Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM


Top Flashcards (Certified)
All Flashcards

psychology > psychopathology > Flashcards

psychopathology Flashcards

(75 cards)

Start Studying
1
Q

how does drug therapy treat OCD?

A

increase or decreases levels of neurotransmitters in the brain

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

what is OCD thought to be caused by?

A

low levels of serotonin in the brain

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

what drugs are used to treat OCD?

A

SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

how do SSRIs work?

A

prevent reabsorption and break down of serotonin by the pre-synaptic neuron. This means that the levels of serotonin in the synapse increase and can continue to stimulate the post-synaptic neuron

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

what is an example of an SSRI?

A

Fluoxetine

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What is a typical daily dose of Fluoxetine?

A

20mg

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

how long does it take for SSRIs to have an impact on symptoms?

A

three or four months of daily use

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

what is an alternative to SSRIs?

A

tricyclics such as Clomipramine

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

why are tricyclics used as a reserve?

A

they have more severe side effects

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

What is another alternative to SSRIs?

A

Serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors which increase levels of serotonin as well as noradrenaline

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

what can be used alongside drugs to treat OCD?

A

CBT

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

how does drug treatment enable patients to engage in CBT?

A

reduce a patients emotional symptoms such as feeling anxious or depressed

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

what are the 2 biological explanations for OCD?

A

•genetic
•neural

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

how do parents give offspring OCD?

A

hereditary influences by genetic transmission

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

what did Lewis (1936) find?

A

observed that of his OCD patients 37% had parents with OCD and 21% had siblings with OCD

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

do genes cause OCD?

A

no it is genetic vulnerability that runs in families

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

what does the diathesis stress model suggest?

A

an environmental stress is needed to trigger OCD as well as genetic vulnerability

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

what is a candidate gene?

A

creates vulnerability for OCD

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

what is an example of a candidate gene?

A

5HT1-D beta

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

what does 5HT1-D beta do?

A

it is involved in the efficiency of transport of serotonin across synapses

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

what does OCD is polygenic mean?

A

it is not caused by one single gene but several genes are involved

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

what did Taylor (2013) find?

A

found evidence that up to 230 genes may be involved in OCD. These genes are thought to be associated with the action of dopamine as well as serotonin.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

what does OCD is aetiologically heterogeneous mean?

A

the origin of OCD has different causes. one group of genes may cause OCD in one person, but a different group of genes may cause the disorder in another person

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

what does neural mean?

A

relating to a nerve or to the nervous system

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
what are the 3 components of the neural explanation?
1) abnormalities in neurotransmitters 2) abnormalities in brain structure 3)abnormalities in brain function
26
what does low serotonin mean for OCD?
that normal transmission of mood-related information between neurons does not take place. This affects mood and other processes
27
what are dopamine levels in people with OCD like?
high levels •high doses of drugs that enhance levels of dopamine in animals induce stereotyped movements. This resembles the compulsive behaviours of OCD patients
28
what is abnormal in structure of the brain in OCD patients?
the left parahippocampal gyrus
29
what does the left parahippocampal gyrus do?
associated with processing unpleasant emotions
30
what functions abnormally in OCD patients?
the lateral frontal lobes of the brain- associated with impaired decision making
31
what is the definition of deviation from ideal mental health?
abnormality is the absence of criteria for good mental health
32
who invented the criteria for ideal mental health?
Jahoda (1958)
33
how many criteria are there for ideal mental health?
6
34
what are the 6 criteria for ideal mental health?
1)positive attitude towards the self 2)self-actualisation 3)autonomy 4)resistance to stress 5)environmental mastery 6)accurate perception of reality
35
how is someone considered abnormal under Jahoda’s criteria?
the more criteria someone fails to meet the more abnormal they are considered
36
what are limitations of deviation from ideal mental health?
•cultural specific •over demanding criteria •subjective criteria
37
what are strengths to deviations from ideal mental health?
•positive approach •comprehensive •consistent •holistic
38
what are behavioural characteristics of depression?
•low activity levels-making them lethargic •high activity levels-pacing up and down due to psychomotor agitation as they struggle to relax •disruption to sleep- reduced sleep (insomnia) or an increased need for sleep (hypersomnia) •disruption to eating behaviour- increased or decreased appetite leading to weight loss or weight gain •aggression or self harm- often irritable and can become verbally or physically aggressive. Aggression can be directed at the self in the form of cutting or suicide attempts.
39
what are emotional characteristics of depression?
•lowered mood-involves people feeling “worthless” or “empty” •anger- can be directed at the self or at others •lowered self-esteem- can be quite extreme with individuals becoming self loathing
40
what are cognitive characteristics of depression?
•poor concentration- unable to stick with task they usually would or find it hard to make decisions •attending to or dwelling on negative aspects - they see the glass as half empty and have a bias to recall unhappy events rather than happy ones •absolutist thinking- tend to see situations in black and white. When a situation is unfortunate they see it is an absolute disaster
41
what is the underlying assumption of the cognitive explanation for depression?
depression is the result of a disturbance in “thinking”
42
how does Aaron Beck (1967) explain depression?
as a vulnerability caused by the person’s cognition and their negative schemas
43
what are the 3 parts to cognitive vulnerability?
1) faulty information processing 2) negative schemas 3) the negative triad
44
what is faulty information processing?
ignoring positives in their life and focusing only on the negatives. Blowing small problems out of proportion and thinking in ‘black and white’ terms.
45
what is a negative schema?
a shortcut that acts as a mental framework for the individual. A self-schema is the information the individual has about themselves. A depressed person will have a negative self-schema and interprets all the information around or about themselves negatively.
46
what is an ineptness schema?
they believe they will always fail
47
what is a negative self-evaluation schema?
they constantly remind themselves of their worthlessness
48
what does the negative triad consist of?
1) negative views about the world 2) negative views about the future 3) negative views about oneself
49
how does a person with depression develop a dysfunctional view of themselves?
by having cognitive biases and negative schemas
50
what does negative views about the world create?
the impression that there is no hope anywhere
51
what do negative views about the future create?
reduce hopefulness and enhance depression
52
what do negative views about the self create?
enhance any existing depressive feelings and confirm the existing emotions of low self-esteem
53
how did Albert Ellis (1962) view differ from Beck’s about depression?
suggested depression is caused by irrational thoughts and that rational thoughts cause good mental health
54
how did Ellis define irrational thoughts?
thoughts as not logical or realistic
55
What does the ABC model consist of?
A - activating event B - beliefs C - consequences
56
what is an activating event?
a negative event that triggers irrational thoughts
57
what are beliefs in the ABC model?
the thoughts which the person associates with the negative event, these can either be rational or irrational
58
what are consequences in the ABC model?
rational beliefs lead to healthy consequences whereas irrational beliefs lead to unhealthy consequences
59
what do unhealthy consequences in Ellis’ ABC model always lead to?
depression
60
what is reactive depression?
occurs when there is an activating event
61
what kind of disorder is OCD?
an anxiety disorder
62
what is OCD characterised by?
experiencing persistent and intrusive thoughts which occur as obsessions, compulsions, or sometimes both
63
what are obsessions?
cognitive internal intrusive thoughts
64
what are compulsions?
behavioural external repetitive behaviours
65
what is the behavioural component of OCD?
compulsive behaviour
66
what are the two elements to compulsive behaviours?
1)compulsions are repetitive- sufferers feel compelled to repeat a behaviour 2) compulsions reduce anxiety- about 10% of sufferers show compulsive behaviour alone, however for most OCD sufferers are done to manage the anxiety caused by the obsessions
67
how do OCD sufferers attempt to reduce anxiety?
avoidance
68
what are emotional characteristics of OCD?
•anxiety and distress •depression/low mood •irrational guilt •disgust •self-loathing
69
what are cognitive characteristics of OCD?
•obsessive thoughts- 90% of OCD sufferers have this as their major cognitive feature where thoughts reoccur •cognitive strategies- these are adopted to deal with the obsessions and manage the anxiety associated with them •insight into excessive anxiety- OCD sufferers are aware that their obsessions and compulsions are not rational
70
71
what are all phobias characterised in the DSM-5 by?
excessive fear and anxiety triggered by an object, place or situation
72
what are three categories of phobia?
•specific phobia •social anxiety/ phobia •agoraphobia
73
what are behavioural characteristics of phobias?
•panic- a phobic person may panic in response to the presence of a phobic stimulus •avoidance- unless the sufferer is making a conscious effort to face their fear they tend to go to a lot of effort to avoid coming into contact with the phobic stimulus •endurance- the opposite to avoidance is endurance, in which a sufferer remains in the presence of the phobic stimulus but continues to experience high levels of anxiety
74
what are emotional characteristics of OCD?
•anxiety- an unpleasant state of high arousal. Fear is the immediate and extremely unpleasant response we experience when we encounter or think about the phobic stimulus. •emotional responses are unreasonable- the emotional responses we experience go far beyond what is reasonable in relations to phobic stimuli
75
what are cognitive characteristics of phobias?
•selective attention to the phobic stimulus- if a sufferer can see the phobic stimulus, it is hard to look away from it •irrational beliefs- this kind of belief increases the pressure on the sufferer to perform well in social situations •cognitive distortions- the persons perception of the phobic stimulus may be distorted •recognition of exaggerated anxiety- the phobic may have a conscious awareness that anxiety levels experienced are overstated

psychology (7 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions