Paper 1 Psychopathology

• Rosenhan and Seligmann - failure to function adequately


  Suggested that personal dysfunction has 7 features:

  1. Personal distress

  2. Maladaptive behaviour

  3. Unpredictabilty

  4. Irrationality

  5. Observer discomfort

  6. Violation of moral standards

  7. Unconventiality

  AO3:

  - Suffering is normal, cultural relativism, dysfunctional behaviour is functional
• Marie Jahoda (1958)


  Criteria for ideal mental health:

  1. No distress

  2. Perceive ourselves rationally

  3. Self-actualise

  4. Cope with stress

  5. Realistic view of world

  6. Good self-esteem

  7. Independent of other people

  8. Successfully work/love/enjoy our leisure

  AO3:

  - Cultural relativism, unrealistically high standard, broad criteria.
• Mowrer (1960)


  Behavioural approach can be used to explain phobias using a two-process model. Phobia is learnt by classical conditioning and then continues due to operant conditioning.
• Little Albert


  Proving you can condition a subject to be afraid.

  Shown different animals to see which he was most fond of. Most fond of white rat, then whenever he saw the rat a loud noise was played so he became afraid of the rat due to association.
• Seligman (1971)


  -Some fears are based off evolutionary necessity (i.e. fear of the dark)
• Watson and Rayner


  More explanation than other studies and implies phobia treatment.
• Buck (2010)


  Some agoraphobics are able to leave their house with a trusted friend with relatively little anxiety, but not alone
• Ohman et al (1975)


  SD less effective when treating biologically prepared phobias. These are phobias that have an underlying survival component, e.g. fear of the dark.
• Choy


  Flooding is quicker and more effective treatment than systematic desensitisation.
• Goldstein and Palmer


  Emotional characteristics - feelings

  Behavioural characteristics - actions

  Cognitive characteristics - thoughts
• Gerald et al (2010)


  68% of identical twins shared OCD as opposed to 31% of non-identical.
• Marini and Stebnicki (2012)


  Found that a person with a family member diagnosed with OCD is around four times likely to develop it as someone without.
• Kiara Cromer et al (2007)


  1/2 of OCD clients experiences traumatic event in past.
• Statistical infrequency


  Behaviour which is abnormal and outside the typical range

  AO3:

  Crucial part of clinical assessments

  Unusual characteristics can be positive (high IQ)

  Not everyone benefits from labels

  Social vs statistical norms
• Mowrer (phobias)

  2 process model:

  Classical conditioning to learn phobia, then operant conditioning to reinforce response
• Genes to do with OCD

  COMT gene = enzyme to stop dopamine

  SERT gene = produce enough seretonin
• Worry circuit OCD

  1. OCD person observe something unpleasant
  2. Orbitofrontal cortex sends signals to caudate nucleus
  3. Caudate nucleus doesn't work properly and block signals due to decreased serotonin
  4. Thalamus returns signals
• Behavioural characteristics of depression 


  Less energy, withdraw from work, disruption to sleep pattern, self-harm
• Emotional characteristics of depression


  Easily irritable, emotionless, lack of motivation
• Cognitive characteristics of depression


  Poor concentration, focus of negative things.
• Beck's negative triad

  • Faulty information processing = Fundamental errors in logic, ignore positives
  • Negative self schema = Interpret themselves in negative way
  • Negative triad = Negative view of world, self and future
• Becks cognitive therapy

  1. Identify negative thoughts and goals
  2. Challenge negative thoughts through persuasion, humour and reasoning
  3. Client taught to monitor own perceptions accurately
• Beck's cognitive biases


  magnification = overestimating significance of event

  minimisation = undervaluing positive attributes
• Ellis ABC model 


  Activating event (Emma overhears 'she gets on my nerves')

  Belief which result in (think its about her)

  Consequences (withdraw from group)
• Ellis rational emotional therapy 


  Therapist tries to dispute irrational thinking, try to help person make more rational and positive decisions

  Cognitive element = find out irrational thoughts

  Behavioural element = therapist sets client small goals to achieve which are practised through role play or homework
• Evaluation for failure to function adequately

  • Discrimination 
  • This definition labels individuals who make unusual life choices, E.g. those who complete unusual spiritual activities or base jumpers, as abnormal
  • This definition also discriminates against those cultures who make different life choices, E.g. Travellers, who may not live at a permanent address and choose not to work
• Evaluation for failure to function adequately

  
  

  Abnormality is normal 

  • This definition does not consider when it is normal to behave abnormally, for example at the loss of a loved one, through a divorce, taking exams
• Evaluation for failure to function adequately

  
  

  Abnormality and dysfunction do not always go together 

  • This definition does not explain people with dangerous personality disorders, such as psychopaths, who can appear normal, E.g. Harold Shipman a respected doctor who murdered over 200 patients but was seen as a respectable doctor