psychopathology key terminology

Question 1

define ‘abnormality’ (key terminology - psychopathology)

Answer 1

• a state, condition or behaviour that is unusual or different from what is considered to be normal

Question 2

define ‘statistical infrequency’ (key terminology - psychopathology)

Answer 2

• occurs when an individual has a less common characteristic than most of the population

Question 3

define ‘deviation from social norms’ (key terminology - psychopathology)

Answer 3

• concerns behaviour that is different from the accepted standards of behaviour in a society or community

Question 4

define ‘cultural relativism’ (key terminology - psychopathology)

Answer 4

• social norms vary between different cultures

Question 5

define ‘failure to function adequately’ (key terminology - psychopathology)

Answer 5

• occurs when someone is unable to cope with the ordinary demands of day to day living

Question 6

define ‘deviation from ideal mental health’ (key terminology - psychopathology)

Answer 6

• occurs when someone doesn’t meet a set criteria for good mental health (Jahoda 1958)

Question 7

define ‘phobia’ (key terminology - psychopathology)

Answer 7

• an irrational fear of an object or situation

Question 8

define ‘specific phobia’ (key terminology - psychopathology)

Answer 8

• phobia of an object (e.g. animal or body part) or situation (e.g. flying or having an injection

Question 9

define ‘social phobia’ (key terminology - psychopathology)

Answer 9

• phobia of a social situation (e.g. public speaking or using a public toilet)

Question 10

define ‘agoraphobia’ (key terminology - psychopathology)

Answer 10

• phobia of being outside or in a public place

Question 11

define ‘depression’ (key terminology - psychopathology)

Answer 11

• a mental disorder characterised by low mood & low energy levels

Question 12

define ‘major depressive disorder’ (key terminology - psychopathology)

Answer 12

• severe but often short-term depression

Question 13

define ‘persistent depressive disorder’ (key terminology - psychopathology)

Answer 13

• long term or recurring depression (including sustained major depression)

Question 14

define ‘disruptive mood disruption disorder’ (key terminology - psychopathology)

Answer 14

• childhood temper tantrums

Question 15

define ‘premenstrual dysphoric disorder’ (key terminology - psychopathology)

Answer 15

• disruption to blood prior to &/or during menstruation

Question 16

define ‘absolutist thinking’ (key terminology - psychopathology)

Answer 16

• a cognitive distortion where individuals perceive things as either ‘all good’ or ‘all bad’

Question 17

define ‘OCD’ (key terminology - psychopathology)

Answer 17

• a condition characterised by obsessions &/or compulsions

Question 18

define ‘trichotillomania’ (key terminology - psychopathology)

Answer 18

• compulsive hair pulling

Question 19

define ‘hoarding disorder’ (key terminology - psychopathology)

Answer 19

• the compulsive gathering of possessions & the inability to part with anything, regardless of its value

Question 20

define ‘excoriation disorder’ (key terminology - psychopathology)

Answer 20

• compulsive skin picking

Question 21

define ‘compulsions’ (2) (key terminology - psychopathology)

Answer 21

• behavioural
• a very strong feeling of wanting to do something repeatedly that is difficult to control

Question 22

define ‘obsessive thoughts’ (2) (key terminology - psychopathology)

Answer 22

• cognitive
• an unwanted, persistent or intrusive thought that repeatedly enters a person’s mind & causes distress & anxiety

Question 23

define ‘two process model’ (2) (key terminology - psychopathology)

Answer 23

• an explanation for the onset & persistence that create anxiety disorders
• processes include classical conditioning for onset & operant conditioning for persistence

Question 24

define ‘classical conditioning’ (2) (key terminology - psychopathology)

Answer 24

• learning through association
• occurs when two stimuli are repeatedly paired together so that a neutral stimulus that same response as the unconditioned response

Question 25

define ‘operant conditioning’ (2) (key terminology - psychopathology)

Answer 25

- learning through consequence - possible consequences include positive/negative reinforcement & punishment

Question 26

define ‘systematic desensitisation’ (2) (key terminology - psychopathology)

Answer 26

- behavioural therapy designed to reduce an unwanted response - involves creating an anxiety hierarchy & then working through it using relaxation techniques to prevent anxiety

Question 27

define ‘anxiety hierarchy’ (2) (key terminology - psychopathology)

Answer 27

- put together by client & therapist - list of situations related to the phobic stimulus that provoke anxiety in order of least frightening to most frightening

Question 28

define ‘reciprocal inhibition’ (2) (key terminology - psychopathology)

Answer 28

- where one emotion/action prevents another - a person can’t be calm & anxious at the same time

Question 29

define ‘flooding’ (key terminology - psychopathology)

Answer 29

- behavioural therapy in which a person with a phobia is exposed to an extreme form of a phobic stimulus to reduce anxiety triggered by that stimulus

Question 30

define ‘faulty information processing’ (key terminology - psychopathology)

Answer 30

- when a depressed person attends to the negative aspects of a situations & ignores the positives

Question 31

define ‘negative self-schema’ (2) (key terminology - psychopathology)

Answer 31

- self schema = info people have about themselves - if a person has a negative self-schema they interpret all info about themselves negatively

Question 32

define ‘the negative triad’ (2) (key terminology - psychopathology)

Answer 32

- Beck proposed that depressed people have a negative view of self, the world & future - these can lead to a person interpreting experiences in a negative way

Question 33

define ‘the ABC model’ (key terminology - psychopathology)

Answer 33

- Ellis proposed that depression occurs when an activating event (A) triggers an irrational belief (B) & produces a consequence (C), like depression

Question 34

define ‘cognitive behavioural therapy’ (key terminology - psychopathology)

Answer 34

- a method of treating mental health disorders based on cognitive & behavioural techniques

Question 35

define ‘rational emotive behaviour therapy’ (2) (key terminology - psychopathology)

Answer 35

- extends ABC model to ABCDE model - identifies & disputes/challenges irrational thoughts

Question 36

define ‘concordance rates’ (2) (key terminology - psychopathology)

Answer 36

- a measure of similarity between two individuals or sets of individuals on a given trait - usually expressed as a percentage

Question 37

define ‘polygenic’ (key terminology - psychopathology)

Answer 37

- occurs when a disorder isn’t caused by one gene but by a combination of genetic variations that together significantly increase vulnerability

Question 38

define ‘aetiologically heterogeneous’ (key terminology - psychopathology)

Answer 38

- describes a disorder where different groups of genes may cause the disorder in one person but not in another

Question 39

define ‘diathesis stress model’ (key terminology - psychopathology)

Answer 39

- suggests that a mental disorder develops when an individual has a vulnerability/predisposition combined with exposure to stressful life events

Question 40

define ‘dopamine’ (key terminology - psychopathology)

Answer 40

- neurotransmitter that has a excitatory effect & is associated with the sensation of pleasure

Question 41

define ‘serotonin’ (key terminology - psychopathology)

Answer 41

- neurotransmitter that has an effect on mood

Question 42

define ‘SSRI’ (3) (key terminology - psychopathology)

Answer 42

- selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor - antidepressant group of drugs that increase available amounts of serotonin by preventing their reabsorption by transmitting the neuron - e.g. fluoxetine

Question 43

define ‘SNRI’ (3) (key terminology - psychopathology)

Answer 43

- serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor - an antidepressant group of drugs that increase levels of seretonin & noradrenaline - e.g. duloxetine

Question 44

define ‘tricyclics’ (4) (key terminology - psychopathology)

Answer 44

- older type of antidepressant - acts on various systems including the seretonin system - have more severe side offences than SSRIs - e.g. clomipramine