Psychopathology

Statistical infrequency

• occurs when an individual has a less common characteristic

• statistical norms = any commonly seen behaviour or characteristic

• deviation = any unusual behaviour or characterisitc

deviation from social norms

• concerns behaviour that is different from the accepted standards of behaviour in a community / society

• social norms = ways in which most people behave, established by social groups

• deviation = a behaviour different from how most people behave

failure to function adequately

• occurs when someone is unable to cope with ordinary demands of day-to-day living

deviation from ideal mental health

• occurs when someone does not meet a set of criteria for good mental health

• good mental health = criteria including a lack of symptoms, independence, realistic view of the world, self-actualisation and good self-esteem

cultural relativism

• the idea that cultural norms and values are culture specific and no-one culture is superior to another culture

Phobia

an irrational fear of an object or situation

behavioural

ways in which people act

emotional

related to a person’s feelings or mood

cognitive

refers to the process of ‘knowing’, including thinking, reasoning, remembering, believing

depression

a mental disorder characterised by low mood and low energy levels

OCD

• a condition characterised by obsessions and/or compulsive behaviour

• obsessions are cognitive whereas compulsions are behavioural

the behavioural approach (phobias)

• a way of explaining behaviour in terms of what is observable and in terms of learning

Two-process model

• an explanation for the onset and persistence of disorders that create anxiety, such as phobias

• the two processes are classical conditioning for onset and operant conditioning for persistence

classical conditioning

• learning by association

• occurs when 2 stimuli are repeatedly paired together - an unconditioned (unlearned) stimulus and a new neutral stimulus

• the neutral stimulus eventually produces the same response that was first produced by the unconditioned stimulus alone

Operant conditioning

• a form of learning in which behaviour is shaped and maintained by its consequences

• possible consequences of behaviour include positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement or punishment

Systematic desensitisation

• a behavioural therapy designed to reduce an unwanted response, such as anxiety.

• it involves drawing up an anxiety hierarchy of anxiety-provoking situations related to a person’s phobic stimuli, teaching the person to relax, and then exposing them to phobic situations

• the person works their way through the hierarchy whilst maintaining relaxation

Flooding

• a behavioural therapy in which a person with a phobia is exposed to an extreme form of a phobic stimulus in order to reduce anxiety triggered by that stimulus

• this takes place across a small number of long therapy sessions

counterconditioning

• where a person can learn to relax in the presence of the phobic stimulus

• a new response to the phobic stimulus is learned - phobic stimulus is paired with relaxation instead of anxiety

what is the difference between reciprocal inhibition and counterconditioning

• Reciprocal inhibition is the idea that you cannot experience two opposing emotions at the same time — for example, you can't be anxious and relaxed simultaneously.

• Counterconditioning is the process of replacing an unwanted response (like fear) with a new, more desirable response (like relaxation or calmness) through new learning.

• reciprocal inhibition = Relaxation inhibits anxiety.

• counterconditioning = New response replaces old one through learning.

cognitive approach (depression)

• focuses on how our mental processes i.e. thoughts, perceptions and attention, affect behaviour

negative triad

• Beck proposed that there are 3 kinds of negative thinking that contribute to being depressed

• they are negative views of the world, the future and the self

• such negative views lead a person to interrupt their experiences in a negative way and so make them more vulnerable to depression

ABC model

• Ellis proposed that depression occurs when an activating event (A) triggers an irrational belief (B) which in turn produces a consequence (C)

• i.e. an emotional response like depression

• the key to this process is the irrational belief

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)

• a method for treating mental disorders based on both cognitive and behavioural techniques

• from the cognitive viewpoint the therapy aims to deal with thinking, such as challenging negative thoughts

• the therapy also includes behavioural techniques such as behavioural activation

Irrational thoughts

• also called dysfunctional thoughts

• in Ellis’s model and therapy, these are defined as thoughts that are likely to interfere with a person’s happiness.

• such dysfunctional thoughts lead to mental disorders such as depression

mustabatory thinking

• the belief that certain things must be true in order for someone to be happy of successful

• irrational thoughts that create unrealistic expectations

The biological approach (OCD)

a perspective that emphasises the importance of physical processes in the body such ass genetic inheritance and neural function

genetic explanation

• genes make up chromosomes and consist of DNA which codes the physical features of an organism e.g. eye colour and psychological features e.g. mental disorders an intelligence.

• genes are transmitted from parents to offspring - inherited

neural explanations

• the view that physical and psychological characteristics are determined by the behaviour of the nervous system, in particular the brain as well as individual neurons

drug therapy

• treatment involving drugs i.e. chemical that have a particular effect on the functioning of the brain or some other body system

• in the case os psychological disorders such drugs usually affect neurotransmitter levels