psych psychopathology

• ABC model


  Ellis's explanation for how irrational thoughts affect behaviour A= activating event, B+ beliefs, C= consequences
• Agoraphobia


  Irrational fear of being outside or in a public place
• Avoidance


  The act of staying away from something (e.g. the phobic object or situation)
• Basal ganglia


  Region of the brain involved in the coordination of movement that has been linked to OCD
• Benzodiazepines


  Antianxiety drugs used to treat OCD as they have a quietening effect on the brain and reduce anxiety causes by obsessive thoughts
• Bipolar depression


  Condition where a person has periods of elevated mood (mania) as well as periods of depression
• Catastrophising


  Cognitive error where you exaggerate a minor setback and turn it into a major disaster
• CBT


  Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is a commonly used therapy which involves challenging and replacing irrational thoughts
• Cognitive bias


  Error in thinking caused by simplified information processing
• Compulsion


  An irresistible urge to behave in a certain way
• COMT gene


  Gene which has a variation which results in higher levels of dopamine and this variation is more common in patients with OCD
• Counter-conditioning


  Learning a new response to the phobic object/situation e.g. replacing fear with relaxation
• Cultural relativism


  The idea that cultural norms and values are culture specific and no-one culture is superior to another culture
• Deviation from ideal mental health


  Not meeting criteria which suggest you are mentally healthy
• Deviation from social norms


  A behaviour that deviates from social norms is one that is very different from how we would expect people to behave
• Dopamine


  Higher levels of this neurotransmitter have been associated with the compulsions shown by OCD patients
• DSM-V

  Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition is the standard classification of mental disorders used in the United States.
• Empirical dispute


  REBT technique where the therapist seeks evidence for a person's thoughts
• Failure to function adequately


  When a person's behaviour means they are unable to cope with the demands of everyday life
• Fear hierarchy


  A list of situations related to the phobic object/situation arranged in order from least to most frightening
• Flooding (in-vitro)


  Behavioural treatment for a phobia which involves imagined exposure to the phobic object/situation without being able to escape
• Flooding (in-vivo)

  Behavioural treatment for a phobia which involves actual exposure to the phobic object/situation without being able to escape
• Hindsight bias

  The way that social norms change over time
• ICD 10


  The 10th revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, produced by the World Health Organisation
• Logical dispute


  REBT Technique where the therapies disputes the logic of a person's thoughts
• Negative self-schemas


  Negative information we hold about ourselves based on negative past experiences that can lead to cognitive biases
• Negative triad


  Three types of negative thinking (self, the world and the future) that Beck suggested occur automatically in people who are depressed
• Obsession


  An idea or thought that continually preoccupies or intrudes on a person's mind.
• Orbifrontal cortex


  A region of the brain which converts sensory information into thoughts and actions- higher activity has been found here in OCD patients
• Overgeneralisation


  Cognitive error where you make a sweeping conclusion from a single incident
• REBT


  Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy is a type of CBT based on Ellis's ABC model
• Selective attention


  Focusing on one piece of information while ignoring other information viewed as irrelevant
• Serotonin


  Neurotransmitter which regulates mood - lower levels are associated with OCD
• SERT gene


  gene which affects the transport of serotonin, causing lower levels of serotonin which is associated with OCD
• Simple or specific phobia

  Irrational fear of an object (e.g. spiders) or situation (e.g. flying)
• Social norm


  The rules of behaviour that are considered acceptable in a group or society
• Social phobia


  Irrational fear of a social situation (e.g. speaking in public)
• SSRIs


  Antidepressant drugs used to treat OCD which work by preventing the re-absorption and breakdown of serotonin
• Statistical infrequency


  A behaviour that is statistically infrequent does not happen very often
• Systematic desensitisation


  A behaviour therapy designed to gradually reduce a phobia through the principle of classical conditioning