psychopathology Flashcards
(21 cards)
definitions of abnormality AO1
Statistical infrequency- individual possesses a characteristic or behaviour that is statistically ‘rare’ compared to the rest of the population
↳ 5% of the population, which fall more than two standard deviations from the mean, are ‘abnormal’ e.g. average IQ=100
Deviations from social norm- when a person displays actions or behaviours that deviate drastically from the established norms or rules commonly accepted within a community
↳ dependent on the culture in which the behaviour occurs- social norms vary across societies
Failure to function adequately-when an individual struggles to manage or fulfil the typical responsibilities, tasks, and expectations required for daily life e.g. maintaining personal hygiene
↳ Rosenhan and Seligman (1989)- seven features- the more criteria the more abnormal e.g. personal distress, maladaptive behaviour, irrationality
Deviation from Ideal Mental Health- when an individual fails to meet specific criteria or standards for good mental well-being
↳ Jahoda’s (1958)- six criteria of ideal mental health (‘normality’) e.g. resistance to stress, self-actualisation, positive self-attitude
definitions of abnormality strength
Strength
-The FFA definition has practical application
-It mainly focuses on observable behaviour and how these behaviours can impact on a person’s daily life. For example, if a person cannot maintain personal hygiene or loses their job due to their behaviour
-It therefore provides useful tools for clinicians to assess whether an individual needs help
-Interventions can then be put in place to help improve the quality of life for the individual
definitions of abnormality limitation
Limitation
-Infrequent characteristics can be positive
-For example, having an IQ over 130 is statistically infrequent and therefore considered ‘abnormal’
-However, high IQ is generally viewed as desirable, showing that not all statistically rare traits are negative
-This suggests that statistical infrequency alone is not sufficient as a sole basis for defining abnormality
Limitation
-The deviation from ideal mental health definition of abnormality is culturally biased
-Some of Jahoda’s criteria are specific to individualistic Western cultures. For example, the concept of self-actualisation would seem self-indulgent in collectivist cultures such as China, and not something that would suggest ‘normality’
-Would be inappropriate to apply criteria a collectivist culture
-cannot be generalised to all culture
Limitation
-Deviation from social norms is context specific
-A behaviour that may be seen as ‘abnormal’ in one context may be seen as normal in another e.g. wearing few clothes on a beach is normal, but is ‘abnormal’ at a formal gathering
-As social norms are based on contextual factors, this explanation lacks universally and cannot be consistently applied to all situations
Behavioural Approach to Explaining Phobias AO1
Two-process model- An explanation for phobias which suggests that they are acquired through classical conditioning and maintained through operant conditioning- proposed by Mowrer (1960)
Classical conditioning involves learning to associate a neutral stimulus, which an individual initially has no fear of, with an unconditioned stimulus that already triggers a fear response
↳ Watson and Rayner (1920)- conditioned little albert to fear a rat- When Albert was shown the rat after conditioning, he would cry. This occurred even though there was no loud noise to accompany the rat. Albert had developed a fear response towards the white rat- Phobias can be learned through classical conditioning
Operant conditioning maintains the phobia- person with a phobia is likely to avoid it- reduces fear and acts as a negative reinforcer- increases the likelihood that the individual will continue to avoid spiders in future
Behavioural Approach to Explaining Phobias strengths
Strength
-The two-process model has real-life application to exposure therapies
-Phobias are thought to be maintained by avoidance of the phobic stimuli, so it may explain why clients benefit from being exposed to the phobic stimulus
-Once the avoidance behaviour is prevented, it cannot be reinforced. Therefore, anxiety and fear must decline
-shows the value of the two-process model because it identifies a means of treating phobias
Strength
-Supporting evidence
-Ad De Jongh et al., (2006) also found that 73% of individuals with a fear of dental treatment had experienced a traumatic experience, mostly involving dentistry
-compared to a control group of people with low dental anxiety, where only 21% had experienced a traumatic event
-confirms that the association between a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus can lead to the development of a phobia
Behavioural Approach to Explaining Phobias limitations
Limitation
-Not all phobias appear following a bad experience
-Some common phobias such as snake phobias occur in populations where very few people have any experience of snakes, let alone traumatic experiences
-Also, not all frightening experiences lead to phobias
-This means the association between phobias and frightening experiences is not as strong as psychologists would expect if behavioural theories provided a complete explanation
Limitation
-Reductionistic
-The diathesis-stress model may provide a better explanation for phobias
-It suggests that people inherit a genetic vulnerability to phobias, but a triggering event, like a traumatic experience, is needed for the disorder to develop
-This challenges the two-process model, as it does not account for genetic factors or individual differences in the susceptibility to developing a phobia
behavioural approach to treating phobias AO1
Systematic desensitisation
A behavioural therapy designed to gradually reduce using classical conditioning
Counterconditioning to unlearn maladaptive response and instead respond with relaxation
reciprocal inhibition- two emotional states cannot exist at the same time
Uses:
Anxiety hierarchy
Relaxation
Exposure
Flooding- extreme behavioural therapy
Immediate exposure
Longer sessions but usually only one required
Extinction= a person is unable to avoid, and therefore negatively reinforce, their phobia and through continuous exposure, anxiety levels decrease- individual learns that the phobic stimulus is harmless
behavioural approach to treating phobias strengths
Strength (SD)
-Supporting evidence
-Gilroy et al., (2002) examined 42 clients with the fear of spiders- after 3 moths of SD they were less fearful than the control group who were only taught relaxation techniques
-long-term benefits that remained after 2.5 years- systematic desensitisation is an effective method in treating phobias
Strength (F)
-cost-effective treatment
-Flooding= one session SD= 10+ sessions
-This is advantageous because it allows clients to be treated more quickly
behavioural approach to treating phobias limitations
Limitation (SD)
-not effective for all phobias
-Clients with phobias which have not developed through classical conditioning for example, a fear of heights, are not effectively treated using systematic desensitisation
-Some psychologists believe that certain phobias have an evolutionary survival benefit and are not the result of personal experience and classical conditioning
-ineffective in treating evolutionary phobias
Limitation (F)
-highly traumatic for clients and causes a high level of anxiety
-many do not complete their treatment because the experience is too stressful
-flooding is sometimes not cost-effective if clients do not finish their therapy
-cost health care providers more money, without the benefits of improving a patient’s quality of life
cognitive approach for explaining depression AO1
Beck’s negative triad
Faulty information processing
↳Think in black + white +dwell on the bad
Negative self-schema
Negative triad
↳negative view of self, world and future
Elli’s ABC model
A= activating event
B= irrational beliefs
↳ Musturbation- belief that a person must always succeed or achieve perfection
↳ Utopianism- belief that life is always meant to be fair
C= consequences (emotional +behavioural)
cognitive approach for explaining depression strengths
Strength (ND)
-Supporting evidence
-Grazioli and Terry (2000) assessed 65 pregnant women for cognitive vulnerability and depression before and after birth
-women judged to have been high in cognitive vulnerability were more likely to suffer postnatal depression
-strengthens the idea that depression is not just a response to external circumstances but is deeply linked to how individuals process and interpret the world around them
Strength (ABC)
-ABC model has led to successful therapy
-Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT) involves a therapist altering a client’s irrational beliefs by challenging them in a safe environment, in order to reduce their depression
-Lipzky et al., (1980) who found that participants experienced significant reductions in symptoms of anxiety and depression compared to a control group who were given no treatment
-supports the idea that irrational beliefs have some role in depression
cognitive approach for explaining depression limitations
Limitation (ND)
-Not a full explanation
-Depressed people do show patterns in their cognition, so Beck’s explanation is at least partly correct
-However, does not explain why some people feel intense anger, hallucinations or delusions
-usefulness as an explanation
Limitation (ABC)
-ABC model overemphasises the role of cognition
-Ellis’s approach focuses heavily on the role of thoughts and neglects other factors that may contribute to the cause of depression e.g. neurotransmitter imbalance
-This makes Ellis’s approach reductionist
cognitive approach to treating depression AO1
CBT= cognitive behavioural therapy
Therapist+ patients identity goals and create a plan to challenge irrational thoughts + replace them with effective behaviours
Beck’s CBT
Teaches client how to identify and challenge the negative triad
See client as scientist where they can explore negative beliefs in a calm and safe environment
↳ clients are given homework which may be used in future sessions by the therapist to challenge negative automatic thoughts
Ellis’s Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT)
A = Activating event
B = Belief
C = Consequence
D = Disputing irrational thoughts and beliefs
E = the Effects of disputing and creating a new attitude
F = the new Feelings that are produced
There are different methods for dispute:
empirical argument- disputing whether there is actual evidence to support the negative belief
logical argument- disputing whether the negative thought logically follows from the facts
cognitive approach to treating depression strength
Strength
-Supporting evidence
-David et al., (2008) looked at 170 clients suffering with depression
-These clients were all treated using a 14-week course of REBT
-They found that the clients who had taken part in REBT, had better outcomes than those treated with just drug therapy
-REBT is a better long-term treatment than drug therapy alone
cognitive approach to treating depression limitations
Limitation
-CBT for the treatment of depression has high relapse rates
-Shehzed Ali et al., (2017) studied 439 clients for a year after CBT, finding that 42% relapsed within six months, and 53% within a year
-This suggests that CBT’s effectiveness may be limited, and periodic treatment may be needed to maintain its benefit
Limitation
-CBT overemphasises the importance of cognition
-There is a risk that because of its emphasis on what is happening in the mind of the individual client, CBT may end up minimising the importance of the circumstances in which a client is living e.g. someone living in poverty may need to change situation rather than focusing on thoughts
-CBT may focus so heavily on thoughts it demotivates individuals to change their situation, which will not reduce depression
-Decreases validity
Limitation
-Individual differences influence the effectiveness of CBT\
-Elkin et al., (1989) found CBT is less suitable where peoples’ irrational beliefs are rigid and resistant to change
-This means antidepressants are needed before a client can begin therapy
-Therefore, CBT cannot be used as the sole treatment for all cases of depression
biological approach to explaining OCD AO1
Genetics
Genetic explanations for OCD suggest people inherit a genetic predisposition to OCD
↳diathesis stress model- these individuals need some more environmental stress that triggers the OCD
Lewis (1936) observed 37% had parents with OCD and 21% had siblings with OCD
Some candidate genes are involved in regulating development of serotonin system e.g. 5-HT1-D beta gene found to affect the transport of seratonin acreoss synapses- can cause lower levels of serotonin
Neural
Lower serotonin= affects mood
Some cases of OCD are explained by a reduction in the functioning of the serotonin system in the brain
Dopamine levels are thought to be abnormally high in people with OCD Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is involved in the brain’s pleasure system, controlling movement, and regulating mood. A mutation on the COMT gene may contribute to this
biological approach to explaining OCD strength
Strength (N)
-Evidence for the role of serotonin in OCD comes from research examining anti-depressants
-Zohar et al., (1987) examined the effectiveness of SSRIs, a class of antidepressants that increase serotonin levels, in treating OCD patients
-They found that OCD symptoms significantly reduced in individuals treated with SSRIs compared to a placebo group
-suggests that low serotonin is involved in OCD
biological approach to explaining OCD limitations
Limitation (G)
-Opposing evidence
-Not entirely genetic
-Cromer et al., (2007) found that over half the OCD patients in their sample had a traumatic event in their past, and that OCD was more severe in those who had more than one trauma
-Not entirely genetic and may benefit using a stress diathesis model instead
Limitation (G)
-If OCD is caused by genetics, then family members with the condition should show the same symptoms
-However, this is not always the case
-This suggests that OCD may not be purely genetic. It could mean that environmental factors, rather than just biological influences, play a role in the development of OCD
Limitation (N)
-The serotonin-OCD link may simply be co-morbidity (having two disorders at the same time) with depression
-Many people who suffer from OCD also suffer from depression. This depression involves, though is not necessarily caused by, disruption to the serotonin system
-It could be that in those individuals with OCD, the serotonin system is disrupted because they are depressed as well
biological approach to treating OCD AO1
Drug theory- SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors)
Serotonin released, travels synapse, receptor on post synaptic, some not absorbed, reabsorbed by presynaptic
↳SSRIs prevents reabsorption by blocking reuptake receptors
Fluoxetine is 20mg- daily dose for 3-4 months
Can reduce emotional symptoms for CBT
Dose can be increased to 60mg or can be combined with others
Alternatives: Clomipramine→ same effect but increased side effects
Serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs)
biological approach to treating OCD strengths
Strength
-Evidence for SSRIs reducing severity of OCD symptoms
-Soomro et al., (2009) reviewed 17 studies of clients who used SSRIs compared to a placebo
-They found drugs were more effective than placebos
-This suggests that drugs can help most patients with OCD by improving their quality of life
Strength
-One strength of drug therapy is that it requires little input or effort from the user
-Drugs do not require the person to attend regular meetings or take an active role in their treatment
-Cost affective and not time consuming
-Furthermore, drug therapies do not require a therapist and are therefore cheaper
-This means that drug therapies are more economical for the health service too
biological approach to treating OCD limitation
Limitation
-One limitation of drug therapy is that all drugs have unpleasant side effect
-SSRIs cause nausea, headaches and insomnia, whilst tricyclics cause hallucinations and an irregular heartbeat
-This can lead to the patient choosing to stop taking the drugs
-This means that side effects, and the possibility of addiction, limit the appropriateness of drugs as treatments for OCD
Limitation
-not a lasting cure for people suffering with OCD
-Even though drugs are effective in the short-term, Maina et al., (2001) found that patients relapsed within a week if treatment stopped
-This suggests that drug therapy may not be effective
-It might be that psychotherapy is needed for longer lasting effects of OCD reduction
-However, drug therapy may be needed to allow access to psychological therapies
