psychopathology

• What is statistical infrequency


  abnormal behaviour that is uncommon or rare
• What are the strengths and limitations of statistical infrequency

  Strength: real world application

  Limitation: unusual characteristics can be positive
• What is deviation from social norms

  not fitting in with the accepted standards of behavior
• What is failure to function adequately

  Unable to cope with everyday life, and fail to function adequately
• What are strengths and limitations of failure to function adequately


  Strengths: represents a threshold for help

  observable and measurable

  Limitations: discrimination and social control

  not all failure to function adequately is observable
• What is deviation from ideal mental health


  Not meeting the mental health criteria (Jahoda)
• What are strengths and limitations of deviation from ideal mental health


  Strengths: comprehensive definition

  Limitations: cultural bias to individualistic cultures

  high standards
• What is a phobia

  exaggerated or unrealistic sense of danger about an object or a situation
• What are behavioral characteristics for phobias


  avoidance

  panic

  endurance
• What are emotional characteristics for phobias

  anxiety

  unreasonable emotional responses
• What are cognitive characteristics for phobias

  cognitive distortions

  selective attention to phobic stimulus

  irrational beliefs
• What are the two treatments for phobias

  Flooding

  Systematic desensitisation
• What is systematic desnsitisation


  Gradually reducing phobic anxiety through classical conditioning
• What is flooding


  immediate exposure to phobic stimulus
• What are behavioral characteristics for depression

  disruption to sleep and eating

  aggression and self-harm

  activity levels
• What are emotional characteristics for depression


  anger

  low mood

  low self-esteem
• What are cognitive characteristics for depression


  poor concentration

  dwelling on negatives

  absolutist thinking
• What are behavioral characteristics for ocd

  compulsions

  avoidance
• What are emotional characteristics for ocd

  guilt and disgust

  accompanying depression

  anxiety and distress
• What are cognitive characteristics for ocd

  obsessive thoughts

  excessive anxiety
• what are strengths of systematic desensitisation

  more effective then relaxation techniques

  less trauma then flooding, more preferred method
• what are limitations of systematic desensitisation

  not effective for all phobias, such as ones that haven't been developed through a personal experience, e.g., heights

  cant treat evolutionary phobias (heights)
• what are strengths for flooding

  cost effective as they're treated in one session
• what are limitations for flooding

  traumatic and unpleasant

  less affective for social phobias
• what is the explanation for phobias

  classical and operant conditioning
• how is classical conditioning an explanation for a phobia

  a phobia is acquired and learnt through classical conditioning .

  learning to associate something we have no fear of with something that triggers a fear response
• how is operant conditioning an explanation for phobias

  operant conditioning is the maintenance of a phobia.

  a phobic stimulus is avoided as it results in anxiety so avoidance is repeated and this is how the phobia is maintained. (negative reinforcement).
• what are strengths of the explanation for phobias

  real life applications (little albert) helps to improve understanding and develop treatments

  the model explains how phobias are maintained not just acquired.
• what are weaknesses of the explanation for phobias

  reductionist, doesn't take into account biological factors and only considers nurture views of things that are learnt.

  reductionist only explains one behavioural characteristics (avoidance) not emotion or cognitive ones.

  incomplete explanation as it can only explain phobias acquired from traumatic experiences. not all phobias.
• what are the explanations for depression

  Becks negative triad

  Ellis' irrational thinking (ABC model)
• What is Becks negative triad

  idea that depressed people have biased thinking towards negative interpretations. persons cognitions creates vulnerability.

  The triad includes: faulty information processing, negative self schemas and the negative triad
• what is fault information processing

  attend to negatives aspects and ignore positive ones.

  depressed people may blow things out of proportion (catastrophising: worse case thinking) and think in black and white terms: everything is either good or bad (absolutist thinking)
• what is negative self schema

  negative mental framework about ourselves and all information about ourselves is always interpreted in a negative way
• what is Ellis' irrational thinking

  rational thinking leads to good mental health and irrational thinking leads to bad mental health.
• what does A stand for in ABC model

  activating event: irrational thoughts are triggered by external events (failing exam) and we get depressed when we experience those events and these trigger irrational beliefs
• what does B stand for in ABC model

  beliefs: musturbation (always be perfect) and utopianism (life should always be fair)
• what does C stand for in ABC model

  consequence: when activating event triggers irrational beliefs there are emotional and behavioural consequences
• what are strengths of Becks theory

  effective treatment reduces sick pay which boosts the economy
• what are limitations of Becks theory

  oversimplifies depression to only negative thinking and ignores biological factors (anti-depressants)
• what are strengths of Ellis's ABC model

  real life application in CBT which leads to treatments