psychopathology

The four definitions of abnormality

Deviation form ideal mental heath/ social norms

Failure to function adaquatley

Statistical infrequency

Examples of deviation from social norms

Homosexuality

Antisocial personality disorder

Strength of stat infrequency

Objective method of diagnosis. Intellectual disability disorder and becks depression inventory, quantityable, high utility

Limit of stat infrequency

Infrequent characteristics can be positive - high iq over 130, not a disorder. Can be misleading

Strength of deviation from sn

APD-/ schizotypal personality disorder. Climitians can use dsn as diagnostic criteria. Value of psychiatry

Limit of DSN

Social norms vary across cultures contexts. Auditory hallucinations normal in non-western societies. Unreliable across settings Risk of misdiagnosis/ cultureal bias

Misused as social control, nymphomania/ homosexual/drapetomania classsed as mental disorders went against conservative social norms. Can break social norms for positive change, Rosa parks. Not all DSN bad

Rosenhan & seligman signs of FFA

• no conforming to standard social rules, eye contact, personal space

• Sever personal distress

• Irrational dangerous behaviour

Jahidas 6 criteria for IMH

1. No sighns of distress

2. Perceive ourselves accurately

3. Self-actualised

4. Cope with stress

5. Realistic works view

6. Indépendant

7. Work and leisure time

Strength of FFA

Promotes early interventions improving individuals. Practical use to return ownership of psychological help

Limit of FFA

Environmental factors may cause failure to function rather than psychological abnormality. Loosing a job common. Questions validity

Strength of DIMH

Positive definition focus on desirable mental health and not on problems, useful checklist for ourselves and discuss psychological aid with professionals

Limit of DIMH -jahoda

Personal autonomy/ self-actualisation valued in individualistic cultures. Culture bias, collectivist cultures unfairly judged as abnormal, don’t conform to western self-growth/independence

3 characteristics of phobias

Behavioural, emotional, cognitive

3 types of phobias via dam-5

• specific- immediate, intense, avoidance. Specific

• Social- judged/criticised/ embarrassed

• Agoraphobia- places where getting help may seem hard

Behavioural characteristics

Panic, avoidance, endurance

Emotional characteristics

Unreasonable emotional response, immediate, anxiety

Cognitive characteristics

Selective attention, irrational beliefs ( negative thoughts of phobia) cognitive distortions (biased view of phobia)

Little Albert researchers and findings

Watson & Rayner, Albert learned to fear the rat and things related to it ( generalisation) after associating it with the loud bangs

Strength of 2-process model of phobias

Led to systematic desensitisation based on conditioning principles. Unlearning phobic responses through relaxation. Highly successful, practical

Limit of behavioural explanations of phobias

Ignores cognitive aspects. Irrational thoughts/beliefs not explained by conditioning. May have phobia even when no direct trauma. Reductionist, neglects internal mental processses

Ad De Jongh evidence against behavioural explanation for phobias

Found 73% dental phobias from trauma. 21% no traumatic experiences. Factors like biology/genetics/cognitive biases involved

Seligman evidence against behavioural explanations for phobias

Failed to explain why some phobias are more common than others. Snakes/spiders/heights. Proposed evolutionary factors, ‘biological preparedness’. Genetically predisposed to survive

Strength of evidence used for behavioural explanations of phobias

Watson & Rayner little Albert highly controlled, clear evidence to support and with empirical evidence. Higher validity

Flooding + SD use what main idea

Counter conditioning, replace fear response with positive/ neutral one

Stages of SD

1. Anxiety hierarchy

2. Relaxation

3. Exposure

3 types of flooding

• vitro- imagines fear in detail. Less intense/ less effective for some

• In vivo- exposure to real phobia. More effective

• Virtual reality exposure- vr when exposure not practiced

Limit to flooding

Client needs consent. Causes extreme anxiety/ distress, may lead to worse or substitute fear if not handled right or client leaves to early

Gilroy support for SD

42ptps, treat arachnophobia via SD. Both groups questionnaires on fear, one group with relaxation, other none (controle). Group with relaxation less fearful

Theresa support for SD

Meta-analysis, concluded that SD vert effective for specific phobias, long-term reduction

SD strength

Inclusive for ppl with learning disabilities+ wider range of individuals. Doesn’t require high levels of cognition/self-reflection like CBT

Calbring support for SD

VR based SD effective as in vivo. Used for fear of flying/ public speaking. Applicable/flexible to SD/flooding

Ougrin support for flooding

Flooding highly effective, faster, cost effective for patient and healthcare systems. Only 1 session, SD 10

Schumacher limit of flooding

More stressful than SD. Patients may refuse treatment or drop out. Limit usefulness in clinical practice

Flooding limited to some phobias

Less effective for more complex phobias. Social phobias involving deeper cognitive elements/irrational beliefs. Only masks symptoms. Focusing only on behavioural symptoms= symptom substitution.

Jacquline, woman phobia of death substituted for fear of being criticised