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Psychology > Unit 8 - Psychopathology > Flashcards

Unit 8 - Psychopathology Flashcards

1
Q

What are 4 different definitions of abnormality?

A

deviation from social norms
statistical infrequency
failure to function adequately
deviation from ideal mental health

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2
Q

What is deviation from social norms?

A

a person’s thinking or behaviour is classified as abnormal if its different to the unwritten rules expected from a social group.

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3
Q

What is a strength of the definition of deviation from social norms?

A

gives a social dimension to the idea of abnormality, which offers an alternative to ‘sick in the head’ individual.

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4
Q

What are the weaknesses of the definition of deviation from social norms?

A
  • social norms change from culture to culture. This means what is accepted as normal in one culture maybe different in another - cultural relativism
  • norms change over time. Means behaviours have changed e.g homosexulatity now compared to 1980s.
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5
Q

What is statistical infrequency?

A

a person’s thinking or behaviour is considered abnormal if it is rare or statistically unusual e.g high IQ

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6
Q

What is a strength of the definition of statistical infrequency?

A

provides an objective way, based on data.

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7
Q

What are the weaknesses of the definition of statistical infrequency?

A
  • doesn’t take into account desirability of behaviour, just its frequency.
  • no definite cut-off point where normal behaviour becomes abnormal behaviour (on graph).
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8
Q

What is failure to function adequately?

A

refers to abnormality that prevents a person from carrying out a range of behaviours that society would expect from them e.g getting out of bed everyday

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9
Q

What is the criteria used for the diagnosis of failure to function adequately?

A

dysfunctional behaviour - behaviour which goes against the accepted standards of behaviour
observer discomfort - behaviour that causes other individuals to become uncomfortable
unpredictable behaviour - impulsive behaviour that seems to be uncontrollable
irrational behaviour - behaviour that’s unreasonable and illogical
personal distress - being affected by emotion to an excessive degree

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10
Q

What is a strength of the definition of failure to function adequately?

A

provides a checklist to check an individual against to see if they are abnormal

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11
Q

What are the weaknesses of the definition of failure to function adequately?

A
  • might not be linked to abnormality but to other factors

- cultural relativism, what is inadequate for one culture might be different from another

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12
Q

What is deviation from ideal mental health?

A

An absence of any of the characteristics Jahoda created

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13
Q

What were the 6 criteria Jahoda created?

A

resistance to stress - having effective coping strategies and able to cope with everyday stress
growth, development or self-actualisation - experiencing personal growth
high self-esteem and strong sense of identity - having self-respect and positive self-concept
autonomy - being independent and being able to make personal decisions
accurate perception of reality - having an objective and realistic view of the world

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14
Q

What are the weaknesses of the definition of deviation from ideal mental health?

A

difficulty of meeting all criteria - very few people would be able so this suggest very few are psychologically healthy.

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15
Q

What is OCD?

A

is an anxiety disorder characterized by intrusive and uncontrollable thoughts (obsessions) , with a need to repeat actions (compulsions)

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16
Q

What are the cognitive characteristics of OCD?

A

obsessions dominant individuals thinking and are persistent.

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17
Q

What are the emotional characteristics of OCD?

A

obsessive thoughts often lead to anxiety, worry and distress

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18
Q

What are the behavioural characteristics of OCD?

A

compulsions lead to repetitive actions

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19
Q

How do psychologists try to classify mental disorders?

A

the DSM which contains mental health disorders and is used to classify disorders using diagnostic criteria. This includes a list of symptoms which can be used to make a diagnostic.

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20
Q

What are the 2 parts of OCD?

A

obsessions - is the cognitive part
compulsions - is the behavioural part
OCD has emotional part - obsessions tend to give people anxiety and compulsions attempt to relieve this

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21
Q

What are obsessions?

A

are intrusive and persistent thoughts, images and impulses.

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22
Q

What are compulsions?

A

are physical or mental repetitive actions

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23
Q

What are the 4 types of OCD behaviours?

A

checking
contamination
hoarding
symmetry and orderliness

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24
Q

What is the biological approach for OCD?

A

assumes that psychological disorders are physical illnesses with physical causes

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25
Q

What are the 3 biological explanations for OCD?

A

genetic factors
biochemical factors
neurological factors

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26
Q

What is the genetic factors explanation of OCD?

A

genetics is the study of genes and inheritance. OCD seems to be caused by a series of genes.

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27
Q

What is the study which relates to genetic factors of OCD?

A

Bille et al (1998) did a meta-analysis of twins studies. Found that for identical twins, if one twin had OCD then 68% of the time both twins had it. But if the twins weren’t identical there was only a 31% chance.

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28
Q

What are the two types of gene?

A

SERT (Serotonin transporter)

COMT (regulates the the function of dopamine)

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29
Q

How does SERT gene contribute to OCD?

A

Is mutated in people with OCD. Mutation causes an increase in transporter proteins at a neuron’s membrane. This leads to an increase in the reuptake of serotonin

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30
Q

How does COMT gene contribute to OCD?

A

also mutated with people with OCD. Mutations causes opposite effects of SERT gene, it causes a decrease in COMT activity and therefore higher levels of dopamine

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31
Q

What are the weakness of the genetic explanation?

A
  • genes alone do not determine who will get OCD, just creates vulnerability. Shown by 68% of twins and not 100% this suggests OCD is due to genes and other factors.
  • OCD may be culturally rather than genetically transmitted as family members observe and imitate each other’s behaviours.
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32
Q

What are the strengths of the genetic explanation?

A

supported - by Bille study

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33
Q

What is the neurological factors explanation of OCD?

A

refers to the regions of the brain, structures such are neurons and neurotransmitters involved in sending messages through the nervous system.

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34
Q

What is the PFC in the brain and its functions?

A

prefrontal cortex - involved in decision making and regulation of primitive areas of behaviour

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35
Q

What happens if the PFC is overactive?

A

causes an exaggerated control of primal impulses. If you have OCD your PFC is overactive which means obsessions and compulsions continue

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36
Q

How is unbalanced release of serotonin and dopamine related to OCD?

A

reduced serotonin and excess dopamine could cause OCD
serotonin regulates mood, OCD patients have low levels
dopamine influence concentration, OCD have high levels

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37
Q

What type of scan shows the biochemical factors and neurological factors?

A

PET

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38
Q

What did the PET scan find for neurological factor?

A

abnormality in the basal ganglia in the brain is linked to OCD

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39
Q

What is the studies which supports neurological factors?

A

Max et al (1995) found increased rates of OCD in people after head injuries that caused damage to the basal ganglia.
other researchers have found increased activity in this area during OCD-related thoughts and behaviours

40
Q

What is the evidence against neurological factors?

A

Aylward et al (1996) didn’t find a significant differences in basal ganglia impairment between OCD patients and control

41
Q

What is the studies which supports biochemical factors?

A

Insel (1991) found that a series of drugs SSRIs, which increase levels of serotonin, can reduce symptoms of OCD in 50-60% of cases

42
Q

What is the evidence against the biochemical factors?

A

SSRIs appear to offer some relief to sufferers of OCD. However, this is not true for all. This means there has to be more understanding of OCD

43
Q

What are the strengths of the biological explanation of OCD?

A

it has scientific basis in biology - there’s evidence that low serotonin and damage to the basal ganglia correlate with cases of OCD
can be seen as ethical - people aren’t blamed for their disorders they just have an illness

44
Q

What are the weaknesses of the biological explanation of OCD?

A

the explanation does not take into account the effect of the environment, family, childhood experiences and social influences.
biological therapies raise ethical concerns, drugs can produce addiction and may only suppress symptoms rather than cure the disorder

45
Q

What are SSRIs and what do they do?

A

selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. They are a type of antidepressant drug that increase the availability of serotonin. SSRIs prevent the reuptake of serotonin in the synaptic cleft, this means there’s more serotonin available to the next neuron

46
Q

What are the advantages of biological therapy (SSRIs) ?

A

several researchers have found SSRIs to be effective in treating OCD. Thoren et al (1980) found that use of SSRI was significantly better at reducing obsessional thoughts than a placebo.
research has found that using other antidepressants that don’t affect serotonin levels is ineffective at reducing OCD symptoms

47
Q

What are the disadvantages of biological therapy (SSRIs)?

A

up to 50% of patients with OCD don’t experience any improvement in their symptoms when taking SSRIs. Out of those who do, 90% relapse when not taking them.
SSRIs have to be taken over several weeks before the patient experiences changes
side effects of using them include nausea and headaches, this causes people to stop taking their medication

48
Q

What is depression?

A

is a mood disorder, which is characterised by strong emotions which can influence a person’s ability to function normally.

49
Q

What are the behavioural symptoms of depression?

A

sleep disturbance
change in appetite
pain - especially headaches, joint and muscle ache

50
Q

What are the cognitive symptoms of depression?

A

experiencing persistent negative beliefs about themselves and their abilities
suicidal thoughts
slower thought processes - difficulty concentrating

51
Q

What are the emotional symptoms of depression?

A

extreme feelings of sadness, hopelessness and despair
mood variation - changes in mood throughout day
anhedonia - no longer enjoying activities

52
Q

What is the cognitive approach for depression?

A

believes that depression stems from faulty cognitions of others, and the world. These cognitions cause distortions in the way we see things and behaviour like depression

53
Q

What are the two studies which support the cognitive approach for depression?

A

Ellis’s ABC model

Beck’s negative triad

54
Q

What is Beck’s negative triad?

A

the cognitive triad are the forms of negative thinking of depression.
- negative views of self
- negative views about future
- negative views about the world
all these thoughts are automatic for people who are depressed

55
Q

What could of caused the negative trias

A

negative schemas and cognitive biases.

56
Q

What could of caused the negative triad?

A

negative schemas and cognitive biases.

57
Q

What is Ellis’s ABC model?

A

proposes that each of us hold a unique set of assumptions/ beliefs about ourselves and world. Some peoples assumptions are irrational guiding them to act differently

58
Q

What are the strengths of the cognitive approach to depression?

A
  • offers a useful approach to depression because it considers the role of thoughts and beliefs, which are greatly involved in depression.
  • Hollon and Kendall (1980) developed the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire (ATQ) to measure negative thinking. Harrell and Ryon used ATQ to compare negative thinking in 114 depressed and non depressed patients. The depressed patients scored higher (more negative
    thinking) than other groups, support correlation
  • treatments
59
Q

What are the weaknesses of the cognitive approach to depression?

A

faulty cognitions may simply be the consequence of depression rather than its cause
the person could begin to feel like he or she is to blame for their problem - unethical

60
Q

What is the treatment for depression?

A

CBT (cognitive behaviour therapy)

61
Q

What is CBT?

A

aims to identify and change the patient’s faulty cognitive

62
Q

What happens in CBT?

A
  • patient and therapist identify faulty cognitions
  • therapist then tries to help the client see that these cognitions aren’t true
  • together, they then set goals to think more positively
  • although client may occasionally need to look back to past experiences, treatment focuses on present situation
  • therapists sometime encourage client to keep diary.
63
Q

What are the advantages of CBT ?

A

CBT empowers clients - puts them in charge of their own treatment by teaching them self-help techniques. Means fewer ethical issues

64
Q

What are the disadvantages of CBT ?

A

cognitive therapies mat take a long time and are costly. They may be more effective when combine with other approaches e.g drug therapy
DeRubeis found out its only effective if therapist is experienced.
the person could feel like they are to blame for their problems.

65
Q

What is phobia?

A

is an irrational fear of a particular object or situation

66
Q

What are the 3 types of phobia?

A

specific phobia - specific to objects
agoraphobia - fear of open spaces etc.
social anxiety disorder - fear of being in social situations

67
Q

What are the cognitive symptoms of phobias?

A

irrational beliefs about the stimulus

hard to concentrate because they are preoccupied by anxious thoughts

68
Q

What are the behavioural symptoms of phobias?

A

avoiding social situations because they cause anxiety

69
Q

What are the emotional symptoms of phobias?

A

anxiety and feeling of dread

70
Q

What does the behavioural approach for phobia explain ?

A

explains the development and maintenance of phobia

71
Q

What are phobia caused by?

A

classical conditioning

72
Q

What does operant conditioning do in phobia?

A

explain how phobias are maintained ( the learned stimulus which causes fear and avoidance of that is rewarded.The reward (negative reinforcement) strengths the avoidance behaviour, and the phobia is maintained.

73
Q

What are the strengths of the behavioural explanation of phobias?

A

Barlow and Durand (1995) showed in cases where people had a fear of driving . 50% of them had actually been involved in an accident. Through classical conditioning the road accident (UCS) had turned into CS.

behavioural therapies are very effective at treating phobias by getting the person to change their response to the stimulus. This suggests that they treat the cause of the problem

74
Q

What are the weaknesses of the behavioural explanation of phobias?

A

Davey (1992) found out that only 7% of spider phobics recalled having a traumatic experience. This suggests that there could be other explanations e.g biological factors

75
Q

What are the 2 different types of treatment for phobias?

A

systematic desensitization

flooding

76
Q

How does systematic desensitization work?

A

by using counter-conditioning so that the person learns to associate the phobic stimulus with relaxation rather than fear

77
Q

Explain the steps of systematic desensitization

A
  1. phobic person makes a fear hierarchy - a list of feared events, showing what they fear least to most.
  2. taught relaxation techniques e.g deep breathing
  3. the patients then imagines the anxiety-provoking situations, starting with least and encouraged to use relaxation technique.
  4. is repeated up the hierarchy, until they are calm enough for their most feared
78
Q

What is flooding?

A

involved exposing the patient to the phobic stimulus straight away, this can be done in real life or the patient can visualise it.The patient is kept in this situation until the anxiety has worn off

79
Q

What are the advantages of the treatments for phobia?

A

behavioural therapy is very effective. Zinbarg found that systematic desensitization was the most effective of the current methods used.
works quickly - Ost found that anxiety was reduced in 90% of patients after one session

80
Q

What are the disadvantages of the treatments for phobia?

A

ethical issues - causes the patient a lot of anxiety. If patient drops out of therapy before the fear has been extinguished, then it can end up causing more anxiety than before.
only treats the symptoms of the disorder. Other therapies try to tackle the cause of it

81
Q

What is the model used in the behavioural approach to explaining phobias?

A

two-process model

82
Q

What are the 2 parts of the two-process model?

A

classical and operant conditioning

83
Q

What is the first stage in the two-process model?

A

classical conditioning - initiation

84
Q

How does classical conditioning cause phobia?

A

phobias are caused by association of neutral stimuli and an unconditioned stimulus

85
Q

What is the study which supports the two-process model?

A

Little Albert

86
Q

What are the genetic explanations of OCD?

A
  • COMT
  • SERT
  • Diathesis-stress
87
Q

What is the diathesis-stress in OCD?

A

genes make you vulnerable, but something needs to “trigger” illness

88
Q

What is the study which supports neurological explanations?

A

Szechtman - injected dopamine into animals which led them to get OCD- like behaviours

89
Q

What is the brain circuits which are involved with OCD?

A

frontal cortex decides what is dangerous
the caudate nucleus in the basal ganglia filters out low-level warnings
if this is damaged, even minor things get through - this is caused the worry circuit

90
Q

What are the brain circuit explanation of OCD supported by?

A

PET scan studies

91
Q

What is a treatment of OCD and the way brain circuits work?

A

direct brain stimulation - which is where they implant electrodes into the brain to change the activity in the brain

92
Q

What are tricyclics?

A

these block serotonin, noradrenaline and effects dopamine

93
Q

What are the drug treatments of OCD?

A

SSRIs
tricyclics
Anti-anxiety drugs e.g benzodiazepines (valiums)

94
Q

What are the benefits and drawbacks of tricyclics?

A
  • side effects - affects diet and sleeping pattern

+ what you give people who don’t respond to SSRIs

95
Q

What do anti-anxiety drugs do?

A

increase GABA, which makes us less anxious

Psychology (11 decks)

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