psychopathology

definitions of abnormality - failure to function adequately

can’t cope with demands of everyday life

Rosenhaan + Seligman = observer discomfort, unpredictability, irrationality, maladaptiveness

+ serves as threshold to identify mental illness

- not the whole picture (Comer)

- exceptions - e.g. Harold Shipman murdered patients, still able to hold down job

- cultural relativism

- unclear cause + effect

definitions of abnormality - deviation from ideal mental health

Jahoda proposed 6 criteria:

• positive attitudes towards self

• self-actualisation

• resistance to stress

• personal autonomy

• accurate perception of reality

• environmental mastery

+ comprehensive explanation, used as checklist so less subjective

+ real-world app. in diagnosis

- self-actualisation is difficult to achieve (2%)

- possible benefits of stress

- cultural relativity

definitions of abnormality - statistical infrequency

behaviour that deviates numerically from the majority- extreme ends of normal distribution curve

+ reliable + easy to measure due to statistical nature

+ used in diagnosis of intellectual disabilities

+ measurement is objective- diagnosis without prejudice

- historical validity - stats always changing

- cultural relativity

- some undesirable characteristics are common (e.g. depression) and vice versa

definitions for abormality - deviation from social norms

people who don’t conform to a set of moral codes in the society in which they live

implicit = unspoken conventions, e.g. queueing

explicit = enforceable laws, e.g. robbery = illegal

- historical context - norms change over time, e.g. homosexuality

- political influence - Cohen- Japanese striving for industrial success viewed those who didn’t comply as mentally ill, sent to ‘loony bins’

- context - some behaviours only viewed as abnormal in certain situations, e.g. day drinking

phobias- characteristics

emotional:

• disproportional anxiety

• panic

behavioural:

• avoidance

• freezing

• fainting

cognitive:

• recognition of irrational fear

• resistance to rational arguments

phobias - behavioural explanation

two process model:

• classical conditioning - initiation = traumatic exp. with stimulus leads it to be associated with fear, leads to phobia, e.g. Little Albert (Watson et al)

• operant conditioning - maintenance = negative reinforcement when stimulus is avoided, fear is gone

+ research support - Seligman ‘biological preparedness’

+ success of treatment

- reductionist

- deterministic

phobias - behaviourist treatments

systematic desensitisation = relaxation techniques, hierarchy of fears

flooding = surround patient with phobia and no escape until fear subsides, unethical (duh)

+ focus on behaviour - avoids labelling and stigma

+ acknowledges cultural and individual diff

- ethical issues

- relevance, many tests conducted w animals

depression - characteristics

emotional (5 for > 2 weeks):

• extreme sadness

• lack of pleasure in activities

• anger

behavioural:

• reduced/increased activity and energy

• agitation/restlessness

• change in sleep patterns or eating behaviour

cognitive:

• irrational NATs

• negative triad

• self-fulfilling prophecy

depression - cognitive explanation

Beck - cognitive vulnerability:

• fundamental errors in logic

• negative self schemas

• negative triad - self, world, future

• + practical app. in CBT

• - does not include all aspects

Ellis - rational thinking:

• A = activating event, B = belief, C = consequence

• musturbatory thinking

• + practical application in CBT

• - not all depression is triggered by specific event

diathesis stress model = genetic predisposition + env. stressors - > high risk, lower if only one or none of these things

depression - cognitive treatments

CBT:

• thought catching

• identifying NATs

• reality testing

• behavioural techniques

• hw tasks

• cognitive restructuring

REBT (Ellis):

• Activating event

• Belief

• Consequence

• Disputing

• Effective replacement

OCD - characteristics

emotional:

• distress from obsessions/compulsions

• awareness + embarrassment of behaviour

behavioural:

• compulsions

compulsions:

• obsessions

• anxiety due to uncontrollable behaviour

OCD - biological explanations

genetics:

• Miguel et al = 87% monozygotic vs 47% others

• genetically predisposed to OCD

• + research support - Nestadt’s twin studies

• + objective research

• - family studies could be explained by same environment (confounding)

• candidate genes (COMT = dopamine, SERT = serotonin)

• polygenetic, Taylor found 230 genes

neural:

• rise in dopamine in prefrontal cortex, drop in serotonin in basal ganglia

• evidence from brain scans

• Rapport + Wise - hypersensitive basal ganglia

• + advances in technology = evidence

• - basal ganglia - > compulsions, not obsessions

OCD - biological treatments

drug treatments - anti anxiety/antidepressants

SSRIs (e.g. fluoxetine):

• target serotonin by blocking serotonin transporters, raise serotonin levels

trycyclics (e.g. onafranil):

• targets noradrenaline by blocking reabsorption

• side effects, e.g. heart seizures, impotence

anti-anxiety drugs (e.g. diazepine):

• targets GABA to slow activity of CNS

• addictive properties, last resort

+ cheap + less time-consuming

+ advanced technology- objective, scientific

- can’t cure OCD but lessens symptoms

- ethical issues of side effects