Psychopathology

• What is OCD?


  Type of anxiety disorder, individual has recurring thoughts and repetitive behaviours.
• Name 2 behavioural characteristics of OCD

  Compulsions and avoidance.
• Describe compulsions. 


  Repetitive behaviours performed in order to reduce anxiety, caused by obsessions, e.g wash hands- contaminated by germs.
• Describe avoidance. 


  Try to reduce anxiety by keeping away from triggers to their obsessions, e.g. not taking out bins because being contaminated by germs.
• Name emotional characteristics of OCD.

  Anxiety and accompanying depression.
• Describe anxiety.

  Unpleasant state of high arousal caused by frightening nature of obsessions. Urges to repeat behaviour (checking) furthers anxiety.
• Describe accompanying depression


  Intrusive and persistent nature of obsessions causes low mood, also caused by needing to engage in compulsions, e.g checking oven constantly, not meeting friends.
• Name cognitive characteristics of OCD

  Obsessions and insight into irrationality.
• Describe obsessions.

  Recurrent thoughts, e.g. persistent thought of harming someone. Cause anxiety due to intrusive and frightening nature.
• Describe insight into irrationality.

  Sufferers aware thoughts/ behaviours are not based in reality, e.g. bump in road being speed bump, not person.
• Describe Phobia

  Type of anxiety disorder, individual has irrational fear of situation/ object.
• Behavioural characteristics of phobias

  Panic and avoidance.
• What is panic?

  Occur when person encounters phobic stimulus, involves screaming, shaking, running away. Can also freeze, faint or vomit.
• What is avoidance?

  Sufferers attempt to reduce anxiety by keeping away from stimulus, e.g. school- social phobia.
• Emotional characteristics of phobias.

  Anxiety and unreasonable emotional response.
• Describe anxiety

  Unpleasant state of high arousal caused by encountering phobic stimulus, e.g. phobia of clowns making child worry at party.
• Describe unreasonable emotional response.

  Responses to stimulus are unreasonable, seen as wildly disproportionate to danger posed, e.g. arachnophobia.
• Cognitive characteristics of phobias.

  Selective attention and irrational beliefs.
• Describe selective attention.

  Phobic individuals find it hard to look away from stimulus, e.g. dogs.
• Describe irrational beliefs.

  Individual may hold unreasonable beliefs in relation to phobic stimulus, e.g. being stung will kill you.

  Resistant to rational arguments, e.g. fear of flying.
• What is depression?

  Type of mood disorder, experience persistent sadness and hopelessness.
• Behavioural characteristics of depression.

  Changes to activity levels and changes to sleep patterns.
• Describe changes to activity levels.

  Sufferers have reduced energy levels- lethargic. Effects school, work and social life. Can have increased energy levels, agitated individuals struggle to relax, may pace room.
• Describe changes to sleep patterns.

  May experience insomnia due to experiencing negative thoughts. Others experience hypersomnia, method used to escape persistent sadness.
• Emotional characteristics of depression.

  Low mood and low self-esteem.
• Describe low mood

  Sufferers describe themselves as feeling empty, lack of pleasure in activities they used to enjoy.
• Describe low self-esteem

  Sufferers like themselves less than usual, can be extreme- feeling of self-loathing such as hating themselves.
• Cognitive characteristics of depression.

  Poor concentration and dwelling on the negative.
• Describe poor concentration.

  Individual unable to stick with task as usual, may find simple decision making difficult. Paying more attention to negative thoughts, focusing on other tasks extremely difficult.
• Describe dwelling on the negative.

  Sufferers inclined to pay more attention to negative aspects of situation and ignore positives. Also having bias towards recalling unhappy events rather than happy.
• Explanation and treatment of OCD

  Biological approach- OCD determined by genetic and neural means, treatments based upon chemical means.
• Explanation and treatment of phobias

  Behaviourist approach- Phobias occur through learning processes, classical and operant conditioning, treatments based on adapting behaviour through sub. of new response or extinc. existing response.
• Explanation and treatment of depression

  Cognitive approach- Depression determined through maladaptive thought processes, treatment based on modifying thought patterns to alter behaviour and emotional states.
• Genetic explanation of OCD

  Biological explanation- specific genes inherited create vulnerability to OCD.

  OCD is polygenic, certain genes create vulnerability.

  Combinations of genes may cause disorder in different people- aetiologically hetero genous.

  Different combinations- different types of OCD.
• What is the gene called that could lead to vulnerability to OCD?

  5HT1D-Beta
• Pneumonic to remember gene for vulnerability to OCD.

  5 horses tripped 1 day.
• What does aetiologically hetero genous mean?

  The cause is different genes.
• What is the role of the 5HT1D-Beta gene?

  Regulate the neurotransmitter, Serotonin.
• What low levels of which neurotransmitter explain OCD?

  Serotonin
• What part of the brain initiates motor function?

  The Basal Ganglia.