AQA Psychology - Psychopathology

What is referred to as the scientific study of mental illness?

psychopathology

What are the four definitions of abnormality?

statistical infrequency (SI), deviation from social norms (DSN), failure to function adequately (FTFA), deviation from ideal mental health (DIMH)

Which definition defines 'abnormal' behaviours as those that are statistically rare or uncommon, with less than 5% of the population having it?

statistical infrequency (SI)

What percentage of data falls into 1 standard deviation?

68%

What percentage of data falls into 2 standard deviations?

95%

What is an example of a disorder that is classified by the statistical infrequency (SI) definition?

intellectual disability disorder (IDD)

What percentage of the population have an IQ score below 70?

2%

What is a strength of using the SI definition?

clear and easy to use

What is a problem when using the SI definition?

defines positive characteristics as abnormal

What is the idea that a definition/set of results can be potentially culturally biased?

ethnocentric

Which definition defines someone as abnormal if they behave in a way that is seen as “unacceptable” by the majority of scoeity?

deviation from social norms (DSN)

What are written rules referred to as?

explicit (rules)

What are unwritten rules referred to as?

implicit (rules)

What is a disorder that is illustrated by the DSN definition, involves “tics” (sudden outbursts) which break an implicit rule of society?

Tourette’s syndrome

What is a problem with the DSN definition?

social norms change over time (lack temporal validity)

What was classed as a mental illness in America until 1973?

homosexuality

In which tribe in Ethiopia are women required to wear lip plates by their culture?

Suri

Which definition defines someone as abnormal if they are unable to cope with everyday life?

failure to function adequately (FTFA)

Who drew up the four key characteristics of failing to function adequately?

Rosenhan and Seligman (1989)

What are the four key characteristics of FTFA?

distress, unpredictable behaviour, maladaptive behaviour, irrational behaviour

What is an example of a disorder classed by the FTFA definition?

anorexia nervosa

What are some problems with the FTFA definition?

failing to function doesn’t always indicate psychological abnormality/mental disorders do not always prevent a person from functioning

What is a strength of the FTFA definition?

it includes the patient’s perspective

Which “definition” sets out a criteria required for normality and people who lack these criteria are classed as abnromal?

deviation from ideal mental health (DIMH)

Who identified a list of six “characteristics for optimal living”?

Jahoda (1958)

What are the six characterisitics for optimal living?

autonomy, perception of reality, resistance to stress, mastery of the environment, self-attitudes and self-actualisation

Why is depression be classed as abnormal by the DIMN definition?

low self-esteem, negative view of the world, struggle with self-attitudes, self-actualisation and autonomy

Why is the DIMN definition too idealistic?

high criteria, only few people achieve self-actualisation

Which culture is the DIMH definition reflecting, given their emphasis on independence and individual needs?

Western, individualist cultures

What type of characteristic refers to the way people feel?

emotional characteristics

What type of characteristics refers to people’s internal mental processes like thinking, attention and perception?

cognitive characteristics

What type of characteristics refers to the way people act?

behavioural characteristics

What disorder is classified as anxiety disorders characterised by excessive fear and anxiety, triggered by an object, place or situation?

phobias

What disorder is classified as a mood disorder characterised by sad, depressed mood as well as a loss of interest and pleasure in usual activities?

depression

What disorder is classified as an anxiety disorder characterised by obsessions and/or compulsions, leading to distress and time-consuming activities?

obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)

What is an unpleasant state of high arousal?

anxiety

What are some cognitive characteristics of phobias?

selective attention, irrational beliefs, cognitive distortion

What are some behavioural characteristics of phobias?

avoidance, panicking

What are some emotional characteristics of depression?

sad, depressed mood, anger, lowered self-esteem

What are some cognitive characteristics of depression?

negative schema, poor concentration, absolutist thinking

What are some behavioural characteristics of depression?

insomnia, hypersomnia, disruption of eating, low energy levels, agitation, self-harm

What are persistent thoughts that create feelings of anxiety?

obsessions

What are repetitive behaviours carried out to try and reduce anxiety created from obsession?

compulsions

Which model is used to describe the acquisition and maintenance of phobias?

two-process mode

How is phobias acquired?

classical conditioning

Who carried out the Little Albert study which demonstrated how a fear of rat can be conditioned?

Watson and Rayner (1920)

In the Little Albert study, what was the unconditioned stimulus and what was the unconditioned response?

loud noise (UCS) and fear/distress (UCR)

Through which process is phobia maintained?

operant conditioning

Phobias are maintained by the sufferer avoiding the phobic stimulus, which leads to a desirable consequence of anxiety reduction. What is this an example of?

negative reinforcement (removal of fear)

What is a strength of the two-process model of phobias?

scientific, has practical applications

Why is the two-process model of phobia reductionist?

it reduce phobias down to the activity of external variables

What are two behavioural treatments for phobias?

systematic desensitisation (SD) and flooding

Which behaviour treatment involves step-by-step replacing the learned sensitivity or fear response with a harmless response?

systematic densensitisation

What happens when one emotion prevents the other from being expressed, for example, fear and relaxed cannot occur at the same time?

reciprocal inhibition

What is the step-by-step plan that has the least fearful situations at the bottom to the most fearful situation of all at the top called?

anxiety hierarchy

In systematic desensitisation, what is associated with the fear-provoking situation instead of fear?

deep relaxation

Which type phobia might SD not be effective for?

(phobias with) underlying evolutionary component

Who carried out research to find that 75% of patients showed an improvement in their symptoms after SD?

McGrath et al (1990)

What is an alternative behavioural therapy used to treat phobias, involving one long session where the phobia is experienced at its worst while practising relaxation?

flooding

Why do people prefer flooding over SD to treat phobias?

(flooding is) more cost-effective, less time-consuming

What are some ethical issues that are linked to both SD and flooding?

lack of protection from harm

Who found that flooding was more effective than SD at treating phobias?

Choy et al (2007)

Which cognitive explanation of depression is based on the idea that a person develops a dysfunctional view of themselves because of three types of negative thinking that occur?

Beck’s negative triad

What are the three types of negative thinking?

the self, the world, the future

What type of negative thinking enhance the depressive feelings by confirming the existing emotions of low self-esteem?

the self

What type of negative thinking creates the impression that there is no hope anywhere and everyone else seem to be doing fine?

the world

What type of negative thinking enhance depression by producing thoughts that reduce any hopefulness?

the future

What alternative cognitive explanation of depression that argues that depression is a result of irrational thoughts?

Ellis’s ABC Model

What does A stand for in the ABC Model?

activating event

What does B stand for in the ABC Model?

beliefs (irrational)

What does C stand for in the ABC Model?

consequences

What practical application do the cognitive explanations for depression has?

development of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)

Who found that CBT was just as effective as drugs in treating depression?

March et al (2007)

How is the ABC model and the negative triad model seen as inhumane?

depression is a result of a person’s thinking which they can control (not determinist)

What does the cognitive explanations of depression struggle to establish?

cause and effect

Which therapy method assumes that if depression is the result of irrational thinking, it can be treated by challenging these irrational thoughts and replacing them with more rational ones?

cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)

What model is CBT based on?

ABCDE Model

What does D stand for in the ABCDE model?

dispute (irrational thoughts)

What does E stand for in the ABCDE model?

effect

Client and therapist work together to identify problems, goals, and create a plan to tackle the irrational thoughts. What element of CBT is this?

cognitive element

Irrational thoughts are challenged and changed to replace with useful behaviours. Patients are asked to test their beliefs. What element of CBT is this?

behavioural element

What extends the ABC model into ABCDE model and involve identifying and challenging irrational beliefs?

rational emotive behaviour therapy (REBT)

What are some methods of vigorous argument?

empirical argument, logical argument

The goal of what process is to work with depressed individuals to gradually decrease their chance of avoidance and isolation as well as increase their engagement in activities that improve mood?

behavioural activation

How can psychological treatments for disorders be beneficial for the economy?

reduce the cost that mental health issues cost the English economy

What is a reason why people don’t stick with CBT?

they have to engage with hard work and patients may be unwilling to cooperate

What are genes that create a vulnerability for a disorder called?

candidate genes

What is the candidate gene for OCD?

gene 9

What is a term used to describe a disorder that is caused by a combination of several genes?

polygenic

What neurotransmitter is connected to OCD?

serotonin

Another neural explanation is linked to structural deficits in the brain, which brain structures are linked to OCD?

lateral frontal lobes, parahippocampal gyrus, basal ganglia, orbito-frontal cortex

What is serotonin linked to?

regulate mood

What is the parahippocampal gyrus responsible for?

processing unpleasant emotions

Hyperactivity in the basal ganglia is linked to repetitive actions, what symptoms of OCD is this linked to?

compulsions

What is the orbito-frontal cortex linked to?

worry and anxiety

Where does empirical evidence to support the biological explanation of OCD come from?

MRI brain scans

Who found that 68% of MX twins shared OCD as opposed to 31% of DZ twins?

Nestadt et al (2010)

Which type of reductionism is the biological explanation criticised for?

biological reductionism

What does this biological explanation fail to establish?

cause-and-effect

What treatment of OCD is developed by the biological approach?

drug therapy