Psychopathology

• What are the definitions of abnormality?

  1. Statistical Infrequency - less common characteristic then the population (intellectual disability disorder)
  2. Deviation from social norms - behaviour that deviates from the social norms (specific to the culture we live in)
  3. Failure to function adequately - so distressed that you are unable to do everyday normal things
  4. Deviation from ideal mental health - occurs when someone does not meet the criteria for good mental health
• What is Jahoda's ideal mental health?

  • no symptoms/distress
  • autonomous
  • perceive ourselves accurately
  • self actualise
  • can cope with stress
  • realistic view of the world
  • good self esteem
• Evaluation of statistical infrequency -

  • strength - can be used in real life application in clinical practices. Can be used to determine the severity of the individual's symptoms. Example - Beck's depression tool
  • strength - objective so all psychologists can use it to treat patients (a standardised procedure)
  • limitation - some unusual behaviours can be positive. Having a high IQ is a good thing
• Evaluation of deviation from social norms

  • strength - can be used in clinical treatment for real life application
  • strength - can help diagnose mental disorders like the schizotypical personality disorder
  • limitation - dependent on the type of culture, society's norms change - cultural and situational relativism
  • limitation - diagnosing someone as deviating from social norms can lead to unfair labelling and human rights abuse - can lead to social control
• Evaluation of failure to function adequately

  • strength - represents a sensible threshold for proffesional help. Those who need help can be targeted.
  • limitation - it is easy to label non standard lifestyle choices as abnormal. People have a high risk of being labelled as abnormal
• Evaluation of deviation from ideal mental health -

  • strength - has a large criteria and covers the reasons we need help. 25% of people in the UK experience mental health, so the treatments can be targeted to those who need them the most.
  • limitation - not applicable across all cultures as it cannot apply the concepts of mental health across different cultures. In some cultures, such as Germany, independence is seen as a normal thing
• What is a phobia?

  • an irrational fear of an object or situation
• What are the behavioural characteristics of phobias?

  • Panic
  • Endurance
  • Avoidance
  • PEA
• What are the emotional characteristics of phobias?

  • fear
  • anxiety
  • unreasonable emotional responses - tantrums, fits
• What are the cognitive characteristics of phobias?

  • Selective attention to phobic stimulus
  • Irrational beliefs
  • Cognitive distortions
• What is the two-process model of explaining phobias?

  • Phobias are acquired through classical conditioning and maintained through operant conditioning.
• Little Albert's Study -

  • Albert showed no unusual reaction to a white rat (NS)
  • made a loud bang when he touched the rat
  • loud bang = produces fear (UCS)
  • associated the rat with the loud bang
  • the white rat was a conditioned stimulus
• How are phobias maintained through operant conditioning?

  • through negative reinforcement
  • avoiding the situation/stimulus that produces fear
  • avoiding a situation results in a desirable consequence, which is not experiencing the feelings of fear
  • avoid the fear and anxiety of a situation
• Evaluation of behaviourist approach in explaining phobias

  • strength - has real life application to treating phobias. For example, systematic desentisisation. This shows the value of the two process model
  • limitation - ignores the cognitive aspects of phobias and how cognitive distortions can lead to fear.
  • limitation - not all phobias start from bad experiences as some are inherited genetically (a certain gene)
  • real life application - 73% of ppl who had high dentistry anxiety had experienced a painful, traumatic event. Had associated feelings of pain with the dentist
• What is systematic desensitisation?

  • a behavioural treatment to treat phobias
  • 1 - Anxiety hierarchy - placing situations related to phobic stimulus from most fearful to least
  • 2 - Relaxation - learning techniques such as breathing, meditation and visualising and replacing it with the UCS of fear. This is called counter conditioning
  • Reciprocal Inhibition - fear and relaxation cannot take place at the same time
  • 3 - Exposure - exposure to phobic stimulus. If a patient can feel relaxed, they are treated
• What is flooding?

  • involves exposing a patient to a phobic stimulus in order to reduce anxiety
  • extinction - distinguishing the feeling of fear when encountering the phobic stimulus
  • result - CS no longer produces fear
• Evaluation of SD -

  • evidence for effectiveness - Psychologist went through SD with students who had a fear of snakes. They went through relaxation techniques which involved hypnosis and the feelings of fear had reduced. 6 months later - feelings of fear still reduced
  • strength - gilroy followed up on 45 ppl who had undergone SD for a fear of spiders. 33 months later, feelings of fear had reduced as compared to a control group
  • strength - real life application for those with learning disorders. A slow process which is appropriate for those with learning disorders.
• Evaluation of flooding -

  • strength - cost effective as it can be treated in one session unlike SD. More patients can be treated with flooding then one with SD
  • limitation - ethical issues, very traumatic
• What is OCD?

  • a condition characterised by obsessions and compulsive behaviours
• What are the DSM-5 catergories of OCD?

  • compulsive hair pulling
  • hoarding disorders
  • compulsive skin picking
• What are the behavioural characteristics of OCD?

  1. compulsions are repetitive
  2. compulsions reduce anxiety
  3. avoidance - avoiding situations that cause OCD
• What are the emotional characteristics of OCD?

  1. anxiety and distress
  2. depression
  3. guilt and disgust
• What are the cognitive characteristics of OCD?

  1 - obsessive thoughts

  2 - cognitive coping strategies

  3 - insight into excessive anxiety - aware they are irrational
• What is the genetic explanation to OCD?

  • genes are involved in the individual vulnerability to OCD
  • Lewis - observed that from his OCD patients - 37% of parents had OCD and 21% of siblings had OCD
  • the GENETIC VULNERABILITY is passed down not the OCD
• What is the role of the diathesis stress model in OCD?

  • certain genes leave some ppl more likely to develop a mental disorder. The environment triggers mental conditions
• What is the role of candidate genes in OCD?

  • genes create vulnerability for OCD
  • involved in regulating the development of the serotonin system (5HT1-D beta)
  • OCD is polygenic - OCD is not caused by a single gene but by a COMBINATION of genes that causes genetic vulnerability
  • can be up to 230 genes assosciated
• What does aetiologically heterogenous mean?

  • one group of genes may cause OCD for ONE person and a DIFFERENT group of genes for someone else
  • aetiologically heterogenous - origins of OCD vary from one person to another
• What is the neural explanation of OCD?

  • role of serotonin - helps to regulate mood and neurotransmitters are responsible for relaying information from one neuron to another
  • if person has lower levels of serotonin, then a normal transmission of information does not take place and a person may experience low moods and other mental processes may be affected
  • OCD - reduction of serotonin
• What is the role of the brain in OCD?

  • decision making systems - some causes of OCD seem to be associated with impaired decision making
  • associated with abnormal functioning of lateral frontal lobes which are responsible for decision making
  • parahippocampul gyrus - associated with processing low emotions and abnormal functions in OCD
• Evaluation for genetic explanations -

  • research support - Nestadt et al reviewed twin studies and found 68% of identical (MZ) shared OCD as opposed to 31% of DZ
  • if a family member has OCD, a person is 4 times more likely to get OCD
  • limitation - environmental risk factors can trigger the risk of getting OCD
• Evaluation of neural explanation -

  • strength - evidence as antidepressants that work purely on serotonin are effective in reducing OCD symptoms. Biological disorders also produces OCD symptoms and suggests biological factors may be responsible for OCD
  • limitation - those with OCD also experience depression. The depression involves disruption to serotonin so the SRT may not be relevant to OCD symptoms (co morbidity)
• What is the biological approach to treating OCD?

  • SSRI'S - used to tackle symptoms of OCD
  • 3-4 months of effective use to see improvements
• Drug Therapy -

  1. Serotonin is released by pre synaptic neurons and travel across the synapse
  2. Neurotransmitter chemically conveys signals from presynaptic to postsynaptic and then in reabsorbed by the pre and broken down to be reused
  3. SSRI'S prevent the reabsorption and breakdown and succesfully increase levels of serotonin and compensate for the missing levels
• What is CBT?

  • cognitive behavioural therapy
  • used alongside CBT to treat OCD
  • drugs reduce a persons' emotional symptoms and people with OCD engage more with CBT
• What are the alternatives to SSRI'S?

  1. Tricyclics - acts on various systems and has some effect on SSRI'S
  2. SNRI'S - increase levels of serotonin as well as neroadrenaline
• Evaluation of drug therapy -

  • evidence for effectiveness - Soomro et al reviewed 17 studies that compared SSRI'S to placebos in the treatment of OCD. All 17 studies showed better outcomes for SSRI'S then placebos
  • cost effective and non disruptive to a persons' life
  • limitation - serious side effects such as indigestion, blurred vision and a loss of sex drive. These can be long lasting and have reduced the quality of life
• What is depression?

   a low mood or loss of pleasure or interest in activities for long periods of time.
• What are the behavioural characteristics of depression?

  1. Activity levels - lack of energy and pleasure
  2. Disruption to sleep and eating
  3. Aggression and self harm
• What are the emotional characteristics of depression?

  1. Lowered mood
  2. Lowered self esteem
  3. Anger
• What are the cognitive characteristics of depression?

  1. Absolutist thinking
  2. Focusing on negative aspects
  3. Poor concentration