psychopathology

• what are definitions of abnormality?

  statistical infrequency, deviation from social norms, failure to function adequately, deviation from ideal mental health
• what does VIOLUMS stand for? (failure to function adequately)

  V-violation of moral ideals and ideal standards

  I-irrationality

  O-observer discomfort

  L-loss of control

  U-unpredictability

  M-maladaptive behavior

  S-suffering
• what does PAPERS stand for? ( deviation from ideal mental health)

  P- positive attitude towards self

  A- autonomy

  P- accurate perception of reality

  E-environmental mastery

  R-resistance to stress

  S- self actualisation
• evaluation of statistical infrequency?

  - only works for things that can be measured objectively (eg IQ)

  -some unusual behavior is desirable (eg high IQ) but other undesirable behavior is common ( eg depression)

  - cut off point for normality and abnormality is unclear, when does it start?
• evaluation of deviation from social norms?

  -context dependent

  -may not be useful over long periods of time as social norms may change

  - breaking social norms can be good ( eg slavery use to be common) and the definition suggests it is only bad
• evaluation of failure to function adequately?

  - in situations it may be quite normal ( eg loosing a close relative)

  - different in cultures

  - unclear how extreme the behaviors have to be in order for it to be abnormal
• evaluation of deviation from ideal mental health?

  - unrealistic, most people don't meet all of these ideals

  -criteria is difficult to measure

  - reflects western ideals, meaning it gives cultural bias
• define phobia

  an extreme, irrational fear leading to intense anxiety and avoidance of an object or situation
• what are some types of phobias?

  Specific phobia - object (e.g. of clowns) or situation (e.g. of flying).

  Social phobia - fear of a social situation (e.g. public speaking, eating in front of others).

  Agoraphobia - fear of being outside or in a public place.
• emotional characteristics of phobias?

  fear and anxiety
• behavioral characteristics of phobias?

  avoidance (of feared thing) and panic
• cognitive characteristics of phobias?

  irrational beliefs , selective attention
• who came up with the two process model?

  Mowrer

  
• what are the two types of conditioning involved in the two- process model?

  classical conditioning, operant conditioning
• brief explanation on how two-process model works?

  classical conditioning- People learn to associate something that they do not initially fear (neutral stimulus) with something that does cause a fear response (unconditioned stimulus).

  operant conditioning- This assumes that if behaviour is reinforced, it is more likely to be repeated.
• two types of reinforcement?

  positive and negative
• explain positive reinforcement

  a reward. eg people showing attention to the person displaying the phobia
• explain negative reinforcement

  the removal of something unpleasant. eg removing the feared object
• evaluation of behavioral explanation of phobias

  - support from Watson and Rayner with Little Albert who developed a phobia of white rats after associating it with a loud bang (using classical conditioning)

  -explains why phobias may be long lasting which gives practical applications for therapies

  - Bouton suggested evolutionary factors may play a role, eg being scared of snakes is beneficial for survival

  - does not explain cognitive elements of phobia
• two types of behavioral therapy for phobias?

  systematic desesitisation , flooding
• what are the steps of systematic desensitisation?

  1. client is taught relaxation techniques

  2. client and therapist create anxiety hierarchy together

  3. client slowly works up the anxiety hierarchy

  
• evaluation of systematic desensitisation?

  - it is effective, Gilroy et al compared it with control group and found less fearful responses after 3 months and 33 months

  -preferred over flooding as it is less stress inducing

  -ignores deep underlying emotional or psychological issues

  - evidence suggests flooding is more effective
• explain flooding

  extreme exposure to the phobic situation for a long period of time

  
• evaluation of flooding

  - highly effective, Kaplin found that 65% of people that had one flooding session no longer had the phobia 4 years later

  - works quickly and is cost effective

  -stressful as it deliberately causes high levels of anxiety

  - not effective for all types of phobias such as social phobias
• emotional characteristics of depression?

  -lowered mood low self-esteem

  - anger

  
• behavioral characteristics of depression?

  -reduced energy

  - disruption to sleep

  -disruption to eating

  
• cognitive characteristics of depression?

  - negative thoughts/ schema

  -irrationality

  -poor concentration
• in Ellis' ABC model what does ABC stand for?

  A-activating event

  B- beliefs

  C- consequences

  
• what are the features in Beck's negative triad?


  - negative views about the world

  - negative views about the future

  - negative views about oneself
• evaluation of cognitive explanation of depression?

  - Grazioli and Terry (2000) found women with high cognitive vulnerability were more likely to suffer from post natal depression

  -therapy based on cognitive explanation (CBT) is highly effective

  -ignores biological factors
• what does REBT stand for? ( a form of CBT)

  Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy
• what are some methods of REBT?

  -logical disputing

  -empirical disputing

  - pragmatic disputing
• evaluation of CBT?

  -Hollon et al (2006) found relapse rates were lower with CBT then those that had drug therapies and the placebo

  -deals with the cause (i.e negative thoughts), not just symptoms so offeres a more long term solution

  -not appropriate to all clients

  - may take a long time

  -may be expensive to the client
• emotional characteristics of OCD?

  -anxiety

  - guilt and disgust

  
• behavioral characteristics of OCD?

  - compulsions

  - avoidance
• cognitive characteristics of OCD

  -obsessions

  -insight ( they know its irrational but cannot help it)

  
• what does polygenic mean?

  it is caused by several genes, not just one
• what does the SERT gene appear to be in individuals with OCD?

  mutated
• what does the SERT mutation cause?

  an increase in transporter proteins at a neurons membrane. this leads to an increase in the REUPTAKE of serotonin, decreasing the level of serotonin in the synapse.
• what does the COMT gene do?

  regulates the function of dopamine