w social norms is diff b/w cultures/situs
. pers. fr. one cultural group may label someone from another group as abnormal using their standards than the persons
. even w/n one cultural context social norms differ
. ex. aggression/deceit in family is unacceptable but ok in business
. therefore shows difficult to judge deviation from social norms across diff. situs. and cultures

Question 7

deviations from abnormality - failure to function adequately

Answer 7

. no longer cope with demands of everyday life
. rosenhan/seligman; proposed additional signs :
. when person no longer conforms to standard interpersonal rules
. when person experiences severe distress
. when persons beh. becomes irrational/danger to themselves/others

Question 8

definitions of abnormality - deviation from ideal mental health

Answer 8

. jahoda ; suggested we r in good mental health if we fit the criteria :
. no symptoms/distress
. rational/perceive ourselves accurately
. self actualise
. can cope w. stress
. have realistic view of the world
. have good self esteem
. independent of others
. can successfully work, love, enjoy leisure
. inevitably there is an overlap between ideal mental health and failure to function

Question 9

evaluation - real world application for failure to function

Answer 9

. strength
. represents threshold for when people need professional help
. tends to be at point we cease to function adequately that people seek professional help/referred to by others
. this criterion means treatment/services can be targeted to those who need them most

Question 10

evaluation - discrimination/social control ; failure to function

Answer 10

limitation
. easy to label non-standard lifestyle choices abnormal
. hard to say if someone failing to function or deviating from social norms
. those who favour high risk leisure may seen as abnormal
. therefore shows people who make unusual choices at risk of being labelled abnormal/freedom of choice limited

Question 11

evaluation - comprehensive definition; deviating ideal m health

Answer 11

strength
. highly comprehensive
. includes range of criteria distinguishing m. health fr. m. disorder
. individuals health discussed meaningfully w. range of prof.
. shows ideal m. health provides checklist against which we can use ourselves/ discuss psychological issues w. range of professionals

Question 12

evaluation - culture bound ; deviation from ideal m health

Answer 12

limitation
. diff elements not equally applicable across range of cultures
. some jahodas criteria firmly located in US/europe context
. therefore difficult to apply concept of ideal m health from 1 culture to another

Question 13

DSM-5 categories of phobia

Answer 13

. characterised by fear/anxiety triggered by object/situ
. fear is out of proportion
. specific phobia ; phobia of object/situ
. social anxiety ; phobia of social situ
. agoraphobia; phobia of being outside/public

Question 14

behavioural characteristics of phobias

Answer 14

. panic ; may involve lying, screaming, running away
. avoidance ; a lot of effort to prevent coming into contact with phobia, can be hard to go about daily life ie. school/work
. endurance ; person chooses to remain in presence of phobia

Question 15

emotional characteristics of phobias

Answer 15

. anxiety ; unpleasant state of arousal, prevents relaxing
. fear ; immediate/extremely unpleasant response, shorter than anxiety
. unreasonable ; anxiety/fear greater than ‘normal’, disproportionate

Question 16

cognitive characteristics of phobias

Answer 16

. selective attention to phobic stimulus ; keep attention on phobia
. irrational beliefs ; person may hold unfounded thoughts in relation to phobic stimuli
. cognitive distortions ; perceptions may be inaccurate/unrealistic

Question 17

DSM-5 categories of depression

Answer 17

. major depressive disorder ; severe but short term
. persistent depressive disorder ; long term/recurring, including maj. dep.
. disruptive mood dysregulation disorder ; childhood temper tantrums
. premenstrual dysphoric disorder ; disruption to mood with menstrual cycle

Question 18

behavioural characteristics of depression

Answer 18

. activity levels ; reduced, lethargic/withdraw from school/work, psychomotor agitation : individual struggle to relax
. disruption to eating/sleeping ; insomnia/hypersomnia, appetite increases/decreases wh. may lead to weight gain/weight loss
. aggression/self harm ; verbally/physically aggressive, self harm

Question 19

emotional characteristics of depression

Answer 19

. lowered mood; daily lethargic/sad, sees themselves as ‘worthless’
. anger ; directed at self/others, can be extreme
. lowered self esteem; self loathe

Question 20

cognitive characteristics of depression

Answer 20

. poor conc. ; unable to stick to task, interferes w. work
. dwelling on -ve. ; pay attention to -ve events, bias towards unhappy events
. absolutist thinking ; ‘black and white thinking’

Question 21

behavioural characteristics of ocd

Answer 21

. compulsions are repetitive
. compulsion reduce anxiety
. avoidance ; avoid situs that triggers anxiety/interferes with regular life

Question 22

emotional characteristics of ocd

Answer 22

. anxiety/distress; unpleasant/overwhelming
. accompanying depression; low mood, lack of enjoyment
. guilt/disgust ; -ve emotions about self/situ

Question 23

cognitive characteristics of ocd

Answer 23

. obsessive thoughts ; vary from person to person, unpleasant
. cognitive coping strategies; may manage anxiety but distracting
. insight into excessive anxiety ; r aware they r not rational but experience catastrophic thoughts

Question 24

behavioural approach to explaining phobias - two process model

Answer 24

. mowrer; proposed model based on behavioural approach to phobias

Question 25

behavioural approach to explaining phobias - acquisition by classical conditioning

Answer 25

. learning to associate something of no fear (NS) with something that triggers fear response . watson/rayner; ‘little albert’, created phobia in 9 month baby . had no fear to rat but when experimenters gave albert the rat they made loud noise . noise = UCS wh. created UCR of fear, when rat and noise set close together NS stimulus became associated with UCS and both produce fear response now . rat now CS that produces CR . conditioning generalised to similar objects ie. non-white rabbit

Question 26

behavioural approach to explaining phobias - maintenance by operant conditioning

Answer 26

. phobias long lasting due to OC . OC happens when beh. rewarded/punished . reinforcement increases freq. of beh. . mowrer; when we avoid phobic stimulus we successfully escape fear/anxiety that we would have experienced if remained . reduction in fear reinforces avoidance beh. so phobia maintained

Question 27

evaluation - real world application of beh. appr. explaining phobias

Answer 27

. strength . in exposure therapies . phobias maintained by avoidance so exposure is good . once avoidance beh. prevented it ceases to be reinforced by experience of anxiety reduction so avoidance declines . therefore shows value of two process model bec. it defines a means of treating phobias

Question 28

evaluation - cognitive aspect of phobias ; beh. appr. explaining phobias

Answer 28

limitation . does not account for cognitive aspects . geared towards explaining beh. . there is significant cog. component ex. irrational beliefs . therefore shows 2 process model does not completely explain symptoms of phobias

Question 29

evaluation - phobias/traumatic experiences ; beh. appr. explaining phobias

Answer 29

strength . link b/w bad experiences and phobias . ex. little albert study . jongh et al; found 73% people w. dentist fear experienced traumatic experience . this confirms associated b/w stimulus and UR does lead to development of phobia

Question 30

evaluation - phobias/traumatic experiences 2 ; beh. appr. explaining phobias

Answer 30

limitation . not all phobias fr. bad experiences . not all bad experiences lead to phobias . therefore shows association b/w phobia/experience not as strong as expected

Question 31

behavioural approach to treating phobias - systematic desensitisation

Answer 31

. behavioural therapy to reduce phobic anxiety thru classical conditioning . counter conditioning involves ; . anxiety hierarchy ; lost of situs, low levels to high . therapist teaches pers. how to relax deeply . reciprocal inhibition . exposure to phobia in relaxed state, start at bottom of hierarchy and across sev. sessions . successful when client stays relaxed

Question 32

behavioural approach to treating phobias - flooding

Answer 32

. immediate exposure to v. frightening situ. . longer than SD . stops responses quickly . extinct CC . learned response extinguished when CS encountered w/o US . CS does not produce CR . clients must give informed consent

Question 33

evaluation - evidence of effectiveness ; beh. treat. of phobia

Answer 33

. gilroy et al ; followed 42 people who had SD 4 spider phobia . at both 3/33 months, SD g. less fearful than a control . SD effective for specific p. social p. and agoraphobia . therefore shows SD likely to help people with phobias

Question 34

evaluation - learning disabilities; beh. treat. of phobias

Answer 34

strength . can help people with learning disabilities . main SD alternat. not suitable for LDs . LD people may feel confused/distressed by ex. flooding . therefore shows SD often most appropriate treat. for LD people with phobias

Question 35

evaluation - cost effective ; beh. treat. of phobias

Answer 35

strength . highly cost effective . flooding can work in one session compared to 10 sessions of SD . clinically effective / not expensive . therefore shows more people can be treated at same cost w. flooding than w. SD or others

Question 36

evaluation - traumatic ; beh. treat. of phobias

Answer 36

limitation . highly unpleasant experience . surah et al ; fou, ppts/ therapist rate flooding +re stressful than SD . dropout rates (attrition) 4 flooding higher than SD . therefore suggests overall therapists may avoid this treatment

Question 37

cognitive approach to explaining depression - becks -ve triad

Answer 37

. cognitive vulnerability . faulty info processing ; depressed people attend to -ve aspects of situ/ign. +ves, ‘black and white thinking’ . negative self schema ; self schema, package of info about yourself, pers. w. -ve self schema interpret info about themselves in -ve way . negative triad ; person develops dysfunctional view of themselves bec. 3 types of -ve thinking: . -ve view of world, future, self

Question 38

cog. approach to explaining depression - Ellis’s ABC model

Answer 38

. poor mental health res. fr. irrational thoughts . irrational thought is any thought that interferes w. us being happy . ABC model ; . 1 . activating event A ; get depressed when experience -ve events, these trigger irrational beliefs . 2 . beliefs B ; ‘musturbation’ , must always succeed/maj disaster when something doesn’t go smoothly have a ‘utopianism’ view of life and think everything must be fair . 3 . consequences C ; active. event trigg. irrational beliefs, there r emotional/behavioural consequences

Question 39

evaluation - research support for becks -ve triad

Answer 39

. clark/beck; fou. cog. vul. +re common in depressed people b. also preceded the depression . cohen et al; tracked 473 adolescents develop. and found those showing cog. vul. predicted later depression . therefore shows association b/w cog. vul./depression

Question 40

evaluation - real world application for becks -ve triad

Answer 40

strength . appli. in screening/treatment 4 depression . cohen et al; concl. assessing cog. vul. allows psychiatrists to screen young people and identifies those at risk . therapies can alter cognitions that make people vul. 2 dep. . therefore means understanding cog. vul. useful in +re than 1 clinical setting

Question 41

evaluation - real world application of ABC model

Answer 41

strength . psychological treatment of dep. . rational emotive behavioural therapy REBT . vigorously arguing with depressed person can alter irrational beliefs . REBT can change -ve beliefs / relieve symp. of dep. . REBT has real world value

Question 42

evaluation - reactive/endogenous depression

Answer 42

limitation . ABC model on,y explains reactive depression not endogenous . many cases of depression not trace to life events . Ellis’s model can only explain some cases of depression . therefore ABC model only partial explanation

Question 43

cog. appr. to treating depression - beck’s cog. therapy

Answer 43

. applic. of becks cog theory of dep. . indentify -ve triad, thoughts must be challenged . central component of therapy . cog. therapy help clients test reality of their -ve beliefs . ‘clients as scientist’ giving them h/w to record +ve things

Question 44

cog. appr. to treating depression - Ellis’s REBT

Answer 44

. REBT extends ABC model . ABCDE model; D = dispute and E = effect . empirical argument; disputing whether there’s actual evidence . logical arguments ; vigorous argument

Question 45

cog. appr. to treating depression - behavioural activation

Answer 45

. depressed individual tend to avoid difficult situs and become isolated which maintains/worsens symptoms . goal of BA to work w. depressed individual 2 gradually decrease avoidance/isolation so increases engagement in activities that have been shown 2 improve mood

Question 46

evidence 4 effectiveness of cog. therapy

Answer 46

strength . supports effectiveness 4 treatment of dep. . march et al; compared CBT 2 antidepressants . 327 dep. adolescents; after 36 weeks 81% of CBT + 81% of drugs grp improved, combo grp. improved 86% . CBT just as effective as drugs/cost effective . therefore means CBT seen as 1st choice of treatment in public health

Question 47

cog. therapy suitability for diverse clients

Answer 47

. limitation . lack of effectiveness for severe cases/LD people . some people cannot engage bec. they’re so depressed . sturmey; suggests psychotherapy not suitable 4 people w. LD . therefore suggests CBT only appropriate for specific range of dep. people

Question 48

cog. therapy suitability for diverse clients counterpoint

Answer 48

strength . CBT as effective as drug . taylor et al; when CBT used appropriately it can be good for LD people . CBT may be suitable for wider ranger of people than once thought

Question 49

evaluation - relapse rate; cog. appr. to treating depression

Answer 49

limitation . CBT treatment of depression is high relapse rates . CBT for dep. not long term . Ali; 439 clients every month for 12 months found 42% relapsed w/n 6 months and 53% w/n a yr . CBT may need to be repeated

Question 50

biological appr. to explaining OCD - genetic explanations

Answer 50

. genes involved in individual vulnerable to ocd . lewis; 37% had parents w. ocd, 21% siblings w. ocd . suggests ocd runs in families, gen. 2 gen. . diathesis stress model; certain genes leaves some people +re likely 2 get mental disorder . some environmental stress

Question 51

biological appr. to treating OCD - candidate genes

Answer 51

. genes that create vulnerability . some are involved in regulating development of serotonin system

Question 52

biol. appr. to explaining OCD - ocd polygenic

Answer 52

. caused by combo of genetic variations together increasing vulnerability . taylor; found up to 230 diff. genes may be involved ex. genes for dopamine and serotonin production

Question 53

biological appr. to explaining ocd - diff. types of ocd

Answer 53

. 1 gene may cause ocd in person but diff. gene cause diff. ocd in another . evidence suggests that diff. types of ocd may be result of particular genetic variations (aetiologically heterogenous)

Question 54

biological appr. to explaining ocd - neural explanation

Answer 54

. serotonin; low lev. causes low moods . associated w. ocd

Question 55

evaluation - research support for genetic explanations; biological explan. for ocd

Answer 55

strength . genetic explanations strong evidence base . twin studies . 68% identical shared ocd opposed to 31% non identical . pers. w. family memb. w. ocd 4x +re likely 2 get ocd . therefore suggests must be some genetic influence on ocd

Question 56

evaluation - environmental risk factors of biological expl. of ocd

Answer 56

limitation . ocd not entirely genetic . ex. cromer; half ocd clients experienced trauma . therefore shows genetic vulnerability provides partial explanation

Question 57

evaluation - research support for biological expl. of ocd

Answer 57

strength . antidepressants works only on serotonin, reduces ocd . suggests serotonin may be involved in ocd . sugg. bio. factors may also be responsible 4 ocd

Question 58

evaluation - research support for biological explanations of ocd

Answer 58

limitation . co-morbidity . depression probably involves disruption 2 action of serotonin . therefore means serotonin not relevant 2 ocd

Question 59

biological approach to treating ocd - SSRIs

Answer 59

. particular type of antidepressant drug . works on serotonin system in the brain . SSRIs effectively increase levels of serotonin in the synapse and continue to stimulate the postsynaptic neurone . for 3-4 months daily use 4 SSRIs 2 have impact on symptoms

Question 60

biological approach to treating ocd - combining SSRIs w. other treatment

Answer 60

. drugs used alongside cog. beh. therapy . drugs reduce persons emotional symptoms . so can respond to CBT +re effectively

Question 61

biological approach to treating ocd - alternative to SSRIs

Answer 61

. after 3-4 months w. no effect dose can increase . can combine w. other drugs . alternatives may work : . tricyclics ; +re severe side effects, reserve 4 SSRIs . SNRIs ; second line of defence

Question 62

evaluation - evidence of effectiveness; biological treatment of ocd

Answer 62

strength . clear evidence shows SSRIs reduce symptoms severity/ improve quality of life . 17 studies; compared SSRIs w. placebos . all 17 showed improvement w. SSRIs . drugs appear to be helpful 4 most w. ocd

Question 63

evaluation - evidence of effectiveness counterpoint ; biological treatment of ocd

Answer 63

limitation . drugs may not be most effective . shapinahis et al; concluded both cog./behavioural therapies were +re effective than SSRIs in treatment . therefore means drugs may not be best treatment

Question 64

evaluation - cost effective/non disruptive ; biological treatment of ocd

Answer 64

. drug treatments r cheap, 1000s of tablets can be manufactured in the time of 1 session . drugs good value 4 public health . SSRIs non disruptive . drugs popular w. people and doctors

Question 65

evaluation - serious side effects ; biological treatments of ocd

Answer 65

limitation . small minority have no benefit . SEs usually temporary but can be distressing . therefore means some people have reduced quality of life as result of taking drugs/may stop taking them