PSYCHO-PATHOLOGY AQA PSYCH

• Psychopathology


  The study of mental disorders in terms of their causes, development, course, classification, and treatment
• Mental health conditions described by psychopathology

  • Depression
  • Anxiety disorders
  • Bipolar disorder
  • Schizophrenia
  • Personality disorders
• Understanding and studying psychopathology is a crucial part of diagnosing and treating these mental health disorders
• Statistical Infrequency


  A person's trait, thinking, or behavior is classified as abnormal if it is rare or statistically unusual
• With the statistical infrequency definition, it is necessary to be clear about how rare a trait or behavior needs to be before we class it as abnormal
• The statistical infrequency definition fails to recognize the desirability of the particular behavior
• The statistical infrequency definition implies that abnormal behavior in people should be rare or statistically unusual, which is not the case
• Strengths of Statistical Infrequency definition

  • It can provide an objective way, based on data, to define abnormality if an agreed cut-off point can be identified
  • No value judgments are made
• Limitations of Statistical Infrequency definition

  • It fails to distinguish between desirable and undesirable behavior
  • Many rare behaviors or characteristics have no bearing on normality or abnormality
  • Some characteristics are regarded as abnormal even though they are quite frequent
• Deviation from Social Norms


  A person's thinking or behavior is classified as abnormal if it violates the (unwritten) rules about what is expected or acceptable behavior in a particular social group
• Strengths of Deviation from Social Norms definition

  • Comprehensive - Covers a broad range of criteria
  • Gives a social dimension to the idea of abnormality
• Limitations of Deviation from Social Norms definition


  • Social norms can vary from culture to culture
  • Unrealistic - Most people do not meet all the ideals
  • Norms can vary over time
• Failure to Function Adequately (FFA)


  An abnormality that prevents the person from carrying out the range of behaviors that society would expect, such as getting out of bed each day, holding down a job, and conducting successful relationships
• Strengths of FFA definition

  • Provides a practical checklist of seven criteria individuals can use to check their level of abnormality
  • Matches the sufferers' perceptions
• Limitations of FFA definition

  • FFA might not be linked to abnormality but to other factors
  • Cultural relativism - what may be seen as functioning adequately in one culture may not be adequate in another
  • Context dependent - not eating can be seen as failing to function adequately, but prisoners on hunger strikes making a protest can be seen in a different light
• Deviation from Ideal Mental Health


  An absence of characteristics necessary for ideal mental health, such as resistance to stress, growth and self-actualization, high self-esteem, autonomy, and accurate perception of reality
• Limitations of Deviation from Ideal Mental Health definition


  • The difficulty of meeting all criteria, very few people would be able to do so
  • Cultural relativism - these ideas are culture-bound, based on a Western idea of ideal mental health
• Apart from 'deviation from ideal mental health,' three other definitions of abnormality are: statistical infrequency, deviation from social norms, and failure to function adequately
• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)


  An anxiety disorder characterized by intrusive and uncontrollable thoughts (i.e., obsessions) coupled with a need to perform specific acts repeatedly (i.e., compulsions)
• Common clinical obsessions in OCD

  • Fear of contamination
  • Repetitive thoughts of violence
  • Sexual obsessions
  • Obsessive doubt
• Common compulsions in OCD

  • Cleaning
  • Washing
  • Checking
  • Counting
  • Touching
• Cognitive characteristic of OCD

  Obsessions dominate one's thinking and are persistent and recurrent thoughts, images, or beliefs entering the mind uninvited and which cannot be removed
• Behavioral characteristic of OCD


  Compulsions are the repetitive behavioral responses intended to neutralize these obsessions, often involving rigidly applied rules
• The biological approach can be criticized for ignoring environmental influences, as OCD is not something people are born with but may learn from their environment
• Strengths of the biological approach


  • Its testability via neuroscience research and evidence for genetic and neurotransmitter involvement in conditions such as schizophrenia
• Limitations of the biological approach


  • It is reductionist as it focuses on only one factor and ignores psychological factors
  • It is deterministic as it ignores the individual's ability to control their own behavior
• Genetic explanations of OCD

  OCD seems to be a polygenic condition, where several genes are involved in its development. The SERT gene and COMT gene appear mutated in individuals with OCD.
• Strengths of genetic explanations

  • Family and twin studies suggest the involvement of genetic factors
  • The higher concordance rate found for identical twins compared to fraternal twins suggests genetic factors are moderately important
• Limitations of genetic explanations


  • Genes alone do not determine who will develop OCD - they only create vulnerability
  • OCD may be culturally rather than genetically transmitted as the family members may observe and imitate each other's behavior
• Neural explanations of OCD


  Brain regions, structures such as neurons, and the neurotransmitters involved in sending messages through the nervous system
• Concordance rate


  The rate at which a disorder is found in both members of a pair of twins
• Higher concordance rate for identical twins


  May be due to nurture, as identical twins experience more similar environment than fraternal twins
• Genes


  Do not directly cause OCD, they only create vulnerability
• Concordance rates for OCD are not 100%, showing it is due to interaction of genetic and other factors
• OCD


  May be culturally rather than genetically transmitted, as family members may observe and imitate each other's behavior
• OCD


  May be due to stressful family environment rather than genetic factors
• Neural mechanisms


  Brain regions, structures like neurons, and neurotransmitters involved in sending messages through the nervous system
• Prefrontal cortex (PFC)


  • Involved in decision-making and regulation of primitive behavior
  • Overactive PFC causes exaggerated control of primal impulses
• Example of PFC role


  • After bathroom visit, primal instinct to avoid germs leads to decision to wash hands
  • PFC reduces activation once appropriate behavior is performed
• OCD


  Caused by overactivation of PFC, leading to obsessions and compulsions continuing