Psycopathology Flashcards

Question

What are behavioural characteristics of a phobia

Answer 1

Avoidance Fainting/freezing

Answer 2

Excessive unreasonable fear anxiety and panic

Answer 3

Recognition of the irrational nature of their fear Can not help phobia by rational argument

Answer 4

All phobias are learnt through the two process model

Answer 5

Step 1 - phobia develops through classical conditioning ( learning through association) Involves an individual associating two stimuli with one another when they occur at the same time. Association forms means individual response to one stimuli transfers to the other Step 2 - phobia is maintained through operant conditioning Learning through consequences If behaviour followed by a reward behaviour is likely to be repeated

Answer 6

Step 1 - individual chokes in water may associate choking with water. Their response to choking might transfer to eater In future will respond to water with fear (phobia) Step 2 - individual avoidant of water, feels rewarded as no fear, likely to continue avoiding water Negative reinforcement

Answer 7

Evidence from studies supports idea learning can be responsible for development of phobias. Little Albert introduced to white rat, everytime he played with it, a loud noise was made. Albert developed a phobia of rats and anythinf fury. Phobia was a conditioned learnt response Strength because we can be more confident the behavioural approach offers an accurate explanation for how and why phobias develop. ________ Practical applications. Successful behavioural therapy’s Systematic desensitisation Flooding Research has shown effective at treating phobias Strong positive impact upon economy allowing people to stay in work whilst undergoing treatment and minimising sick pay mddddd Strength as behavioural approach offers solution to a problem and helps people in real world.

Answer 8

Not all evidence supports claims made. Not all phobias appear after a bad experience. Someone may have developed fear of snakes without ever being near a snake. Munjack found only 50% of people with driving phobia had frightening car experiences. Weakness because instances cannot be explained through conditioning - behavioural approach can not explain all phobias

Answer 9

Gradual exposure to feared stimulus or situation Based on counterconditioning Therapy is based on notion of reciprocal inhibition This is the notion that we cannot experience two incompatible emotional states at the same time E.g we can not be frightened and relaxed at the same time

Answer 10

Learning a new association to a stimulus New response (relaxation) Old response (fear & anxiety)

Answer 11

The notion that we cannot experience two incompatible emotional states at the same time

Answer 12

- relaxation techniques taught and practiced by individual to successfully get into a state of calm relaxation Client focuses on feelings of relaxation after tightened muscles are released - individual creates hierarchy of fear ( list of situations or scenarios involving feared stimulus) ranked from least to most frightening E.g thinking of a spider - 10 Let a spider crawl on your arm - 100 - individual uses relaxation techniques whilst being gradually exposed to each scenario of their hierarchy Due to reciprocal inhibition individual learns new association between feared stimulus and feeling relaxed (counterconditioning)

Answer 13

Evidence suggests it’s effective at alleviating phobic symptoms. Gilory compared 42 spider phobic patients treated with three, 45 minute sessions with a control group treated with relaxation alone. Both 3 months and 33 months after treatment, experimental group showed less fearful responses than relaxation group. Shows SD is relatively quick and long lasting therapy. Strength because it shows SD is an effective treatment for phobias - supports work & the economy ———- More ethical than flooding. E.g SD easier to stop and less traumatic then flooding Client has some control over the process in drawing up the hierarchy and stopping a stage when the feeling of fear becomes overwhelming. Strength because may limit the drop out rate of therapy and can be more desirable to people seeking help

Answer 14

Not always an appropriate method of treatment Someone who has an irrational fear of zombies - it would not be possible to confront actual examples of this feared stimulus. Only option would be to use less effective vitro therapy. It may also be argued some phobias haven’t been learnt and therefore counterconditioning would also not be appropriate This is a weakness because the therapy will not be successful for all individuals with a phobia ————

Answer 15

Based on counterconditioning and reciprocal inhibition Involves full immediate exposure to individuals feared stimulus

Answer 16

One long session (2-3 hours) where exposed to phobia at its worst whilst simultaneously using relaxation techniques. Can take place in vitro or Vivo Virtual reality can be used Eventually anxiety levels come down and new association is learnt between phobic stimulus and relaxation

Answer 17

Research has found it is effective Choy et al found for those who are able to see the therapy through to the end and complete session, flooding is more effective than SD Kaplin found 65% patients with a phobia given a single session of flooding showed no symptoms 4 years later. Strength because therapy is also quicker than SD and could be good option for many suffers of phobias ( especially with little time)

Answer 18

Not always appropriate Therapy deliberately creates high levels anxiety - traumatic experience for patient If patient drops out they have negatively reinforced phobia again and may fear stimulus even more. For many even ifea of flooding is too much. For those who opt for therapy many will withdraw during treatment and won’t benefit from it in same way Weakness because therapy will not be successful for all individuals with a phobia and may leave them feeling more traumatised

Answer 19

A mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest

Answer 20

Vary but - feeling sad - feeling hopeless - loosing interest in activities once enjoyed

Answer 21

- reduced energy and tiredness - may sleep more than usual - appetite may be reduced or increased - irritable

Answer 22

Sadness Feeling worthless Anger

Answer 23

Irrational negative thoughts Poor levels of concentration Poor desicion making

Answer 24

irrational thoughts and beliefs are the cause of abnormality. Irrationally negative thinking is suggested cause of depression Ellie’s ABC model + Beck’s negative triad

Answer 25

Used to explain how irrational thinking affects our emotional state and behaviour A = activating event B = belief system C = consequential emotion E.g if an individual fails an important exam (A - activating event) but believed they must always succeed and this is a major disaster (B - belief system) This will lead to them feeling badly about themselves (C - consequential emotions) An irrational belief system lies in thoughts that are focused as ‘should’ and ‘must’ and are associated with not reaching perfection

Answer 26

Activating event Belief system Consequential emotion

Answer 27

Beck suggested depressed individuals have biased thoughts towards negative interpretations of their lives and feel they have no control. Person develops negative view of live because of 3 types of negative thinking The negative triad This triad refers to pessimistic and irrational view of three elements of a persons belief system - negative view of the world - negative view of the future - negative view of oneself Beck suggested this comes from negative schemas as depressed people adopt these A schema is a package of ideas and information about a particular thing developed through our experiences In childhood negative schemas develop providing a negative framework for viewing events pessimistically. In adulthood these become biased such as overgeneralisation E.g if someone fails one psychology test responding ‘I will never be able to do psychology’

Answer 28

Negative view about the world Negative view about the future Negative view about ownself

Answer 29

Important practical application CBT = successful therapy CBT = attempts to correct irrational negative thoughts and replace with positive rational thoughts Strength as it’s an effective therapy for depression so supports idea that irrationally negative thinking is the cause of this disorder Supporting evidence Grazioli and Terry assessed preggers women for cognitive vulnerability and depression before and after giving birth Found women judged to be high in cog vulnerability were significantly more likely to suffer post natal depression Supports cog approach as demonstrates link between distortions in thinking and depression

Answer 30

Grazioli and Terry

Answer 31

Cannot explain all of depression. Symptoms of bipolar depression include mania, major depressive disorder is often associated with anger. Cognitive approach cannot effectively explain links with mania and anger. Only focuses of explaining down moods. Not clear if irrationally negative thinking is cause of depression or result of depressive behaviour E.g depressed person may not have had negative thoughts before being depressed. Weakness as cog approach is not giving full explanation of depression. Limited explanation Does not account for biological evidence Low levels of serotonin Does not account for environmental factors Those living in inner cities more likely to suffer More likely several factors will be cause of depression, thoughts just a contributing factor. Weakness because means cannot offer complete explanation

Answer 32

To treat depression by altering irrationally negative thoughts Helps individual have more rational positive thoughts - helping to improve emotions - therefore helping to improve behaviour

Answer 33

Thought Catching Disputing Role Play Behavioural Activation

Answer 34

Stage 1: identify irrational thoughts through an assessment and verbal discussion to clarify patients problems and patterns - identify goals and a plan Patient may be given homework to apply rational thoughts to real life settings or told to keep a thought diary to identify negative thinking (based of beck’s triad) Stage 2: Ellie’s ABC model used but extended to ABCDEF D = disputing irrational thoughts and beliefs E = effects of disputing the thoughts F = new feelings produced Therapist helps patient to think rationally

Answer 35

A = activating event B = Belief system C= Consequential Emotion D = disputing irrational thoughts E = effects of disputing the thoughts F = new feelings produced

Answer 36

1) consider whether there is any evidence for their thoughts and beliefs in a process of empirical disputing - E.g do you have any examples of times when you have suffered bad luck 2) whether they are useful beliefs in pragmatic disputing - E.g does considering yourself an unlucky person help you in anyway 3) whether they are sensible ways to think in logical disputing - E.g is it reasonable to think that your life is particularly unfair Effective disputing allows the person to move from catastrophising to more rational interpretations of events. This in turn helps them to feel better and become more self accepting

Answer 37

Empirical Disputing Pragmatic Disputing Logical Disputing

Answer 38

Therapist role plays situation during therapy session to help person challenge their typical ways of thinking and practice replacing irrational thoughts with rational

Answer 39

Identify mood triggers, what activities make us feel happy or sad - encourage client to engage in behaviours that ‘lift’ mood

Answer 40

Shown to be effective One study compared 327 adolescents between 12-17 suffering major depression. Effects of CBT compared with drug therapy. 80% of patients responded well to CBT - showing it’s effective Smith and Glass also conducted a meta- analysis of therapies and found CBT was second highest Strength because CBT may be a better option than drug therapy

Answer 41

Weakness opposing effectiveness May be down to quality and competence of therapist. Research shown as much as 15% variance of outcome may be attributed by therapist: competence. Weakness because depending on therapist, CBT may help some individuals but be less successful for others. Ignores individual circumstance Ignores patients living in poverty Therapy focuses on what’s happening in the mind Therapy fails to appreciate impact of persons environment and significance of activating events Weakness as CBT might demotivate people to change their situation and address the real cause of the problem

Answer 42

Obsessive -cumpolsive disorder

Answer 43

A mental health condition where a person has obsessive thoughts and compulsive activity. The thoughts and rituals associated with OCD cause distress and grt in the way of daily life as they cannot be controlled

Answer 44

Repetitive behaviour - compulsions Avoidance of anxiety triggering situations

Answer 45

Anxiety and distress by obsessive and compulsive thoughts Shame and embarrassment over excessive nature of behaviour

Answer 46

Recurrent, intrusive and uncontrollable thoughts Irrational and distorted beliefs Obsessions

Answer 47

Biological assumes abnormal behaviour of OCD caused by problems with the body and brain. Believes mental illness has a physical cause due to genes, neurons stony and neurotransmitters

Answer 48

Genes Neurotransmitters Neuroanatomy

Answer 49

OCD can be passed from parent to child through genetic inheritance. Geneticists have identified 2 genes which may be implicated for vulnerability for OCD COMT GENE SERT GENE

Answer 50

COMT involved in production of enzyme COMT which regulates production of dopamine. One form of COMT lowers activity of the enzyme and therefore higher levels of dopamine This is commonly found with individuals with OCD

Answer 51

Involved in production of a protein that removes serotonin from synapse between neurons. Mutation of this gene leads to higher activity of protein and low levels of serotonin. Mutation is often found in families where many members have OCD

Answer 52

Supporting research. Nestadt reviewed twin studies and found 68% identical twins showed concordance rate for OCD compared to 31% in non - identical twins. Strongly suggests genetic element to OCD. Strength as gives us confidence genes may cause OCD, better chance of medecine Weakness - difficult to draw conclusions about influence of genes alone Twins generally exposed to same environmental factors and the higher MZ concordance rates could be explained by identical twins being treated more similar and so sharing similar behaviours. No studies show 100% concordance rate of MZ twins, suggesting other factors must be involved. This shows nature and nurture together,, suggesting genetic factors predispose an individual developing OCD but environmental factors trigger the disorder

Answer 53

Genes associated with OCD likely to affect neurotransmitters as well as brain structure. Neural explanations say OCD caused by abnormal levels of neurotransmitters such as serotonin and certain structures within the brain that make up the worry circuit

Answer 54

OCD may be caused by disruption of serotonin which have a knock on effect regulating other levels of neurotransmitters such as GABA and dopamine. Idea is based on drug therapy evidence which indicates reduction in symptoms of OCD seen in individuals who take anti depressant drugs that increase serotonin activity. It is argued low serotonin is responsible for OCD symptoms

Answer 55

Symptoms of OCD arise from structural damage to brain. Argued their are impairments in an area of the brain termed the basal ganglia - specifically in this region an area termed the caudate nucleus. Three areas in the worry circuit: The orbits frontal cortex OFC The caudate nucleus The thalamus The OFC sends ‘worry’ signal to thalamus when we are anxious. These signals usually suppressed by caudate nucleus. If damaged caudate nucleus fails to block signal and thalamus is alerted Thalamus sends signal back to OFC, creating a circuit. Typically OFC regulates the transmission of information regarding worrying events between the thalamus and the OFC but in OCD the orbits frontal cortex is over active and therefore incorrectly regulates worrying information. This makes it difficult for individual with OCD to pay attention to anything other than worrying and to plan behaviours other than compulsions

Answer 56

Orbits frontal cortex (OFC) Caudate nucleus - part of basal ganglia Thalamus

Answer 57

Supporting research for role of serotonin in OCD evidence based on drug therapy supports notion serotonin plays role in OCD Zohar et al found drugs increase serotonin beneficial up to 60% of patients with OCD Supports idea low serotonin associated with OCD - and thus it might comorbid with depression Weakness is inconsistent findings from research studies - neuroimaging studies have not identified basal ganglia impairments in all OCD suffers and some people with impairments in the basal ganglia shows no sigh of OCD. Twin and family studies not all found same concordance rates Difficult to draw firm conclusions about role of biology in OCD

Answer 58

Difficult to determine cause and effect Not sure if neural abnormalities are causes or results - explanation may not fully explain what set out to Heavily focused on nature - reductionist Explanation looks at physical causes for OCD and ignores impact of experiences - ignores life experiences

Answer 59

Drugs - easy accessible treatment to rebalance neurotransmitters in the brain. There are a number of different types of drugs that can be prescribed as a treatment of OCD Selective serotonin reputable inhibitors SSRI’s eg prozac Benzodiazepines anti anxiety drugs eg Valium

Answer 60

Benzodiazepines Selective serotonin reuptsake inhibitors

Answer 61

Work by increasing serotonin levels that pass around the brain. Raising serotonin helps to reduce the symptoms of OCD in those suffering with the disorder Drugs act by preventing serotonin flows from one neuron to the next from being re absorbed or removed from the system, leaving greater amounts of serotonin in the synapse, continuing to stimulate the post synaptic nerve

Answer 62

Anti anxiety drugs control brain activity and bring feelings of calmness BZ’s act on chemicals within the brain and slow down activity within the CNS BZ’s enhance GABA - the body’s natural anxiety relief. GABA Is an inhibitory neurotransmitter (calming effect on brain neurons) During synaptic transmission GABA binds with GABA A receptors on post synaptic neuron. This opens a channel which increases flow of chloride ions to post synaptic neurons, making it more difficult for post synaptic neuron to be stimulated by other neurotransmitters. Less likely to be passed on As neuron is less responsive to excitatory neurotransmitters, reduces neuron activity in brain

Answer 63

Evidence for effectiveness for drugs to treat OCD Soomro conducted a meta analysis of 17 studies of OCD patients treated with SSRI’s found all 17 studies SSRI’s more effective than a placebo BZ’s also more affective than placebo. Show there is an actual therapeutic process taking place in altering brain chemistry. This means BZ’s are an effective treatment for anxiety conditions such as OCD Weakness of drug therapies is that they do not cure OCD Reduce symptoms of the illness but once person stops taking, symptoms return. Underlying problem - cause of compulsions has not been dealt with. Psychological therapies aim to cure mental illness by addressing root cause of the conditions. This is a weakness because a better form of treatment for OCD might be to combine drug treatment and psychological therapy to maximise the benefit to the patient. Drug therapy alone is not effective enough Weakness - not all evidence supports effectiveness of drug therapies. Zohar found only 60% of clients improved with drugs that increase serotonin. Suggests there are individual differences in how people respond to drug therapy and might also cast doubt upon the biological explanation of OCD

Answer 64

Weakness of drug therapies - they do not cure OCD. They reduce the symptoms of the illness but when person stops taking drugs, symptoms of OCD return. This means the underlying problem has not been dealt with. Psychological therapies sim to cure mental illness by addressing the root of the condition. This is a weakness because a better form of treatment might be to combine drug treatment and psychological therapy to maximise the benefit to the patient, drug therapy alone is not effective enough. A strength of this type of therapy is that drugs are relatively fast and require little effort by the individual whereas drug therapies require virtually no input in terms of time or motivation. This is a strength because the therapy may be appropriate for people with OCD who lack insight into their thought processes and emotions or who cannot commit time to therapies. Weakness- negative side effects of taking drugs, eg nausea, headaches and insomnia often reported by people taking SSRI’s and possible effects of BZ’s include aggression and long term memory impairment. BZ’s also linked to dependency and can not be taken for a long time. Weakness as although they are effective treatment some people with OCD prefer not to take medication and therefore drugs are not appropriate for all as a treatment, relapse rates are also as high as 90% which shows drugs is not a permanent cure for the disorder as soon as the treatment stops, symptoms return.