psychopathology Flashcards
(41 cards)
what are the four types of abnormality
- statistical infrequency
- deviation from ideal mental health
- deviation from social norms
- failure to function adequately
define statistical infrequency
behavior that is of which rare is considered abnormal. if most of the population don’t have this behavior it is abnormal
define deviation from ideal mental health
the absence of signs of good mental health. Jahoda has a criteria for what this looks like; self accusation, resistance to stress, positive attitude to stress, autonomy/independence, environmental mastery. the more criteria they fail to meet, the more abnormal they are
define deviation from social norms
any behavior that doesn’t conform to accepted standards is abnormal, these norms vary from culture to culture
define failure to function adequately
where an individual fails to cope with the demands of everyday life. Their symptoms don’t let them achieve what they need to on a daily basis. this is measured on a Global assessment of functioning scale
what are the main three categories of phobias and define them
specific phobias - phobia of an object or certain situation
social phobias - phobia of a social situation
agoraphobia - phobia of being outside or in a public place
state and define the behavioural characteristics of Phobias (three types)
Avoidance - involves the individual avoiding places where the stimuli might be, this can make everyday life hard
panic - this includes crying, shaking, running away or pacing
endurance behaviours - the individual remains in the presence of the stimuli in a high anxiety state
state and define the emotional characteristics of phobias
anxiety - excessive anxiety that is disproportionate to the threat and is triggered by the thought of the object
unreasonable and disproportionate response to the stimuli
state and define the cognitive characteristics of phobias
selective attention - hypervigilance on the stimulus
irrational beliefs - an inflated perception of the threat
state and define the behavioral characteristics of depression
changing in sleep patterns - sleeping more (hypersomnia) or less (insomnia)
changing in eating patterns - eating more or eating less
social withdrawal
reduced movement
reduced speech
state and define the emotional characteristics of depression
extreme pervasive sadness
anger and outrage, sometimes directed external, often at oneself
state and define the cognitive characteristics of depression
negative schemas - thoughts focusing on the negative and interpret instances negatively
black and white thinking - inability to appreciate nuance
state and define the behavioral characteristics of OCD
compulsions - repeated behaviors/ acts that relieve anxiety caused by obsessions
state and define the emotional characteristics of OCD
guilt about needing to complete the compulsions
state and define the cognitive characteristics of OCD
obsessive thoughts - persistent and intrusive
insight into irrationality of behavior
hyperviginance attention - increased awareness of a source of an obsession in new situations
what is behaviorism
the idea that everything is learnt and babies are born as a blank slate, they learn through experiences
define classical conditioning
learning through association
define operant conditioning
learning by the idea that behavior is shaped and maintained by consequences
define stimulus generalisation
the idea that the conditioned response to the conditioned stimuli can be associated with other similar stimuli, strengthening the phobia
what is the two process model of explaining a phobia
- the idea that a phobia is learnt through classical conditioning by associating a neutral stimuli (the phobia) with an unconditioned stimuli (something already feared) to create a conditioned stimuli and a response of fear to this.
- the idea that a phobia is maintained through operant conditioning, the idea that contact with the stimulus causes anxiety and therfore avoidance can be seen as negative reinforcement, the phobia is then encouraged. stimulus generalisation can also occur
give one study that backs up the idea of classical conditioning and give a brief explanation
Pavlov’s dogs
a bell is the neutral stimuli which creates no response, food is an unconditioned stimuli creating an unconditioned response of salivating, the food and the bell used together causes the dog to salivate, the bell then becomes a conditioned stimuli creating a conditioned response of salivating through association
give four evaluation points for Pavlov’s dogs study
- lab experiment - standardised and therefore reliable
- using dogs means there is evolutionary discontinuity
- has high internal validity as the IV is effecting the DV
- socially sensitive - negative implications in the future, believes there is food every time there is a bell
give another study that backs up the idea of classical conditioning and give a brief explanation
Litter Albert
- the researcher showed an infant a white rat to which he showed no reaction, researcher than associated the rat with a loud noise, Albert eventually became scared of the rat without the loud noise, also showed similar response to other furry objects (stimulus generalisation)
give four evaluation points for Little Albert’ study
- lab experiment - standardised - reliable
- very unethical - no informed consent, participant harm
- not generalisable - case study - individual differences - lack population validity
- application = helps show how phobias are created to reduce them in children - treatment development
- supports the role of classical conditioning in learning a fear
