1 psychology: psychopathology

Deviation from social norms

Abnormal behaviour is classified in this way as any behaviour that goes against social expectations are rooted in a desire to make society more pleasant-for example,being polite.

Emotional, behavioural and cognitive characteristics of depression.

• Emotional: lowered mood,anger,lowered self esteem.

• Behavioural: reduced levels of energy, disruption to sleep and eating behaviour, aggression and self harm.

• Cognitive: poor concentration, attention to negativity, absolutist thinking (black and white).

How are phobias initiated through classical conditioning?

A neutral stimulus is paired with an unconditioned stimulus (that causes fear) so that it eventually takes on the properties of this stimulus to produce a conditioned response-of fear.

Systematic desensitisation

This is a treatment for phobias that attempts to replace the association between fear and the phobic stimulus with an association between relaxation and the phobic stimulus. Patients are exposed to scenarios that progressively cause more anxiety than the last stage in their hierarchy.

Why is systematic desensitisation preferred to flooding

This is because flooding is not a viable form of treatment for all phobic individuals, no matter how effective it is,this is because it can be a highly traumatic form of treatment. Although patients are aware of this before beginning treatment, many find themselves unable to complete the treatment,limiting its overall effectiveness at treating phobias.

Diathesis stress model

Suggests that certain genes create vulnerability for mental disorders, and that after an activating event or trauma, mental disorders develop in these individuals.

Negative triad

Cognitive approach to understanding depression, focusing on how expectations (schema) about the self,world and future lead to depression.

Failure to function adequately

Abnormality is defined in this way as inability to cope with everyday life, especially if this is causing the individual or others around them distress. In some instances, individual may not be aware that their behaviour is causing distress to others, like if they are schizophrenic.

How does SLT explain phobias

The social learning theory suggests that phobias may be acquired through modelling the behaviour of others. If a child sees an adult react fearfully to a dog,, they are likely to imitate the behaviour themselves because the behaviour is rewarding-it gets them attention.

Emotional, behaviour and cognitive characteristics of OCD

• Emotional: Anxiety and distress, depression , guilt and disgust.

• Behavioural: compulsions and repetitive, avoidance, compulsions reduce anxiety

• Cognitive: obsessive thoughts,cognitive coping strategies, insight into excessive anxiety.

How are phobias maintained by operant conditioning?

If a behaviour produces a favourable outcome, it is likely to be repeated-in the case of phobic individuals, avoidance of their phobic stimulus reduces anxiety,so they are likely to continue to avoid it. This is an example of negative reinforcement.

How does the cognitive theory explain depression?

Depression is due to irrational thinking, and cognitions that are skewed towards negative thoughts.

Statistical infrequency

Abnormality is defined in this way as behaviour which is extremely rare, or as characteristics not displayed by many people.

How does the biology theory explain ocd

OCD is caused by abnormal levels of dopamine and serotonin, and a non-functioning worry circuit which signals about potentially worrying things from the OFC are not suppressed by the caudate nucleus.

Emotional;,behavioural and cognitive characteristics of phobias

• Emotional: anxiety,fear, emotional response is unreasonable.

• Behavioural: panic, avoidance,endurance.

• Cognitive: selective attention to phobic stimulus, irrational beliefs, cognitive distortions.

How is depression treated using cognitive approach?

It’s treated using CBT which is a combination of cognitive therapy (changing maladaptive thoughts and beliefs) and behavioural therapy (a way of changing behaviour in response to those thoughts and beliefs) .

Case of little Albert

In the study by Watson and Rayner (1920) a fear of fluffy white objects was conditioned in young baby. Initially, the white objects began as a neutral stimulus (NS), garnering no response from the baby. An unconditioned stimulus (UCS) banging a steel rod by the baby’s ear produced an unconditioned response (UCR) of the fear in the baby. Through pairing the NS and the UCS, conditioned stimulus and produced a fear response even in the absence of the UCS.

How is OCD treated using the biological response

This involves the treatment of mental disorders by administering drugs to reduce the symptoms of the disorder. This involves using SSRIs to increase the levels of serotonin in the body.

Deviation from the ideal mental health

It was recognised by Jahoda, that when assessing for physical illnesses, we look for the absence of physical health. Jahoda concluded that the same should be done for mental illnesses. As a result, abnormality is defined in this way as displaying the absence of the ideal mental health criteria set by Jahoda.

Why is the deviation from ideal health definition criticised

The issue with the definition is that the criteria is founded on is unrealistic, it is very unlikely that any one individual will display all of he traits suggested by Jahoda all the time.