AQA A level Psychology – Psychopathology LATEST UPDATE WITH CORRECT ANSWERS

AQA A level Psychology – Psychopathology LATEST UPDATE WITH CORRECT ANSWERSStatistical infrequency Number of times it is observed Different/rare = abnormal E.g. IDD - average IQ 85-115, only 2% below 70 Statistical infrequency - real life applications All MI assessments include comparison to statistical norms IDD demonstrates how it can be used Useful in clinical assessment 01:17 01:23 Statistical infrequency - unusual characteristics can be positive Statistically abnormal but may not need treatment E.g. IQ of 130 not undesirable Should never be used alone to make diagnosis Statistical infrequency - not everyone benefits from labels Happy/fulfilled life Low IQ, not distressed/unemployed = not necessary May negatively affect how others view them/how they view themselves Deviation from social norms Abnormality based on social context (different than expected) Collected judgement on 'correct' Few behaviours universally abnormal (cultural context) Historical differences e.g. homosexuality APD: failure to conform to lawful and culturally normative ethical behaviour Deviation from social norms - not sole explanation APD: place for deviation from social norms in thinking what is abnormal Other factors: e.g. distress to other people from APD Never sold reason for defining abnormality Deviation from social norms - cultural relativism Ethnocentrism: one person may judge someone from another culture as abnormal using their own cultural standards Hearing voices acceptable in some cultures Problems for people living outside of own cultural group Deviation from social norms - could lead to human rights abuse Systematic abuse of human rights Drapetomania (black slaves trying to escape) + nymphomania (women attracted to working class men) = used for social control Argued that some modern classifications abuse right to be different Failure to function adequately Cannot cope with everyday life E.g. maintain job/relationships/hygiene Rosenhan & Seligman: signs 1. No longer conform to interpersonal rules 2. Experience personal distress 3. Behave irrationally/dangerously IDD: must be clear signs that they are unable to cope for diagnosis Failure to function adequately - patient's perspective Difficult to assess distress Acknowledges experience of patient is important Captures experiences of those who need help Failure to function adequately - same as deviation from social norms Really failing to function or just deviating? Alternative lifestyles/extreme sports = maladaptive behaviour Treat as 'failures' = limit freedom Failure to function adequately - subjective judgement Patients may say they are distressed but judged as not Ways of making judgement as objective as possible (Global Assessment of Functioning Scale) Do they have the right to make the judgement? 00:03 01:23 Deviation from ideal mental health Change emphasis - what makes normal/psychologically healthy Identify who deviates Jahoda (1958) criteria 1. No symptoms/distress 2. Rational/perceive ourselves rationally 3. Self actualise 4. Cope with stress 5. Realistic view of world 6. Good self esteem / lack guilt 7. Independent of others 8. Successfully worklove/enjoy leisure Overlap of explanations Failure to keep a job - deviation from ideal of successfully working or failure to cope with pressures? Deviation from ideal mental health - comprehensive Covers broad range of criteria Covers most reasons someone would seek/be referred for help Good tool for thinking about mental health Deviation from ideal mental health - culturally relarive Some ideas specific to individualistic cultures Imposed etic Emphasis on self actualisation: self indulgent to collectivist cultures Culturally specific traits Deviation from ideal mental health - unrealistically high standards Very few people attain - most people abnormal? Clear ways in which we could benefit from help No value in who might benefit from treatment against their will Phobia Irrational fear of object/situation Phobias - behavioural characteristics Panic: crying, screaming, running away Avoidance: effort to avoid coming into contact with phobic stimulus (can make it difficult to go about everyday life) Endurance: alternative to avoidance, remains in presence but continues to experience high levels of anxiety Phobias - emotional characteristics Fear and anxiety: fear = immediate response, leads to anxiety (unpleasant state of high arousal) Unreasonable emotional responses: disproportionate to threat (e.g. strong emotional response to tiny spider) Phobias - cognitive characteristics Selective attention: hard to look away Irrational beliefs: e.g. social phobias 'if I blush people will think I am weak' Cognitive distortions: distorted perceptions of phobic stimulus Behavioural characteristics Ways in which people act Emotional characteristics Ways in which people feel Cognitive characteristics Process of thinking - knowing, perceiving, believing Specific phobia Phobia of an object/situation Social anxiety Phobia of a social situation Agoraphobia Phobia of being outside/in a public place Depression Mental disorder characterised by low mood/energy levels Major depressive disorder Severe but often short term depression Persistent depressive disorder Long term/recurring depression Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder Childhood temper tantrums Premenstrual dysphoric disorder Disruption to mood prior to/during menstruation Depression - behavioural characteristics Activity levels: reduced energy levels making sufferers lethargic, withdraw from work/social life, can also lead to psychomotor agitation (unable to relax) Disruption to sleep/eating behaviour: reduced sleep (insomnia) or increased need for sleep (hypersomnia) , increase/decrease in appetite = weight changes Aggression/self harm: irritable/sometimes physically aggressive, self harm and suicide attempts Depression - emotional characteristics Lowered mood: feeling 'worthless' or 'empty' Anger: can be directed at self or others, can lead to aggression/self harm Lowered self esteem: like themselves less than usual, some describe sense of self-loathing Depression - cognitive characteristics Poor concentration: unable to stick to task/make decisions, interfere with work Dwelling on negative: tend to ignore positives, bias towards revelling unhappy events (opposite to those not depressed) Absolutist thinking: 'black and white' thinking, unfortunate = absolute disaster OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) Condition characterised by obsessions and/or compulsive behaviour Trichotillomania Compulsive hair pulling Hoarding disorder Compulsive gathering of possessions/inability to part with anything, regardless of value Excoriation disorder Compulsive skin picking OCD - behavioural characteristics Compulsions: actions carried out repeatedly (e.g. hand washing) in a ritualistic way to reduce anxiety, e.g. compulsive hand washing carried out as response to obsessive fear of germs Avoidance: OCD managed by avoiding situations that trigger anxiety e.g. compulsive hand washers try to avoid coming into contact with germs Cycle of OCD OCD - emotional characteristics Anxiety/distress: unpleasant/frightening obsessive thoughts + overwhelming anxiety, urge to repeat behaviour creates anxiety Accompanying depression: anxiety accompanied by low mood/lack of enjoyment Guilt/disgust: irrational guilt over minor moral issues, disgust directed towards oneself/something external e.g. dirt OCD - cognitive characteristics Obsessive thoughts: recurring unpleasant thoughts, experienced by 90% of sufferers (e.g. worries of being contaminated by dirt) Cognitive strategies to deal with obsessions: may manage anxiety but appear abnormal to others/interfere with everyday tasks, e.g. religious person tormented by excessive guilt may respond by praying Insight into excessive anxiety: awareness that thoughts/behaviour are irrational, experience catastrophic thoughts and are hypervigilant Behavioural approach to explaining phobias - two process model Mowner (1960) Based on behavioural approach to phobias Phobias learned via classical conditioning and maintained via operant conditioning Behavioural approach to explaining phobias - acquisition by classical conditioning Learning by association 1. UCS (being bitten) triggers fear response (UCR) 2. NS (dog) 3. NS (dog) associated with UCS 4. NS (dog) becomes CS producing fear (CR) Behavioural approach to explaining phobias - little Albert Watson and Reynor (1920) Loud noise made when he played with rat. Noise (UCS) caused fear (UCR) Rat (NS) no initial response Over time created fear Rat (now CR) created fear (CR) Behavioural approach to explaining phobias - generalisation Also showed fear response to other white furry objects e.g. fur coat + Santa Claus mask Behavioural approach to explaining phobias -maintenance by operant conditioning Behaviour reinforced/punished Negative reinforcement: produce behaviour that avoids something unpleasant Avoiding phobic stimulus = escaped anxiety Fear reduction negatively reinforces avoidance Behavioural approach to explaining phobias explanatory power TPM went beyond Watson and Raynor's sinple explanation Implications for therapy: avoidance prevented = decline in phobic behaviour Strength of model Behavioural approach to explaining phobias - alternative explanations for avoidance Agoraphobia: at least some avoidance behaviour motivated by positive feelings of safety Buck 2010: explains why some can leave house with trusted friend with little anxiety TPM suggests avoidance is motivated by only anxiety reduction Behavioural approach to explaining phobias - TPM incomplete explanation Some aspects of phobic behaviour require further explanations Easily squire phobias of things that were dangers in our evolutionary past (e.g. snakes, the dark) Biological preparedness: we are innately prepared to fear some things more than others More to squiring phobias than simple conditioning Behavioural approach to treating phobias - systematic desensitisation (1 - basis) Behavioural therapy Based on classical/operant conditioning + reciprocal inhibition Aims to gradually reduce anxiety through counterconditioning Phobia learned: phobic stimulus (CS) creates fear (CR) CS paired with relaxation that becomes new CR Reciprocal inhibition: can't be afraid and relaxed at the same time, one prevents the other Behavioural approach to treating phobias - systematic desensitisation (2 - anxiety hierarchy) List of fearful stimuli ordered from least to most frightening E.g. arachnophobic may rate seeing a picture of a small spider as low Works through stages, each more anxiety-provoking than the last Final stage may involve holding tarantula to demonstrate phobia has been extinguished Behavioural approach to treating phobias - systematic desensitisation (3 - relaxation) Relaxation practiced at each level Phobic exposes to phobic stimulus in relaxed state at each level Takes place over several sessions Successful when relaxed in situations high on the hierarchy Behavioural approach to treating phobias - systematic desensitisation (effective) Evidence suggests SD effective in treatment of specific phobias GIlroy et al (2003): 42 arachnophobia patients, three 45min sessions of SD Spider questionnaire/assessing response to spider Control group treated with relaxation without exposure 3 & 33 months: SD group less fearful than control Helpful in reducing anxiety/long lasting effects Behavioural approach to treating phobias - systematic desensitisation (diverse range of patients) Flooding/cognitive therapies not well suited to some patients E.g. learning difficulties make it hard to understand flooding/engage with cognitive therapies (require reflection) SD most appropriate approach Behavioural approach to treating phobias - systematic desensitisation (acceptable to patients) Patients prefer it over flooding Does not cause same degree of trauma SD includes pleasant elements e.g. talking to therapist Low refusal/attrition rates Behavioural approach to treating phobias - flooding (1 - immediate exposure) Bombarding patient with phobic stimulus without gradual build up Arachnophobic may have large spider crawl on hand until they can relax fully Behavioural approach to treating phobias - flooding (2 - quick learning through extinction) Stops phobic responses quickly without option of avoidance behaviours Patient quickly learns object is harmless through exhaustion of fear response Known as extinction Behavioural approach to treating phobias - flooding (3 - ethical safeguards) Not unethical but unpleasant Importance of informed consent Must be fully prepared/know what to expect Behavioural approach to treating phobias - flooding (cost effective) At least as effective as other treatments for specific phobias Studies comparing flooding to cognitive therapies found flooding highly effective + quicker Patients free or symptoms as soon as possible + treatment is cheaper Behavioural approach to treating phobias - flooding (less effective for some types of phobia) Highly effective for simple phobias Less so for more complex phobias e.g. social phobias Social phobias have cognitive aspects: thinks unpleasant thoughts about social situation May benefit from cognitive therapies (tackle irrational thinking) Behavioural approach to treating phobias - flooding (traumatic for patients) Highly traumatic experience Patients often unwilling to see it through to the end Not effective Time/money wasted preparing patients only to have them refuse to start/complete treatment Cognitive approach to explaining depression - Beck's cognitive theory (1 - faulty information processing) Beck (1967(: some people more prone to depression due to faulty information processing Attend to negative aspects and blow small problems out of proportion 'Black and white' thinking Cognitive approach to explaining depression - Beck's cognitive theory (2 - negative self schemas) Schema = package of ideas/information developed through experience Use schemas to interpret world Negative = interpret all info about themselves in a negative way Cognitive approach to explaining depression - Beck's cognitive theory (3 - negative triad) Three types of negative thinking that occur automatically 1. Negative views of the world (no hope anywhere) 2. Negative views of the future (reduce hopefulness, enhance depression) 3. Negative views of the self (confirm existing emotions of low self esteem) Cognitive approach to explaining depression - Beck's cognitive theory (supporting evidence) Study assessed 65 pregnant women for cognitive vulnerability/depression before + after birth Those high in cognitive vulnerability most likely to suffer post-natal depression Cognitions can be seen before depression develops - cognition may cause depression in at least some cases Cognitive approach to explaining depression - Beck's cognitive theory (practical application as therapy) Forms basis of CBT Components of negative triad can easily by identified/challenged Patient can test whether they are true Translates well into successful therapy Cognitive approach to explaining depression - Beck's cognitive theory (does not explain all aspects) Complex disorder Some patients deeply angry - Beck cannot easily explain Some suffer hallucinations/bizarre beliefs Cotard syndrome: belief that they are zombies Cannot explain all cases, only focuses on one aspect Cognitive approach to explaining depression - Ellis's ABC model Good mental health is the result of rational thinking (allows happy/free of pain) Poor mental health results from irrational thoughts (any thoughts that interfere with us being happy/free of pain) Used ABC model to explain how they efect our behavioural/emotional state Cognitive approach to explaining depression - Ellis's ABC model (1 - activating event) Get depressed when we experience negative events that trigger irrational beliefs (e.g. failing a test/ending relationship) Cognitive approach to explaining depression - Ellis's ABC model (2 - beliefs) Musterbation: we must always succeed