Psychopathology

• OCD is a type of anxiety disorder where an individual has reoccuringthoughts and repetitive behaviours
• One behavioural characteristic of OCD is compulsions, these are repetitive behaviours that are performed in order to reduce the anxiety caused by obsessions. For example, a person may compulsively wash their hands in response to an obsession about being contaminated by germs

  Another behavioural characteristic of OCD is avoidance, OCD sufferers attempt to reduce anxiety by keeping away from situations that trigger their obsessions. For example, an obsession about being contaminated by germs may lead to a person not taking out their bins.
• One emotional characteristic of OCD is anxiety, this unpleasant state of high arousal is caused by the frightening nature of obsessions. The urge to repeat a behaviour, such as checking, can cause the sufferer further anxiety.

  Another emotional characteristic of OCD is accompanying depression, the intrusive and persistent nature of the obsessions can also cause low mood. The need to engage in compulsions can also cause this; for example, a person may stop meeting up with friends as they do not want the unnecessary burden of having to check that the oven is off.
• Obsessions


  Recurrent thoughts that cause feelings of anxiety due to their intrusive and frightening nature
• A person may experience the persistent thought that they may have harmed someone
• Insight into irrationality

  Sufferers are aware that their thoughts and/or behaviours are not based in reality
• A person with a harm obsession knows that it is unlikely they hit someone with their car; it is more likely they went over a bump in the road
• In spite of insight, sufferers experience worst case scenarios if their obsessions were justified
• A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder, an individual with a phobia has an irrational fear of a situation or object

   
• One behavioural characteristic of phobias is panic, panic behaviours may involve screaming, shaking, or running away from the phobic stimulus. Panic can also involve freezing, fainting, or vomiting if an individual remains in the presence of the phobic situation.
• Another behavioural characteristic of phobias is avoidance, phobic sufferers attempt to reduce anxiety by keeping away from their phobic stimulus or situation. For example, a student may avoid going to school due to their social phobia.
• One emotional characteristic of phobias is anxiety, this is an unpleasant state of high arousal caused by an individual encountering their phobic stimulus/situation. For example, if an individual with a phobia of clowns saw one at a child’s party they would worry and experience distress making it very difficult to enjoy the party.
• Another emotional characteristic of phobias is that responses to the phobic stimulus are unreasonable, so the response to the phobic stimulus is seen as wildly disproportionate to the danger posed. For example, a person with arachnophobia may cry at a tiny spider, which would be seen by most people as an excessive response as most people wouldn’t react that way to even a poisonous spider.
• Another emotional characteristic of phobias is that responses to the phobic stimulus are unreasonable, so the response to the phobic stimulus is seen as wildly disproportionate to the danger posed. For example, a person with arachnophobia may cry at a tiny spider, which would be seen by most people as an excessive response as most people wouldn’t react that way to even a poisonous spider.
• Another cognitive characteristic of phobias is irrational beliefs, the phobic individual may hold unreasonable beliefs in relation to phobic stimuli; for example, thinking that being stung by as wasp may kill them. They are also resistant to rational arguments; for example, someone with a fear of flying is not helped by the argument that it is one of the safest forms of transport.
• Depression is a type of mood disorder, an individual with depression experiences persistent sadness and hopelessness

   
• One behavioural characteristic of depression is changes to activity levels, many sufferers of depression have reduced levels of energy making them lethargic, this has a knock on effect for work, education and their social life. Some suffers can experience increased activity levels, agitated individuals struggle to relax and may end up pacing up and down a room.
• One behavioural characteristic of depression is changes to activity levels, many sufferers of depression have reduced levels of energy making them lethargic, this has a knock on effect for work, education and their social life. Some suffers can experience increased activity levels, agitated individuals struggle to relax and may end up pacing up and down a room.
• One emotional characteristic of depression is low mood, depressed individuals often describe themselves as feeling empty. They also report a lack of pleasure in activities that used to bring them joy, for example going for a run.

  Another emotional characteristic of depression is low self-esteem, some sufferers report that they like themselves less than usual. For some this can be quite extreme, with them describing feelings of self-loathing such as hating themselves.
• One cognitive characteristic of depression is poor concentration, the individual may find themselves unable to stick with a task as they usually would, or they may find simple decision making difficult. This poor concertation arises as they are paying a lot of attention to their negative thoughts which makes focusing attention to other tasks extremely difficult.
• Another cognitive characteristic of depression is dwelling on the negative, depressed people are inclined to pay more attention to negative aspects of a situation and ignore the positives. Depressed individuals are also likely to have a bias towards recalling unhappy events rather than happy ones.
• Biological approach: The perception of OCD as determined by genetic and neural means, with treatments based upon chemical means
• Behaviourist approach: The perception of phobias as occurring through learning processes, with treatments based upon modifying  maladaptive behaviour through substitution of a new response or extinction of an existing response
• Cognitive approach: The perception of depression as determined through maladaptive thought processes, with treatments based upon modifying thought patterns to alter behaviour and emotional states
• •       One biological explanation of OCD is the genetic explanation, this suggests that there are specific candidate genes that, if inherited from parents, create a vulnerability to OCD; for example, 5HT1-D beta which regulates the neurotransmitter serotonin

  •       However, further research has shown that OCD is polygenic, up to 230 genes have been implicated with OCD

  •       One combination of genes may cause OCD in one person but a different combination of genes may cause OCD in another, making this disorder aetiologically heterogeneous
• •       One biological explanation of OCD is the genetic explanation, this suggests that there are specific candidate genes that, if inherited from parents, create a vulnerability to OCD; for example, 5HT1-D beta which regulates the neurotransmitter serotonin

  •       However, further research has shown that OCD is polygenic, up to 230 genes have been implicated with OCD

  •       One combination of genes may cause OCD in one person but a different combination of genes may cause OCD in another, making this disorder aetiologically heterogeneous
• Two-process model


  Phobias are acquired through classical conditioning
• Acquisition of phobias

  1. Bee (NS) does not cause fear (No UCR)

  2. Being stung (UCS) causes fear (UCR)

  3. Association of being stung with bees

  4. Bee (CS) produces fear (CR)
• Generalisation of the conditioned stimulus can occur
• Generalisation


  Tendency to respond in the same way to different but similar stimuli
• Responses acquired by classical conditioning tend to decline over time
• Phobias are often long lasting
• Maintenance of phobias

  Explained through operant conditioning
• Avoiding a phobic stimulus

  Reduction in fear
• Negative reinforcement

  Phobia is maintained due to reduction in fear when avoiding the stimulus
• The person continues to run away whenever they see a bee to avoid the unpleasant feeling of anxiety
• Beck’s theory


  A cognitive explanation of depression that claims cognitive vulnerability is onset by the development of a negative self-schema in childhood
• Negative self-schemas are developed when a child is subject to negative experiences, such as criticism from parents
• Negative experiences in childhood

  Lead to the development of a negative self-schema
• Individuals with negative self-schemas interpret all information about themselves in a negative way