Psychopathology

Question 1

Deviation from Social Norms

Answer 1

Behaviour is seen as abnormal if it is different from the accepted standards of behaviour in a community or society

Question 2

Deviation from Ideal Mental Health

Answer 2

a person is seen as abnormal if they fail to display behaviours that indicate ideal mental health as outlined by Jahoda

Question 3

Failure to Function adequately

Answer 3

When a person’s behaviour means they are unable to cope with the demands of everyday life

Question 4

Jahoda’s 6 criteria of ideal mental health

Answer 4

1. Positive Self Attitude
2. Autonomy
3. Self- actualisation
4. Resistance to stress
5. Accurate perception to reality
6. Environmental mastery

Question 5

Statistical Infrequency

Answer 5

a behaviour is seen as abnormal if it is statistically uncommon, or not seen very often in society

Question 6

Deviation from Social Norms AO3

Answer 6

✔ Does not impose a Western View of abnormality on those that live in other cultures. Therefore is not ethnocentric

✘ Social norms change over time and vary across cultures so can lead to misdiagnosis

Question 7

Deviation from ideal mental health AO3

Answer 7

✔Allows patients to set clear goals based on Jahoda’s criteria

✘ Difficult to measure objectively

✘UNREALISTIC HIGH STANDARDS: very few people will fit the criteria.

Question 8

Failure to function adequately AO3

Answer 8

✔ Involves behaviours that are easy to observe, measure and diagnose

✘ People with mental disorders don’t always struggle to cope with everyday life

✘ Not all maladaptive behaviours are signs of mental disorders

Question 9

Statistical Infrequency AO3

Answer 9

✔ Real world application: Diagnosing intellectual disorders and clinical assessments

✘Some statistically infrequent traits may be desirable

✘ Some mental disorders aren’t statistically infrequent leading to a failure to diagnose

Question 10

Phobia symptoms

Answer 10

• Persistent fear of a stimulus (emotional)
• Irrational beliefs (cognitive)
• Avoidance of feared stimulus (behavioural)

Question 11

Two process model for phobias

Answer 11

Acquired through classical conditioning and maintained by operant conditioning

Question 12

Classical conditioning with phobias

Answer 12

• person encounters neutral stimulus and experiences an unpleasant unconditioned stimulus
• forms an association between the two
• neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus and the person forms a conditioned fear response to the stimulus

Question 13

Operant conditioning with phobias

Answer 13

• avoidance of the stimulus leads to the negative feeling being removed
• this reinforces the behaviour through negative reinforcement

Question 14

Little Albert

Answer 14

Watson and Rayner

• repeatedly presented Little Albert with a white rat followed by a loud scary noise.
• at first he showed no response to the white rat (neutral stimulus)
• through repeated experience Albert learnt to associate the rat with the loud noise (conditioned stimulus)
• he then cried whenever he saw the white rat

Therefore he had acquired a phobia through classical conditioning

Question 15

Barlow and Durand

Answer 15

• found that 50% of ppts could recall a traumatic event which caused their driving phobia
• many had not driven since

Supports the idea that phobias are acquired through classical conditioning and maintained through operant conditioning

Question 16

Behaviourist explanations of phobias AO3

Answer 16

✘ Not all phobias are caused by a traumatic event. May be partially genetically determined based on evolution

Question 17

Behaviourist Approach to treating phobias

Answer 17

1. systematic desensitisation
2. flooding

Question 18

Flooding

Answer 18

A treatment for phobias in which clients are exposed repeatedly and intensively to a feared object and made to see that it is actually harmless

It is effective as it prevents the patient from avoiding the stimulus and extinguishes the associations.

Question 19

Systematic Desensitisation

Answer 19

1. Patient and doctor write a fear hierarchy which ranks the stimulus in terms of how fearful they are
2. Patients taught relaxation techniques
3. Patient exposed to stimulus gradually

Prevents patient from avoiding stimulus.

Question 20

Kaplan and Tolin

Answer 20

✔ Kaplan and Tolin

found that 65% had no symptoms of a specific phobia 4 years after a session of flooding

Question 21

Ost

Answer 21

✔ Ost found that 90% of patients much improved or completely recovered 4 years after systematic desensitisation

Question 22

Systematic Desensitisation AO3

Answer 22

✔ Exposes patient to the feared stimuli gradually, creating less distress

✔ More ethical than flooding

✘ Less effective at treating social phobias and agoraphobias

Question 23

Flooding AO3

Answer 23

✘ Doesn’t always work and can strengthen the association between the conditioned and unconditioned stimulus

✘ Unethical due to the distress

✘ Not appropriate for some patient i.e children

Question 24

The 2 Cognitive models of depression

Answer 24

Ellis’ ABC model

Beck’s Negative Triad

Question 25

Ellis' ABC model

Answer 25

-Activating Event -Belief (irrational and negative) -Consequence (symptoms of depression)

Question 26

Beck's cognitive triad

Answer 26

-Through the cognitive triad, the patient suffers from negative automatic thoughts about the self, the future and the world. -These are caused by negative self-schemas -People have negative cognitive biases which assimilate into their schemas

Question 27

Cognitive Approach to depression AO3

Answer 27

✘ McGuffin found the concordance rate of depression in MZ twins was 46% and 20% in DZ twins. Suggests genetic factors contribute to depression

Question 28

CBT

Answer 28

aims to identify, challenge and change the negative beliefs that cause depression

Question 29

CBT steps

Answer 29

1. Identify negative beliefs 2. Therapist challenges negative beliefs 3. Patient is set homework to record real-life examples of positive experiences 4. Therapist and patient evaluate evidence together to challenge negative beliefs

Question 30

REBT

Answer 30

Expands on his ABC model → becomes ABCDE: D = Dispute irrational beliefs E = Effect (new emotional response) Aims to dispute irrational beliefs (e.g., musturbatory thinking – “I must be liked by everyone”) through logical, empirical, or pragmatic arguments. Behavioural activation: Encouraging the patient to engage in enjoyable or meaningful activities to boost mood.

Question 31

CBT AO3

Answer 31

✅Very effective: CBT is shown to be as effective as medication for many, especially with moderate depression. March et al. (2007): Found CBT just as effective as antidepressants, with 81% improvement in symptoms for both; 86% when used together. ✅No side effects compared to drug therapy. ✅ Addresses the root cause (thoughts), not just symptoms → more sustainable recovery ✘ Overemphasis on cognition: May underplay the role of environmental factors (e.g., poverty or abuse), which can’t just be “thought away”. ✘Requires motivation: Severely depressed individuals may not have the energy or focus to engage in CBT → may be better combined with medication.

Question 32

What is OCD

Answer 32

anxiety disorder comprised of obsessions and compulsions

Question 33

Bio explanation of OCD; Brain Structure

Answer 33

- Orbitofrontal Cortex detects potential threats - Then sends signals to the Caudate Nucleus which ignores anything unimportant - The Caudate Nucleus will then activate the body's stress responses - In OCD the Caudate nucleus does not work correctly or the OFC is too overactive causing a worry circuit

Question 34

Bio explanation of OCD; Genetics, Dopamine

Answer 34

dopamine → excitatory n-trans → increases brain activity → OCD COMT-L → leads to lower levels COMT gene → more dopamine →OCD

Question 35

Bio explanation of OCD; Genetics, Serotonin

Answer 35

serotonin → inhibitory n-trans → calms brain SERT-H → increases SERT → reduces serotonin → OCD

Question 36

Bio explanation of OCD AO3

Answer 36

✘ Biological reductionism - assumes OCD is purely biological -ignores other evidenced theories such as behaviourism; OCD due to faulty processing -there are successful behavioural treatments suggesting OCD cant be biological ✔ RWA - Drug Therapy - drugs can be used to adjust levels of neurotransmitters - Soomro found SSRI's are more effective than placebos ✔ Nestadt et al. found people with a first-degree relative with OCD were 5x more likely to have OCD themselves. Therefore suggests strong genetic basis; as amount of shared genes increases so does chances of OCD ✔Menzies - supports role of OFC - fMRI scans shows OCD patients had reduced grey matter (functioning area of brain) Therefore supports link between OFC issues and OCD ❌ Not 100% genetic: Concordance rates in MZ twins aren’t 100% — shows environmental factors also play a role. Diathesis-stress model may be more appropriate: people may have a genetic predisposition but need a trigger.

Question 37

Biological Treatment for SSRI's

Answer 37

Purpose: Increase the levels of serotonin in the brain (which is often low in people with OCD). Normally, after serotonin is released into the synapse, it is reabsorbed by the presynaptic neuron. SSRIs block this reuptake, leaving more serotonin in the synapse for longer. This helps improve mood and reduce anxiety, so patients can manage obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviours more easily.

Question 38

Biological Treatment of OCD; SSRIs

Answer 38

Function: Increase levels of serotonin, which is often low in OCD sufferers. How: Block the reabsorption (reuptake) of serotonin in the presynaptic neuron, keeping more serotonin active in the synapse. Result: Reduces anxiety and intrusive thoughts, helping patients manage compulsions.

Question 39

Tricyclics

Answer 39

used when SSRIs don’t work. Work similarly to SSRIs but also affect other neurotransmitters like noradrenaline. More effective for some, but with more severe side effects (e.g. weight gain, heart problems, dry mouth).

Question 40

Benzodiazepines

Answer 40

These are anti-anxiety drugs sometimes used for short-term OCD treatment. How they work: Enhance the effect of GABA (an inhibitory neurotransmitter), which has a calming effect on the brain. Effect: Reduces overall arousal and anxiety levels, making obsessive thoughts more manageable. Risks: Can be addictive and lead to tolerance, so they're not recommended long term.

Question 41

Biological Treatments of OCD AO3

Answer 41

✔️ Soomro et al.: Meta-analysis of 17 studies showed SSRIs more effective than placebos. ✔️ Cost-effective: Cheaper than therapy, accessible via GPs. ✔️ Less effort for patients: Suitable for those who may struggle to engage in CBT alone ⚠️ Side effects SSRIs: nausea, insomnia. Tricyclics: more severe (heart arrhythmia, weight gain). BZs: risk of addiction. 🧠 Treats symptoms, not cause Doesn't address irrational beliefs or cognitive distortions..