Psychopathology

Question 1

🧠 What are social norms?

Answer 1

Unwritten rules for how members of a social group should behave.

Question 2

🚨 What does ‘deviation from social norms’ mean?

Answer 2

When someone presents behaviour that doesn’t follow social norms.

Question 3

✅ One strength of using deviation from social norms to define abnormality?

Answer 3

Helps classify and treat people as abnormal, preventing harm to others.

Question 4

❌ One weakness of using deviation from social norms?

Answer 4

Social norms change over time, making diagnosis unreliable and inconsistent.

Question 5

🌟 What is deviation from ideal mental health?

Answer 5

When someone’s behaviour does not fit with what is defined as having ideal mental health.

Question 6

📋 What are Marie Jahoda’s 6 criteria for ideal mental health?

Answer 6

Positive self-attitude, independence, self-actualisation, resistance to stress, accurate perception of reality, environmental mastery.

Question 7

✅ Strength of deviation from ideal mental health?

Answer 7

Gives patients clear goals to achieve better mental health.

Question 8

❌ Weakness of deviation from ideal mental health?

Answer 8

Overly demanding and difficult to measure objectively.

Question 9

⚙️ What is meant by ‘failure to function adequately’?

Answer 9

Struggling to cope with everyday life.

Question 10

🔍 What is maladaptive behaviour?

Answer 10

Behaviour that is harmful, like smoking or drinking excessively.

Question 11

✅ Strength of failure to function adequately?

Answer 11

Easy to observe and identify people needing help.

Question 12

❌ Weakness of failure to function adequately?

Answer 12

Some with mental disorders cope fine; not all harmful behaviour means a disorder.

Question 13

📉 What is statistical infrequency?

Answer 13

Behaviour is considered abnormal if it is rare or statistically uncommon.

Question 14

📊 What is the general rule for statistical abnormality?

Answer 14

Behaviour shown by less than 5% of the population is considered abnormal.

Question 15

✅ Strength of statistical infrequency?

Answer 15

Easy to use and reduces subjective judgement.

Question 16

❌ Weakness of statistical infrequency?

Answer 16

Doesn’t account for whether the trait is desirable, e.g. high IQ.

Question 17

📚 What is the behaviourist explanation for phobias?

Answer 17

Phobias are learnt through classical conditioning and maintained through operant conditioning.

Question 18

🔔 What is classical conditioning in the context of phobias?

Answer 18

When a neutral stimulus is paired with a fear response to become a phobic stimulus.

Question 19

👶 What was Watson and Rayner’s study (1920)?

Answer 19

They classically conditioned a fear of white rats in a baby called Little Albert.

Question 20

🧪 What did the procedure for Little Albert involve?

Answer 20

Every time Albert saw a white rat, a loud noise was made. This caused him to associate the rat with fear.

Question 21

😨 What was the result of the Little Albert experiment?

Answer 21

Albert developed a phobia of white rats and similar objects (generalisation).

Question 22

💡 What is operant conditioning in relation to phobias?

Answer 22

Avoiding a phobic stimulus reduces anxiety (negative reinforcement), which maintains the phobia.

Question 23

✅ Strength of the behaviourist explanation of phobias?

Answer 23

It has real-world application in therapies such as systematic desensitisation.

Question 24

❌ Weakness: Not all phobias follow trauma?

Answer 24

Some phobias appear without a clear conditioning event, which the theory can’t explain.

Question 25

❌ Weakness: Ignores cognitive factors?

Answer 25

The approach doesn’t explain irrational thinking, which is central to many phobias.

Question 26

🛋️ What is systematic desensitisation?

Answer 26

A behavioural therapy where patients gradually learn to replace fear with relaxation.

Question 27

🧘 What is relaxation training in SD?

Answer 27

Teaching the patient how to relax using breathing techniques or meditation.

Question 28

📈 What is the anxiety hierarchy in SD?

Answer 28

A ranked list of fearful situations from least to most anxiety-inducing.

Question 29

🔁 What is gradual exposure in SD?

Answer 29

The patient is exposed to each level of the hierarchy while practising relaxation.

Question 30

✅ Strength of SD?

Answer 30

Effective and suitable for a wide range of patients, including those with learning disabilities.

Question 31

🌊 What is flooding?

Answer 31

A behavioural therapy where the patient is immediately exposed to their phobic stimulus without gradual buildup.

Question 32

🚫 Why does flooding work?

Answer 32

It prevents avoidance behaviour and forces the patient to realise the phobia is harmless.

Question 33

⚠️ What is a weakness of flooding?

Answer 33

It can be traumatic and may cause patients to quit the treatment early.

Question 34

❌ When might flooding not be effective?

Answer 34

It’s not suitable for complex phobias with cognitive components such as social phobia.

Question 35

🧠 What does Beck suggest about depression?

Answer 35

Depression is caused by faulty information processing and negative schemas.

Question 36

🔍 What is faulty information processing?

Answer 36

People with depression attend to negative aspects of a situation and ignore positives.

Question 37

📚 What are negative schemas?

Answer 37

Deep beliefs about the world formed from negative childhood experiences.

Question 38

🔄 What is Beck’s negative triad?

Answer 38

Negative views of the self, the world, and the future.

Question 39

🅰️ What does Ellis believe causes depression?

Answer 39

Irrational thoughts lead to unhealthy emotions and behaviours.

Question 40

📌 What does ABC stand for in Ellis’s model?

Answer 40

A = Activating event, B = Beliefs, C = Consequences.

Question 41

🧨 What are irrational beliefs in Ellis’s theory?

Answer 41

Beliefs that are unrealistic and interfere with happiness (e.g. 'I must always succeed').

Question 42

✅ Strength: Practical application?

Answer 42

Beck and Ellis’s theories have led to effective CBT therapies.

Question 43

❌ Limitation: Doesn’t explain all aspects?

Answer 43

The theories don’t explain symptoms like hallucinations or extreme anger.

Question 44

❌ Limitation: Cognitive primacy questioned?

Answer 44

Some argue emotions come before thoughts, not after.

Question 45

🛋️ What is CBT?

Answer 45

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy challenges and replaces negative, irrational thoughts with realistic ones.

Question 46

🔄 What does CBT based on Beck involve?

Answer 46

Identifying and challenging the negative triad and replacing them with realistic thoughts.

Question 47

📝 What are 'thought records' in CBT?

Answer 47

Homework where patients write down thoughts and evaluate evidence for and against them.

Question 48

⚡ What does REBT stand for?

Answer 48

Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy.

Question 49

🚫 How does REBT extend the ABC model?

Answer 49

It adds D = Dispute and E = Effect to challenge irrational beliefs and improve mood.

Question 50

✅ Strength of CBT?

Answer 50

Effective treatment with lower relapse rates compared to antidepressants.

Question 51

❌ Limitation: Not suitable for all?

Answer 51

CBT requires motivation and may not work for people with severe depression.

Question 52

❌ Limitation: Overlooks environment?

Answer 52

Doesn’t address root environmental causes such as poverty or abuse.

Question 53

💭 What are obsessions in OCD?

Answer 53

Obsessions are internal intrusive and recurring thoughts.

Question 54

😟 What emotional symptoms are present in OCD?

Answer 54

Feelings of guilt and anxiety.

Question 55

🔁 What are compulsions in OCD?

Answer 55

Compulsions are external repetitive actions performed to reduce guilt and anxiety.

Question 56

📌 How are OCD symptoms categorised?

Answer 56

Emotional = guilt and anxiety, Cognitive = obsessions, Behavioural = compulsions.

Question 57

🧬 What does the genetic explanation of OCD propose?

Answer 57

That OCD is inherited through genes that increase vulnerability.

Question 58

🔁 What are candidate genes in OCD?

Answer 58

Genes that regulate serotonin, such as SERT and COMT.

Question 59

👥 What does polygenic mean in the context of OCD?

Answer 59

OCD is caused by many genes working together.

Question 60

📈 What is meant by OCD being aetiologically heterogeneous?

Answer 60

Different genes may cause OCD in different people.

Question 61

✅ Strength of genetic explanation for OCD?

Answer 61

Twin studies show higher concordance in MZ than DZ twins.

Question 62

❌ Weakness of genetic explanation for OCD?

Answer 62

Cannot fully separate genetic and environmental factors.

Question 63

🧠 What does the neural explanation for OCD involve?

Answer 63

Abnormal functioning of neurotransmitters and brain structures.

Question 64

📉 How is serotonin involved in OCD?

Answer 64

Low levels of serotonin are linked with OCD symptoms.

Question 65

⚙️ What part of the brain is involved in OCD?

Answer 65

The decision-making system: orbitofrontal cortex and caudate nucleus.

Question 66

✅ Strength of neural explanation for OCD?

Answer 66

Antidepressants that increase serotonin levels often reduce OCD symptoms.

Question 67

❌ Weakness of neural explanation for OCD?

Answer 67

Correlational evidence doesn't show causation.

Question 68

💊 What are SSRIs and how do they treat OCD?

Answer 68

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors increase serotonin levels by preventing reabsorption.

Question 69

⏱️ How long do SSRIs typically take to have an effect?

Answer 69

3 to 4 months of daily use.

Question 70

➕ What other drugs can be used if SSRIs don’t work?

Answer 70

Tricyclics like Clomipramine or SNRIs.

Question 71

🔄 Can SSRIs be combined with other treatments?

Answer 71

Yes, they are often combined with CBT.

Question 72

✅ Strength of drug treatment for OCD?

Answer 72

Cost-effective and non-disruptive to patients’ lives.

Question 73

❌ Limitation of drug treatment for OCD?

Answer 73

Can have side effects like blurred vision or aggression.

Question 74

❌ Another limitation of drug treatment?

Answer 74

Not a long-term cure; symptoms may return if medication stops.