Psychopathology

Question 1

What are the cognitive, emotional and behavioural symptoms of a phobia

Answer 1

cognitive- selective attention to phobic stimulus and irrational beleifs
behavioural- avoidance and panic
emotional-anxiety and unreasonable emotional responses

Question 2

what are the cognitve,emotional and behavioural symptoms of depression

Answer 2

cognitive- negative thinking and schemas, black and white thinking
emotional-low mood and low self confidense
behavioural-change of eating and sleeping habits

Question 3

what are the cognitive,behavioural and emotional symptoms of ocd

Answer 3

cognitive-obsessive thoughts and insight into excess behaviour
emotional-anxiett and distress and guilt and disgust
behavioural- compulsions and avoidance

Question 4

Whats the behaviourist approach to explaining phobias?

Answer 4

The two process model used to explain the development of phobias- initiated via classicial conditioning and maintained via operant conditioning.

According to this approach phobias are learnt as we are born as a blank slate (tabula rasa) and we learnt from our environment.

Question 5

How are phobias initiated according to this approach?

Answer 5

via association of the
NS (which is a cue in the environment which doesnt elicit any responce UCS) and the UCS which is a traumatic event which causes an UCR of fear. After they have been associated the NS becomes a CS which produces a CR of fear even when not in the presence of a traumatic event

This is a passive process as it doesnt require any concious effort

Question 6

How is the phobia maintained ?

Answer 6

Operant conditioning. In the case of the phobia the sufferer might avoid the phobic stimulus at all costs in order to prevent or reduce the anxiety elicited. This avoidance acts as negative reinforcement meaning that as a result the individual continues to avoid phobic stimulus and therefore are never in a position where they can ectinguish it - overcome/face it

Question 7

Who provided supporting evidence for the behaviourist approach as an explanation for acquiring phobias

Answer 7

Watson and Rayner demonstrated the process of classicial conditioning in the formation of phobias in little albert. little albert was conditioned to fear white rats (ns) was associated with a loud banging noise as they were paired together (ucs) which led to an ucr of fear.this resulted in the development of the phobis to white rats

The child was little Albert

Question 8

What are the two candidate genes indentified as responsible for the devlopment of ocd? explain them

Answer 8

Sert gene and COMPT

sert gene is responsible for regulating the transmission of the neurotransmitter seratonin in the brain. individuals with certain versions of this gene have lower or poorer transmission meaning they have reduced seratonin activity in the brains which is linked to ocd
compt gene this gene is responsible for producing the enzymes which reduce the function of dopamin in the brain. The mutated version of this gene found in ocd suffers mean that these individuals produce less fewer enzymes therefore increased dopamine.

Genetic explanation

Question 9

Whats the neural explanation for the development of ocd?

Answer 9

Neurons relay information to eachother. two types of neurotransmitters associated with OCD
seratonin and dopamine.
seratonin is the neurotransmitter responsible for regulating mood. low seratonin levels seen in sufferers with OCD can affect the way mood related information is transmitted in the brain leading to the symptoms of ocd such as heightened levels of anxiety and impulsivity.
dopamine is a neurotransmitter related to aspects of reward and satisfaction. high levels of dopamine are associated with compulsive behaviour

Question 10

What does the genetic explanation for OCD entail

Answer 10

Theirs a high prevalence of OCD in First degree relatives of sufferers of OCD 10% compared to the general population which is 2% - Pauls found this

This suggests that some people are genetically prone to developing OCD. OCD is polygenic

Question 11

What are the six criterIa that Jahoda proposed into ideal mental health

Answer 11

Autonomy, self actualization, Positive self esteem, resistance to stress , accurate perception to reality

Question 12

Whats becks negavtive triad

Answer 12

Argues that depression can be directly attributed to distortions in thinking. distortions may include negative thoughts,irrational beleifs. these thoughts are claimed to take place automatically without control

Question 13

how is the negative self schema developed and what does it do

Answer 13

A negative self schema develops as a result of having negative expectations of ourselves since childhood these can provide a framewoek for viewing the world more negatively.

Question 14

Whats Ellic’s ABC model

Answer 14

the ABC model Explains how people with depression respond to negative events. The responce is always negative
a- activating event- refers to a negative situation that occurs during our life which trigger negative thinking - for example failing an exam
b-beleifs- refers to the way the person explains the cause of the negatie events- im a failure so i failed the exam this is an irrational way of explaining the situation
c- consequences- refers to the behaviours which occur as a result of the beleifs- for example quitting the course

Question 15

Who provided supporting evidence for cognitive explanations for depression?

Answer 15

Koster

Question 16

What did Koster find and support?

Answer 16

Koster supported the idea that people with mental ilnesses exhibit faulty thought patterns

he presented ppts with either a positive,negative or neutral word on the screen the word quickly dissapeared and a square was presented on the screen very briefly. ppts were asked to indentify where on the screen the square had appeared. Koster found that ppts who presented depressive symptoms too longer to indicate the area where the square had appeared in after being presented with a negative word (in comparison to controls). this suggests that indivduals with depression are more focused on and effected by negative cognitive experiences.

Question 17

Whats a strength of the cognitive explanation for depression

practical applications

Answer 17

Becks cognitive explanation for depression forms the basis of cbt (cognitive behavioural therapy). within cbt the cognitive aspects of depression such as pessimisic thinking and negative schemas can be indentified and challenged by testing whether theyre true. evidence has found that this type of therapy to be very effective especillay in the long run.

Question 18

Whats the aim of cbt?

Answer 18

Aims to indentify and challenge irrational and dysfunctional thought processes in order to treat the individuals depressive symptoms.

Question 19

Whats the steps of cbt

Answer 19

1. indentify irrational beleifs/negative thoughts by having open discussions between client and therapist and indentifying their activating events
2. challenge- therapist works with their client in the session to challenge the negative beleifs. the aim is to challenge and replace these beleifs with more realistic ones to achieve cognitive reconstructing - which is a way of changing the way you interpret the world.

Question 20

What’s the behaviourist approach to treating phobias
the assumption

Answer 20

The assumption of the behaviourist approach is that phobias are learned. therefore, therapies involved unlearning these phobias. The aim of treatments is to replace feelings of anxiety with feelings of calm in the presence of the phobic stimulus in this way the phobia can be extinguished.

Question 21

Techniques involved in cognitive restructing

Answer 21

logical disputing, empirical disputing, reality testing,pragmatic disputing

Question 22

Logical disputing

Answer 22

highlights that the self defeating beleifs do not follow logically from the information available. does this thinking make sense to you

Question 23

Empirical disputing

Answer 23

highlights that self defeating beleifs may not be consistent with reality. where is the proof that this beleif is accurate

Question 24

reality testing

Answer 24

pointing out positive incidents where the individual was succesful.

Question 25

After the challenging of beleifs what happens

Answer 25

homework is given to the client. using the techniques taught in the cbt sessions into real life and enable them to practise their new way of thinking. progress is then discussed and evaluated in the new cbt session.

Question 26

give me examples of homework

Answer 26

-set a list of small behavioural goals to achieve(e.g such as getting up at certain times and practsiing positive self statements - i can do this keeping a diary of activating events and how they were handled

Question 27

whats a weakness of cbt for depression

Answer 27

only focuses on cognitions. this is a problem because of

Question 28

what did soomro support

Answer 28

he supported the biological explanation of ocd. he conducted a meta analysis of 17 studies that compared SSRIS and a placebo and found that in all the studies the drug treatment was more effective than the placebo and for 70% of patients taking SSRI's symptoms declined. The other 30% responded to alternative drug therapies like SNRIS or ssris used alongsite cbt therapy. this suggests that the use od drugs to adress biochemical imbalances has been succesful and has improved the wellbeing of suffereres with ocd

Question 29

whats a weakeness of soomros evidence

Answer 29

his findings showed that ssris are most effctive when taken alongside cbt. this indicates that drug treatments alone perhpas are unable to treat the entirity of the condition therefore suggesting that the biological approach alone isnt entirely able to explain ocds symptoms therefore suggesting that an interactionist approach might be most effective- incorporating drug therapies and cbt is the best

Question 30

whats another strength of drug tehrapies

Answer 30

theyre more accesible and cost effective than psychological therapies. this is because the drugs such as SSRIS are readily available and much cheaper for the public health services like the NHS than psychological therapies like CBT. In addition unlike psychological therapies they dont require any effort/commitment from the patient therefore theyre not disruptive to their ddaily lives as they can just take the drug and their symptoms will decline so they can continue with every day life.

Question 31

another weakness fro drug therapies

Answer 31

they have associated side effects. these include indigestion, loss of sex drive, tumours,weight gain. these side effects can be problematic as they can affect the patients compliance to taking the drugs- which can lead to return of the symptoms. can lead to reduction in well being as side effects may be just as bad as the symtoms of ocd. the benefits and cost must be weighted.

Question 32

statistical infrequency as a definition for abnormality

Answer 32

claims that characteristics/traits which are statistically rare make an individual abnormal. the frequency of traits is represented on a normal distribution which is a bell shaped symmetrical curve. traits which are found in the middle of the curve towards the mean are most common whereas those on the edge- 2sd away from the mean are categorised as statistically rare. for example IQ level bellow 70 or above 130 = abnormality

Question 33

what's a strength of statistical infrequency

Answer 33

its an objective way to measure abnormality as it has a clear numerical cut off point as opposed to other explanations which include personal opinions or analysis. this ensures that all mental health professionals use the same standardised measure for abnormality therefore making diagnosis more objective

Question 34

what's a limitation of statistical infrequency as a definition for abnormality

Answer 34

it overlooks the desirability of the traits. it can label desirable characteristics like high intelligence as an abnormality despite not being linked to psychological distress

Question 35

deviation from social norms

Answer 35

all society's have commonly accepted rules/standards of behaviours known as social norms social norms can be written and follow a set of laws that direct behaviour but they can also be unwritten societal expectations. for example standing close to people or not quing in england would be defined as abnormal behaviour. according to this definition violating these norms classifies you as abnormal

Question 36

whats a strength of deviation of social norms

Answer 36

its a flexible explanation and it adapts based on what the societal expectations are. and excludes desirable traits like high intelligence

Question 37

whats a weakness of societal norms

Answer 37

subjectively defined by society and can adapt over time . for example in the mid 90s homsexuality was viewed as abnormal and homosexual acts were criminal offenses. this means that what viwed as abnormal may not be the same after time

Question 38

whats another weakeness of deviation from social norms

Answer 38

culturally relative=leading to ethnocentrism. as social norms are culturally determined- whats abnormal in one culture may be normal or accepted as the standard in another. for example hearing voices as seen as abnormal in western countries however in some tribal countries its seen as a blessing

Question 39

Failure to function adequately

Answer 39

refers to individuals who feel unable to cope with everyday demands such as getting up going to work to provide. most people tend to have subjectively defined their behaviours as abnormal and referred to themselves to psychiatric help. they view their behaviour as maladaptive, irrational or dangerous causing themselves or others distress. this subjective assessment of own inability to cope with everyday demands is what defines you as abnormal. example phobias, depression

Question 40

explain systematic desensitation

Answer 40

it's a gradual way of overcoming the fear of the object by learning to relax either in the presence of the phobic stimulus

Question 41

what did nestadt et al support and provide supporting evidence for

Answer 41

provides supporting evidence for the genetic explanation of ocd. he compared twins for ocd. 68% concordance rate for mz compared to 32% dz.

Question 42

how is the genetic explanation too reductionist

Answer 42

this is because mz didnt produce 100% conc rates even though they share 100 of their dna their must be an environmetal factor