Psychopathology Flashcards - A Level Psychology AQA

Cards (23)

  • Definitions of abnormality
    - statistical infrequency
    - deviation from social norms
    - failure to function adequately
    - deviation from ideal mental health
  • Statistical infrequency
    abnormality defined by what fails out statistical average
    -> 68% people have IQ between 85-115
    -> 2% score below 70 diagnosed with intellectual disability (mental retardation)

    EVALUATION:

    - doesn't distinguish positive traits -> some uncommon traits are desirable -> IQ over 130 is equally uncommon as IQ below 70, but considered high IQ desirable -> limitation as just because behaviour uncommon, doesn't make it normal

    - not all disorders are uncommon -> 12 month prevalence of depression 10% -> lifetime prevalence of depression 20% -> limitation as those with statistically common psychological disorders are need of treatment
  • Deviation from social norms
    society set rules for behaviours that's normal
    -> abnormality goes against standards set by society

    EVALUATION:

    - cultural bias -> issue social norms vary across time and cultures -> hearing voices is highly abnormal in Western society, but for Maori people of New Zealand it is normal

    - doesn't account for harm to others -> uncommon isn't abnormal -> people engage in behaviours which aren't in line with social norms, but not abnormal like tattoos
  • Failure to function adequately
    no longer cope with demands of everyday life
    -> like socialising, going work, sleeping, health, hygiene
    -> RONSENHAN + SELIGMAN found signs someone failing to function adequately: don't conform to standard interpersonal rules, severe distress, irrational behaviour, and threat safety of themselves/others

    EVALUATION:

    + takes patient welfare into account -> takes account subjective experiences of patient -> concerned with emotional + physical wellbeing of patient around them

    - harmful behaviours aren't abnormal -> drinking or smoking -> judges people as abnormal
  • Deviation from ideal mental health
    rather then defining abnormality, should focus on defining ideal mental health
    -> JAHODA made criteria: no distress, self-actualisation, lack of inappropriate guilt, and independence

    EVALUATION:

    - cultural bias -> based on individualist ideal, they may not apply in collectivist cultures -> like independence and self actualisation

    - unrealistic standards -> very few people can meet all standards of ideal mental health Jahoda lies out all times -> ultimately means everyone is abnormal, making definition meaningless
  • Phobias
    is an anxiety disorder characterised by fear and excessive anxiety in response
  • Phobias - behavioural characteristics

    - panic (crying)
    - avoidance (run away)
    - endurance (staying near)
  • Phobias - emotional characteristics

    anxiety and fear
  • Phobias - cognitive characteristics
    - irrational exaggeration
    - selective attention to phobia
  • Depression - behavioural characteristics
    - insomnia/hypersomnia
    - change in weight
    - agitation
  • Depression - emotional characteristics
    - worthlessness/guilt
    - depressed mood
    - loss of interest/pleasure
  • Depression - cognitive characteristics

    - impaired concentration
    - thoughts of death
  • OCD - behavioural characteristics

    compulsions (repetitive, ritual, deal with obsession)
  • OCD - emotional characteristics
    - guilt
    - anxiety
    - frustration
  • OCD - cognitive characteristics
    - obsessions
    - aware obsessions irrational
  • Behaviourist Approach Explaining Phobias
    TWO-PROCESS MODEL(MOWNER)
    -> classical conditioning
    -> phobia is acquired when associate neutral stimulus (no response/ fear) with something scary (unconditioned stimulus)
    -> NS becomes conditioned stimulus which produces conditioned response of fear, even by itself
    -> operant conditioning
    -> positive reinforcement = adding something to increase behaviour
    -> negative reinforcement = subtracting something to increase behaviour
    -> when avoid object of phobia experience negative reinforcement as anxiety of fear reduced -> this way they learn to avoid phobia object so phobia is maintained

    EVALUATION:

    + lead to development of 2 successful treatments -> systematic desensitisation + flooding -> types of exposure therapy, when client exposed to phobia stimulus with aim counter-conditioning -> if treatments based on behavioural explanation are effective then suggests must be valid

    - not all phobias caused by trauma ->MENZIES + CLARKEexamined 50 children with eater phobia -> only 1/50 parents could recall traumatic experience involving water + 28 claim child has always been afraid water even first time -> therefore limits as phobia wasn't acquired through an experience which caused traumatic fear

    - fails to account for biological factors ->SELIGMANin past humans naturally afraid of venomous creatures more likely to survive and pass genetic fear on -> modern humans still have genetic fear of creatures which is why they're common phobias -> therefore behavioural approach is incomplete explanation
  • Behavioural Approach Treating Phobias
    SYSTEMATIC DESENSITISATION
    -> Step 1 - relaxation techniques + client taught meditation + breathing techniques + based on idea ofRECIPROCAL INHIBITION(can't be frightened and relaxed at same time)
    -> Step 2 - anxiety hierarchy + client an therapist work together to create hierarchy from last to most fearful situation
    -> Step 3 - gradual exposure + with therapist present client works way up hierarchy while relaxed, only moves once they can confront situation without feeling anxious

    FLOODING
    -> Step 1 - relaxation techniques + client taught meditation + breathing techniques + based on idea ofRECIPROCAL INHIBITION(can't be frightened and relaxed at same time)
    -> Step 2 - immediate exposure + throws client straight in deep end + fear is time-limited response + client will realise feared stimulus isn't harmful and no longer produce conditioned fear response

    EVALUATION:

    + high success rate SD ->attrition rateis rate which people drop out of therapy before completed -> refusal rate is rate which people refuse to start therapy -> because SD done client's pace it has low attrition + refusal rates

    + case study flooding being effective ->WOLFEdrove girl with phobias of cars for 4 hours -> initially she was hysterical, she eventually calmed down and phobia disappeared -> support fear being time-limited response and once realised car isn't harmful, she no longer produced conditioned fear response

    - doesn't work for all phobias both SD and F -> less effective for treatment of complex phobias like social phobias -> social phobias have cognitive element, while behavioural makes no attempt to address way client thinks -> therefore social phobias better treated by cognitive therapies which aim to challenge irrational thoughts
  • Cognitive Approach Explaining Depression
    suggests depression may be result of faulty thinking

    BECK'S NEGATIVE TRIAD
    -> 3 types depressed person negatively thinks: negative view of self, world, and future
    -> if constantly experiencing negative thoughts = depression

    NEGATIVE SCHEMA
    -> negative triad result of negative schema -> negative info have formed due to childhood trauma
    -> in adulthoods these schema may triggered due to stress - to negative processing of events in out lives

    BECK FAULTY INFROMATION PROCESSING
    -> *over-generalisation = making irrational generalisations
    ->absolutist thinking= if something isn't perfect, then it must all be bad

    EVALUATION:

    + research evidence ->GRAZIOLI + TERRY65 pregnant woman assessed for dysfunctional attitudes -> after given birth, woman assessed for depressive symptoms -> found having dysfunctional attitudes while pregnant predicted depression as result of stress -> supports link between faulty thinking and depression , increasing validity of theory

    + real-world applications -> cognitive explanations of depression given rise to effective Cognitive Behavioural Therapy -> as cognitive explanations emphasise irrational thinking role in depression , cognitive treatments aim to challenge these thoughts

    - doesn't explain all form of depression -> other form depression = bipolar disorder -> characterised by altering between depressed mood + intense mania periods -> cognitive explanations may able explain depressed mood but struggle to explain manic episodes so incomplete
  • Cognitive Treatments Depression
    COGNITIVE BEHAVIOURAL THERAPY

    ->IDENTIFY IRRATIONAL THOUGHTS
    - client + therapist work together to identify nature of irrational thoughts the client is having

    ->DISPUTING IRRATIONAL THOUGHTS
    - logical argument based on client inferences
    - empirical argument based on actual evidence

    ->PATIENT AS SCIENTIST + ROLE OF HOMEWORK
    - client required to objectively assess validity of their irrational beliefs like a scientist
    - set homework for client

    ->BEHAVIOURAL ACTIVATION
    - client encouraged to continue going out + doing things usually enjoy
    - the more they go out , these can be used as evidence against irrational thoughts

    EVALUATION:

    + comparing CBT to antidepressants -> MARCH ET AL assessed treatment response after 36 weeks in 387 adolescent -> CBT = 81% improved, A = 81%, but CBT + A = 86% improve -> evidence that CBT is affective treating depression as A

    + why CBT preferred to antidepressants? -> A can create dependency + has side effects -> like weight gain, nausea, and sleep disturbance -> CBT targets problem, antidepressants masks symptoms

    - success due to patient-therapist relationship -> LUBORSKY ET AL found very little difference in effectiveness between different psychotherapy forms -> so relationship between may be most important -> people want to talk opening to someone -> means CBT effectiveness has nothing to do with actual techniques used, people just want to feel listened to
  • Biological Approach + Genetic Explanation for Explaining OCD
    ABNORMALITIES IN NEUROTRANSMITTERS
    -> main neurotransmitter associated with OCD is serotonin (mood regulation)
    -> OCD associated with low levels of serotonin
    -> low serotonin = less able regulate anxiety related to obsessions

    CANDIDATE GENES
    -> specific gene thought to be involved in development of OCD
    -> SERT gene = serotonin transporter
    -> more SERT = less serotonin activity = OCD

    EVALUATION:

    + develop drug treatments which target relevant neurotransmitter -> Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) type of antidepressant works to increase activity of serotonin in brain -> SSRIs able to relieve OCD symptoms supports idea that serotonin plays role in OCD

    + supporting twin evidence -> we compare concordance rate of monozygotic twins (100%) with dizygotic twins (50%) ->NESTADT ET ALfound MZ = 68% and DZ = 31% -> since MZ have higher concordance rate, suggests there is biological component to particular trait (OCD)

    - BUT MZ = 100% -> just because individual had particular candidate gene doesn't mean they are going to develop OCD -> must be environmental factor to cause OCD
  • Biological Treatment OCD
    SELECTIVE SEROTONIN REUPTAKE INHIBITORS (SSRIs)
    -> block the SERT protein so serotonin cannot be reabsorbed into pre-synaptic neuron
    -> therefore more serotonin binds to receptors on post-synaptic neuron
    -> this compensates for low level of serotonin found in OCD patients

    TRICYCLICS
    -> oldest type of antidepressant medication
    -> worst side effects than SSRIs

    EVALUATION:

    + SSRIs are effective ->SOOMRO ET ALanalysed 17 clinical trails in meta-analysis and found that SSRIs are consistently more effective then placebos -> supports treatment for OCD as shows biological factors involved in OCD not only cognitive

    - side effects -> like blurred vision, acne, weight gain, and nausea -> we care for patient-wellbeing + increases attrition rates (drop put rates)

    - alternative treatment ->EXPOSURE + RESPONSE PREVENTION (ERP)-> similar to systematic desensitisation -> client engages with fears from low level to high level -> FOA ET AL found ERP more effective than SSRIs as OCD treatment
  • ELLIS' ABC MODEL - AO1
    • A - Activating Event-> e.g. you pass your friend in corridor and they ignore youB - Beliefs-> can be either rational or irrationalrational e.g. friend is very busy and stressed so didn't hear youirrational e.g. friend hates you and never wants to talk to you againC - Consequences-> rational beliefs lead to healthy emotional outcomes-> e.g. talk to my friend later and ask if they are okay-> irrational beliefs lead to unhealthy emotional outcomes = depression-> e.g. i will ignore them and delete their number from my phone
  • ELLIS' ABC MODEL - AO3

    + real life applications -> CBT development -> helps identify and challenge irrational thoughts + successful to treat depression
    • doesn't explain origin of irrational thoughts -> most research is correlational -> cause and effect? -> unaware if irrational thoughts cause depression OR depression leads to negative mindset -> therefore cause and effect relationship can't be established