psychpathology - psychology p1 Flashcards
(76 cards)
What is meant by failure to function adequately (FFA)?
Failure to function adequately is when an individual is defined as abnormal because they cannot cope in their daily lives, including their ability to interact with the world and meet their challenges.
What are the features of failure to function, according to Rosenhan and Seligman?
- Maladaptive behaviour: Behaving in ways that go against long-term interests.
- Personal anguish: Suffering from anxiety and distress.
- Observer discomfort: Behaviour that causes distress to others.
- Irrationality: Hard to understand motivation behind behaviour; appears unpredictable.
- Unconventionality: Behaviour that doesn’t match societal expectations.
What is a criticism of FFA related to clinician subjectivity?
The decision about whether someone is coping is subjective and based on the clinician’s opinion, which can vary between observers.
What is a limitation of FFA regarding people who cannot cope?
FFA only includes those who show signs of not coping. Psychopaths, for example, may function well in society and not show distress but still cause harm to others.
Why is it a limitation to link all maladaptive behaviour with mental illness?
Not all maladaptive behaviours indicate mental illness. For example, extreme sports or unhealthy eating may be seen as maladaptive but not necessarily abnormal.
What is a positive of the FFA definition of abnormality?
It respects the individual and their experience. It considers personal distress, unlike statistical or social norm definitions.
What did Soomro’s meta-analysis reveal about SSRIs and OCD?
Soomro’s meta-analysis showed that SSRIs significantly reduced the symptoms of OCD compared to placebos between 6 and 17 weeks post-treatment.
What is a potential bias in drug therapy research?
Most research studies on drug therapies are conducted by the pharmaceutical companies that created them, leading to a financial interest in showing the drugs are effective.
What are the economic advantages of drug therapy compared to CBT?
Drug therapy is relatively inexpensive and more convenient than CBT, which requires multiple sessions with a trained therapist.
What are common side effects of drug therapy for OCD?
Common side effects include nausea, headache, and insomnia.
What is a potential drawback of drug therapy for OCD?
Drug therapy may only cover up the symptoms of OCD and not treat the underlying cause.
What did Cromer’s study find regarding traumatic life events and OCD?
Cromer found that 54% of participants with OCD reported at least one traumatic life event, which was associated with increased severity of OCD symptoms.
What implication does Cromer’s study have for treating OCD?
It suggests that psychological therapies addressing traumatic life events may be more effective long-term treatments for OCD.
What is the behavioural explanation for phobias?
The behavioural approach suggests that phobias are learned through experience — acquired via classical conditioning and maintained via operant conditioning.
What is the two-process model by Mowrer (1960)?
The two-process model states that phobias are acquired through classical conditioning and maintained through operant conditioning.
How are phobias acquired through classical conditioning?
A neutral stimulus (NS) is paired with an unconditioned stimulus (UCS) that causes fear. The NS becomes a conditioned stimulus (CS) that produces a conditioned response (CR) of fear.
For example, a bee (NS) paired with a sting (UCS) results in fear (UCR), turning the bee into a CS with the CR of fear.
What is stimulus generalisation in phobias?
The conditioned fear can generalise to similar objects or situations — e.g., fear of bees generalising to all flying insects.
How are phobias maintained through operant conditioning?
Avoidance behaviour is negatively reinforced because it reduces anxiety. This makes the phobic behaviour more likely to be repeated.
What was the Little Albert study?
Watson and Rayner (1920) conditioned a child, Albert, to fear rats by pairing the rat with a loud noise. He then showed fear to similar stimuli like dogs and blankets — demonstrating classical conditioning and generalisation.
What evidence challenges the behavioural explanation of phobias?
DiNardo et al. found that traumatic dog experiences were common in both phobic and non-phobic people. Menzies & Clarke found 56% of parents of water-phobic kids could recall a traumatic event, but only 2% of the children could — suggesting other factors are involved.
How does evolutionary theory critique the behavioural approach?
Evolutionary theory argues humans are biologically prepared to fear ancient threats (e.g. snakes, spiders) more than modern dangers (e.g. cars), suggesting some phobias may be inherited.
What are the practical applications of the behavioural explanation of phobias?
It has led to effective therapies like systematic desensitisation and flooding, supporting the validity of the theory.
What is systematic desensitisation?
SD is a behavioural therapy that gradually reduces phobic anxiety through counterconditioning, using relaxation techniques and an anxiety hierarchy.
What are the 3 stages of systematic desensitisation?
- Relaxation training (e.g., breathing).
- Creating an anxiety hierarchy.
- Gradual exposure while staying relaxed. The new relaxed response replaces the fear (extinction).
