OCR Psychology - Alternatives to Medical Model

What is systematic desensitisation?

A non-biological treatment for specific phobias

How does systematic desensitisation work?

They slowly replace the negative associations with good / neutral ones

What is systematic desensitisation based on?

Classical conditioning

What hierarchy does the client move up in their own time?

The anxiety hierarchy

What is an example of a relaxation technique?

Body scan

Why is systematic desensitisation ethical?

The patient has full control over the treatment

What is Mowrer’s two process model?

An explanation for how phobias are learnt - learnt through classical conditioning + maintained through operant conditioning

What is an example of learning a phobia through classical conditioning?

Little Albert was classically conditioned to have a phobia of the white rat

How can a phobia be maintained through positive reinforcement?

The person with a phobia can receive attention + sympathy

How can a phobia be maintained through negative reinforcement?

Using avoidance to reduce anxiety caused by the phobia which allows the phobia to continue

How can phobias be learnt through social learning theory?

Children can observe how a parent reacts to the object of their phobia + imitate this behaviour

What limits the validity of Watson and Rayner’s case study on Little Albert?

The phobia was conditioned in a laboratory + this might not work the same way in real life

What did Mineka et al. find?

Monkeys can develop a phobia of snakes by observing other monkeys

What did Askew and Field find?

The children matched the feelings (calmness / fear) that the adults faces showed

What was the sample in Askew and Field’s study?

47 children (aged 7 - 9)

What is a strength of the behaviourist explanation of phobias?

Successful treatments based on classical conditioning - systematic desensitisation + flooding

Why is the behaviourist explanation of phobias limited?

It is reductionist - ignores irrational thinking + how they could be instructive because they aid survival

What is an example of a schizophrenic metarepresensation problem?

Not being able to recognise their own behaviour as being different to someone eles’s

What is thought insertion?

This is when a schizophrenic cannot distinguish between their own thoughts + someone else’s speech so they may believe someone is putting thoughts in their heads

How could a schizophrenic interpret a neutral message due to paranoia?

They could interpret it negatively / think they are being plotted against

What are problems with central control?

Being unable to suppress automatic responses to stimuli

What is an example of a problem with central control?

A schizophrenic may intended to carry out a task but become distracted by other stimuli in the environment

What is sensory overload?

As schizophrenics may be more consciously aware of all cognitive processes they may become overwhelmed

What do the findings from Daprati et al. suggest?

Schizophrenics cannot differentiate between their hand moving + someone else’s on a TV screen

What do the findings from Frith and Done suggest?

Schizophrenics have difficulties with processing information - if they had negative symptoms they struggled with a verbal fluency task

What was the sample in Mohamed et al.’s study?

94 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia and 305 clinically “normal” people from Iowa, USA

What is cognitive flexibility?

The brain’s ability to transition from thinking about one concept to another - the quicker this can be done the greater level

What were the findings in Mohamed et al.’s study?

Schizophrenic patients had delayed recall, sequencing, organisation + cognitive flexibility

What limits the cognitive explanation of schizophrenia?

It cannot explain its causes

What is the sample in Kaney et al.’s study?

16 people with schizophrenia, 16 people with depression + 16 people with no disorders

What do the findings from Kaney et al. suggest?

Patients with schizophrenia have memory deficits + issues with interpreting information

What is the id?

The primitive part of personalities which is focused on pleasure + instant gratification

What is the superego?

The developed sense of right + wrong

What is the ego?

A balance if the id and the superego based in logic + reality

What is the iceberg model of the mind?

A theory Freud suggested that says majority of the mind is unconscious (e.g. instincts + disturbing memories)

What is repression?

An ego defence mechanism - disturbing thoughts, feelings + memories are pushed into the unconscious

What is displacement?

An ego defence mechanism - unconscious feelings are shifted onto another object

What is regression?

An ego defence mechanism - adopting childlike behaviours to cope with difficult emotions

Why does the ego use defence mechanisms?

To protect itself from anxiety

What is the psychodynamic explanation of phobias?

Phobias are caused by unconscious anxieties that threaten the ego

What is Freud’s explanation of depression?

Children may feel anger towards cold parents, out of fear / guilt the child will repress this anger, this becomes self-hatred + leads to depressive symptoms

What did Coffino find?

The strongest predictor of adult depression was the loss of a parent between the ages 5 - 8 years old

What is Freud’s explanation of schizophrenia?

Harsh childhood environments cause trauma + the child copes by using regression

What is a symptom of schizophrenia that could be linked with regression?

Delusions of grandeur

What does the ego do that leads to positive symptoms of schizophrenia?

It tries to regain contact with reality + 5 this leads to auditory hallucinations

What did Bebbington et al. find?

A strong relationship between childhood sexual abuse + schizophrenia

What was Bebbington et al.’s sample?

7,353 participants

What limits Bebbington et al.’s findings?

It does not establish that schizophrenia is a result of specific psychodynamic processes (e.g. regression)

What is psychoanalysis based in?

The belief that depression is linked to repressed memories of loss + anger in childhood

What is free association?

A technique used in psychoanalysis

How does free association work?

Patients are encouraged to talk freely about anything that comes to mind, the patient lies on a couch facing away from the therapist (no judgement) + therapist may direct the patient to uncover certain memories

What is the aim of free association?

For the patient to gain insight into the unconscious thoughts + repressed memories to overcome mental health issues

How does dream analysis work?

Patients are asked to recall their dreams, ego defences are weakened when we dream so they can provide insight from our unconscious minds + then the therapist interprets the dreams in the context of the patient’s desires

Why is free association not appropriate for all disorders?

It requires coherent thought + speech - negative symptoms of schizophrenia can be disorganised speech

What were Fonagy’s findings?

The 67 participants who undertook psychoanalysis showed a significant decrease in symptoms of depression, 2 years following their treatment + the 62 who undertook CBT / medication showed no reduction

What was the aim of Szasz’s article?

To challenge people’s view of mental illness + how they should be treated

What does Szasz disagree with?

The medicalisation of disturbed behaviour

What does Szasz call mental illness?

A metaphor - if it has a physical basis it should be classed as a physical disease

What is a biological treatment that Szasz is against?

Drug treatments for disturbed behaviour (e,g, Ritalin for ADHD)

What mental disorders have changed overtime?

Homosexuality + hysteria

What is sectioning?

This is where you are kept in hospital without your consent under the Mental Health Act or

What supports Szasz’s argument that psychiatry is a pseudoscience

Clinicians can often give different diagnoses to the same patient as disorders have overlapping symptoms

Why is Szasz’s article socially sensitive?

It could distress those with mental illness + people could distrust psychiatry and refuse treatment

How is Szasz’s article useful?

It argues that other treatments should be favoured over drug treatments

What reduces the validity of Szasz’s article?

It is based in his opinion + does not use research to support his arguments

What is the cognitive explanation of depression?

The cause is irrational thinking which leads to negative feeling about self which affects behaviour

What is Beck’s negative triad?

Negative views of self → negative views of the world → negative views of the future

What do negative beliefs lead to?

Negative schemas

What are negative schemas?

Negative mental representations of the world

What can negative schemas lead to?

Cognitive biases

What research method did Butler et al. use?

A review of 16 meta analyses including 332 studies

What was the sample in Butler et al.’s review?

9995 participants

What did Butler et al. find?

Significant improvements in patients who had undergone CBT - so irrational thoughts are the basis of depression

What is CBT?

A therapy treatment where negative thoughts + errors in logic that could be causing the disorder are challenged and changed

Why would CBT work?

Butler and Beck reviewed 14 meta analyses, they found 80% of adults benefitted + it is more effective than drug therapy with lower relapse rates