Psychopathology

• Definitions of abnormality:

  • statistical infrequency: occurs when an individual has a lesson common characteristic
  • deviation from social norm: concerns behaviour that is different from the accepted standard of behaviour in a community or society
• • Failure to function adequately: occurs when someone is unable to cope with ordinary demand of day to day living.
  • Deviation from ideal mental health: occurs when someone does not meet a set of criteria for good mental health.
  • Jahoda suggested we are in good mental health if we meet the criteria:

  1. we have no symptoms of distress
  2. we can cope with stress
  3. we have a realistic view of the world
  4. we have good self esteem and lack guilt
• Deviation from ideal mental health- AO3:

  • it sets an unrealistically high standard for mental health
  • It is a comprehensive definition- strength because it covers a broad range of criteria for mental health
• Phobia- an irrational fear of an object or stimulus

  Behavioural characteristics:

  • panic
  • avoidance
  • endurance

  Emotional characteristics:

  • anxiety
  • Emotional responses are unreasonable

  Cognitive characteristics:

  • Irrational beliefs
  • selective attention to the phobic stimulus
• Depression- A mental health disorder characterised by low mood and low energy levels

  Behavioural characteristics:

  • low activity levels
  • Disruption to sleep and eating behaviour
  • Aggression and self harm

  Emotional characteristics

  • lowered mood
  • anger
  • low self esteem

  cognitive:

  • poor concentration
  • attending to and dwelling on the negative
• Obsessive- compulsive disorder (OCD) characterised by obsessions and compulsive behaviour

  Behavioural characteristics:

  • Avoidance
  • compulsions are repetitive
  • compulsions reduce anxiety

  Emotional characteristics:

  • Anxiety and distress
  • guilt and disgust
  • accompanying depression

  cognitive characteristics:

  • Obsessive thoughts
  • insight into excessive anxiety
• Behavioural approach for phobias:

  Two-process model:

  • Mowrer proposed the two- process model based on the behavioural approach to phobias.
  • This states that phobias are acquired (learnt) by classical conditioning and then continued using operant conditioning

  AO3:

  • Strength: Good explanatory power- it explained how phobias are maintained over time which is an important implication for therapies
• Behavioural approach to treat phobias:

  Systematic desensitisation: gradually reduce phobic anxiety through the principles of classical conditioning.

  • The anxiety hierarchy
  • relaxation (breathing exercise)
  • exposure ( to phobic stimulus in a relaxed state)

  AO3:

  • strength: It is effective- Gilroy et al followed up 42 patients who had been treated for spider phobia 3 45 minutes sessions. Effects are long lasting
• Behavioural approach to treating phobias:

  Flooding: exposing patient to their phobic stimulus but without a gradual build up in an anxiety hierarchy.

  AO3:

  • strength: Cost effective- studies found that flooding is highly effective and quicker than alternatives.
  • limitation: Less effective for some types of phobias- Less effective for more complex phobias like social phobias
• Becks cognitive theory of depression:

  AO3:

  limitation: doesn’t explain all aspects of depression- Becks theory explains the basic symptoms of depression. But beck cannot explain extreme emotion like patients being deeply angry.

  Strength: Supporting evidence- evidence supports the idea that depression is associated with faulty information processing
• Ellis ABC model:

  AO3:

  Limitation: doesn’t explain all aspects of depression- The approach doesn’t easily explain the anger associated with depression.

  Strength: practical application in CBT- It has led to a successful therapy, by challenging irrational negative beliefs
• The cognitive approach to treating depression:

  Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT): commonly used psychological treatment for depression.

  CBT: Becks cognitive therapy- identify automatic thoughts about the world, the self and the future- once identified they should be challenged.

  AO3:

  Limitation: CBT may not work for the most severe cases- patients cannot motivate themselves to engage with the hard cognitive work of CBT. So CBT cannot be used as the sole treatment for all cases of depression
• Cognitive approach to treating depression:

  CBT: Ellis‘s rational emotive behaviour therapy (REBT)

  • REBT extends the ABC model to an ABCDE model - D stands for dispute and E for effect.
  • REBT is to identify and dispute (challenge) irrational thoughts

  AO3:

  Strength: It is effective - evidence to support the effectiveness of CBT for depression. March et al compared effects of CBT with antidepressant. Found CBT is just as effective as medication
• Biological approach to explain OCD

  Neural explanation:

  • The role of serotonin- One explanation for OCD concerns the role of the neurotransmitter serotonin, which is believed to help regulate mood. At least some cases of OCD may be explained by a reduction in the functioning of the serotonin system in the brain.
  • Decision-making systems- Some cases of OCD, and in particular hoarding disorder, seem to be associated with impaired decision making. This in turn may be associated with abnormal functioning of the lateral (side bits) of the frontal lobes of the brain.
• biological approach to explain OCD

  Neural explanation:

  AO3:

  strength: There is some supporting evidence - There is evidence to support the role of some neural mechanisms in OCD. For example, some antidepressants work purely on the serotonin system, increasing levels of this neurotransmitter.

  Such drugs are effective in reducing OCD symptoms and this suggests that the serotonin system is involved in OCD.
• Biological approach to explain OCD

  Genetic explanations

  • Candidate genes- Researchers have identified genes, which create vulnerability for OCD, called candidate genes. Some of these genes are involved in regulating the development of the serotonin system.
  • OCD is polygenic - This means that OCD is not caused by one single gene but that several genes are involved.
• Genetic explanations

  AO3:

  • strength: There is good supporting evidence - There is evidence from a variety of sources for the idea that some people are vulnerable to OCD as a result of their genetic make-up. One of the best sources of evidence for the importance of genes is twin studies. 68% of identical twins shared OCD
  • Limitation: Too many candidate genes - psychologists have been much less successful at pinning down all the genes involved. One reason for this is because it appears that several genes are involved and that each genetic variation only increases the risk of OCD by a fraction.
• Biological approach to treat OCD

  Drug therapy:

  • selective serotonin reuptake (SSRI)- work on the serotonin system in the brain

  Drugs are often used alongside with CBT to treat OCD. The drugs reduce emotional symptoms so the patient can engage more effectively with CBT.

  AO3:

  • Strength: Drugs are cost effective and non disruptive - drug treatment is generally cheap.
  • Limitation: Drugs have side effects - such as blurred vision, indigestion