psychopathology

• Behaviours that are statistically rare should be seen as abnormal
• What is regarded as statistically rare depends on normal distribution
• Any individual who falls outside 'the normal distribution' (2 Std dev points from mean) is considered abnormal
• Not all abnormal behaviours are infrequent- about 10% of people will be chronically depressed at some point in their lives- therefore this is not 'abnormal'
• Deviation from social norms


  Standards of acceptable behaviour are set by a social group
• Anything that deviates from acceptable behaviour is considered abnormal
• In the past some sexual behaviour between certain groups was seen as deviant- e.g. Homosexuality. This was once seen as a mental disorder as it deviated from the norms
• Failure to function adequately


  Failing to cope with the demands of everyday life
• Signs that can be used to show someone is failing to cope- 1. no longer conforming to standard interpersonal rules (eye contact when talking), 2. Personal distress (anxiety/depression), 3. irrational or dangerous to self or others
• The individual (NOT SOCIETY) judges when their behaviour becomes abnormal
• Deviation from ideal mental health


  Jahoda states we should look at mental illness in the same way as physical illness, by looking for the absence of signs of mental healthiness
• Categories that define mental healthiness


  • Positive attitudes towards oneself
  • Self actualisation
  • Resistance to stress
  • Autonomy
  • Accurate perception of reality
  • Environmental mastery
• The absence of these categories would suggest mental illness
• Behavioural characteristics of phobias include panic, crying, screaming, running away, avoidance, and endurance
• Emotional characteristics of phobias include anxiety, feeling of dread, and unreasonable emotional responses
• Cognitive characteristics of phobias include selective attention, irrational beliefs, and cognitive distortions
• Behavioural explanation of phobias


  Behaviourist Psychologists believe that all our behaviour is learnt
• Key features of the behavioural approach include only focusing on overt behaviour, and the belief that abnormal behaviour is learnt in the same way as normal behaviour through conditioning
• Classical conditioning involves forming associations between a stimulus and a response, leading to phobias
• Operant conditioning involves negative reinforcement through anxiety avoidance, leading to phobias
• Systematic desensitisation is a behavioural therapy for treating phobias that involves relaxation techniques and gradual exposure to the feared object/situation
• Flooding involves immediate and prolonged exposure to the feared object/situation
• Systematic desensitisation is preferred to flooding as it is more suitable for a diverse range of patients and has lower refusal and attrition rates
• Behavioural characteristics of depression include reduced activity levels, disruption to sleep and eating, and aggression/self-harm
• Emotional characteristics of depression include lowered mood, anger, low self-esteem, anhedonia, and diurnal mood variation
• Cognitive characteristics of depression include slower thought processes, attending to and dwelling on the negative, and absolutist thinking
• Cognitive explanation of depression


  Abnormality is caused by faulty thinking or perceptions
• Beck's cognitive triad represents three types of negative thoughts present in depression: negative thoughts about the self, the world/environment, and the future
• Negative schemas and cognitive biases trigger these negative thoughts, leading to a pessimistic viewpoint
• Cognitive therapy for depression aims to challenge these negative thoughts and negative schemas
• Depressed participants took longer to disengage from the negative words


  Than non-depressed participants, which suggests the depressives were focusing more on the negative words in line with Beck's theory
• Ellis- Activating agent


  Only accounts for reactive depression. There are other types of depression E.g. the manic aspect of Bipolar. Sometimes depression can arise without an obvious cause
• Beck- Explains the basic symptoms well


  BUT depression is very complex. Some patients are deeply angry. (Beck cannot explain these extreme emotions). Not all individuals view themselves negatively
• Cognitive Treatment of Depression


  1. Identification of negative thoughts - 'thought catching' and rational confrontation- Empirical disputing- Beliefs may not be constant with reality- E.g. Where is the proof that this belief is accurate? Pragmatic disputing- Emphasise the lack of usefulness of self defeating beliefs E.g. how is this belief likely to help me?

  2. Hypothesis testing; patient as 'scientist' data gathering through 'homework', eg diary keeping- This phase is designed to put the new rational beliefs into practice

  3. Reinforcement of positive thoughts; cognitive restructuring- Behavioural Activation-Reinforcement of positive thoughts- Client is encouraged to carry out activities that are pleasurable to them
• March compared the improvement rates of 327 adolescents diagnosed with depression in three conditions: CBT- 81%, Anti-depressant- 81%, CBT and antidepressant 86%
• This is a good argument that CBT as a treatment should be used in public health (e.g. NHS) as it avoids the side effects of drugs
• Whitfield & Williams (2003) found CBT had the strongest research base for effectiveness, but recognised there's a problem in the National Health Service being able to deliver weekly face-to-face sessions for patients and suggested this could be addressed by introducing self-help versions of the treatment, like the SPIRIT course, which teaches core cognitive behavioural skills using structured self-help material
• Behavioural characteristics of OCD


  • Repetitive compulsions - individuals tend to repeat the same behaviour e.g. hand washing/counting
  • Compulsions reduce anxiety
  • Some individuals show compulsions where obsessions are absent with the aim of reducing general anxiety
  • Most individuals show compulsions as a response to an obsession
  • Avoidance - an individual may remove themselves from/stay away from certain situations in the hope that their anxiety will not be triggered
• Emotional characteristics of OCD


  • Anxiety and distress - obsessions and compulsions are accompanied by anxiety as they are unpleasant and frightening experiences
  • Depression - anxiety can lead to a low mood and reduced enjoyment in normal activities
  • Guilt and disgust - irrational guilt may be present and disgust at oneself in response to a situation e.g. bacteria being present
• Cognitive characteristics of OCD


  • Obsessions - intrusive and persistent thoughts, images or impulses that are unwanted (over 90% of sufferers)
  • Cognitive strategies to deal with obsessions - e.g. carrying out another task such as praying
  • Insight into excessive anxiety – an awareness of the irrationality must be present
  • Catastrophic thoughts - individuals tend to think about and focus on worst case scenarios
  • Hyper vigilant - the individual maintains a constant alertness of the hazards