A detailed set of AQA Psychology Psychopathology revision notes including description and analysis. Written for the NEW 2015 Specification. Suitable for Paper 1 AQA Psychology. These helped me achieve A/A* quality work
PSYCHOPATHOLOGY
Abnormality
Deviation from Social Norms
Behaviour which violates the ‘norm’ in a given situation E.g. Queuing is only a
social norm in some cultures
Real Life Application: Useful for diagnosing anti-social personality disorder
Considers social dimensions of behaviour: Whether behaviour is seen as abnormal
depends on the context
Social norms are subjectively defined over time (E.g. bastard children)
Cultural Relativity: Whether a specific behaviour is ‘normal’ can vary between
cultures (E.g. waiting for green light when no cars present at traffic lights in Italy)
Failure to Function Adequately
Most people who seek psychiatric help are suffering from distress/discomfort and
therefore cannot function adequately E.g. Someone cannot lead a ‘normal life’ as
they cannot eat/sleep/go to work properly
ROSENHAN & SELIGMAN suggested Personal Dysfunction has 6 features:
- Observer Discomfort - Unpredictability - Irrationality
- Personal Distress - Maladaptiveness - Violation of
Moral Standards
Personal perspective is recognised: Subjective experience of sufferer is important
Matches sufferers’ perceptions: Definition is supported by the fact that people seek
psychiatric help
Importance of Context: A student experiencing anxiety before an exam could be
classified as failing to function adequately, however within the context this
behaviour is normal
Cultural Differences: Standard patterns of behaviour vary from culture to culture,
therefore whether you are failing to function may appear quite different depending
on the culture you live in
Basic similarities between cultures, E.g. Earning a
living
Deviation from Ideal Mental Health
Behaviour which deviates from expected mental health
JAHODAS’ 6 Mental Health Criteria
1. Positive Self-Attitude 2. Resistance to Stress 3. Adapting to
Environment
4. Perception of Reality 5. Focus on future & self-actualisation 6. Autonomy
(independence)
Comprehensive Definition: Covers broad range of criteria for mental health
Holistic Definition: Considers the person as a whole rather than on individual
behaviours
Difficulty of Self-Actualising: Self-actualisation is rare, so most people would be
‘mentally unhealthy’
Western Bias: Some concepts (autonomy/self-actualisation) apply to Western
societies so would not be recognised/followed in collectivist cultures
Potential Benefits of Stress: Some people work best under stress (E.g. Actors
perform best when anxious)
Statistical Infrequency
, Behaviour which deviates from statistical norm as determined by normal distribution
curve E.g. IQ of 100
Objective way of measuring abnormality
Real Life Application: Helpful in diagnosis of intellectual disability
disorder
Where to draw the line: How far must behaviour deviate from the
norm to be ‘abnormal’ E.g. depression
Not all infrequent behaviours are abnormal: E.g. Being highly intelligent is
statistically rare but desirable
Not all abnormal behaviours are infrequent: Depression would be ‘normal’ as 10%
of the population will be chronically depressed at some point Some statistically
frequent behaviours are abnormal
Phobias
Phobia: An anxiety disorder characterised by uncontrollable fear that is out of
proportion to any real danger
Simple Phobia: Individual having a specific fear of something (e.g.
arachnophobia)
Social Phobia: Being overly anxious in social situations (e.g. stage
fright)
Agoraphobia: Being outside/in a public space
Behavioural Characteristics
PANIC – in presence of phobic stimulus individual displays certain panicked behaviour
(e.g. freezing)
AVOIDANCE – consciously staying away from phobic stimulus
ENDURANCE – phobic remains in presence of phobic stimulus despite high anxiety
Emotional Characteristics
ANXIETY – unpleasant state of high arousal preventing sufferer relaxing/experiencing
positive emotion produced by presence/anticipation of phobic stimulus
Cognitive Characteristics
SELECTIVE ATTENTION – hard to divert attention away from phobic stimulus
IRRATIONAL BELIEFS – in relation to phobia, sufferer may hold irrational beliefs, which
puts pressure on them
COGNITIVE DISTORTIONS – distorted view of phobic stimulus
Explanation - Behaviourist Approach
Two Process Model:
Fear is first learned through Association – CLASSICAL Conditioning (specific event
paired with fear response)
Fear is then Negatively Reinforced – OPERANT Conditioning (avoidance response
reduces fear)
Scientific Research Support: Based on measurable research. E.g. DiGallo found 20%
of people who experience traumatic car accident developed phobia of car travel
(association) and then avoided car travel by staying at home (reinforcement)
Not everyone developed phobia Diathesis-stress model?
DiNardo found only 50% of dog phobics experienced a dog-related trauma
Inherit genetic vulnerability to developing a phobia + traumatic trigger =
phobia
, Practical Application: Therapy - Demonstrates that people need to be exposed to
the phobic stimulus and prevent avoidance behaviour
Environmentally Reductionist: Suggests development and maintenance of phobias
can be fully explained by conditioning Ignores biology, E.g. Seligman’s
‘Preparedness Model’ – We are biologically prepared to be conditioned to a stimulus
that threatened out prehistoric ancestors (Evolution)
Treatment – Behaviourist Approach
SYSTEMATIC DESENSITISATION:
Reduce anxiety through CC counterconditioning - New
response to phobic stimulus paired with relaxation
Reciprocal Inhibition: Process of inhibiting anxiety by
substituting a competing response
Wolpe – Two competing emotions cannot occur at same time (relaxation, not fear)
Anxiety hierarchy is constructed by therapist and patient – stepped approach, least to
most frightening
Patient is trained in relaxation techniques, so they relax quickly/deeply Patient
exposed while relaxing
Barlow: 60-90% success rate Highly effective in treating single phobias
Choy: SD which involved contact with phobic stimulus is more successful than
pictures/imagining
Effectiveness can be measured as techniques are highly structured Scientific
credibility
Less effective with social phobias
Is Relaxation Necessary?: Exposure to feared object = success - Klein compared SD
with psychotherapy and found no difference in effectiveness Most important
aspect is hopeful expectation of coping
FLOODING:
Reduce anxiety through OC where avoidance behaviour is not an option
Involves overwhelming individual’s sense with phobic stimulus so individual realises
no harm will occur
Effective Therapy: Ost found flooding often delivers immediate improvement,
especially when patients are encouraged to continue self-directed exposure
to phobic stimulus outside of therapy sessions
Traumatic: Not appropriate for all patients Patients may quit during
procedure
Superficial: Only addresses symptoms with no attempt to address deeper
psychological issues
Ethical Issues: Psychological harm
Informed Consent & Right to Withdraw
Long-term benefits outweigh short-term costs
Depression
Unipolar (Low mood swings) Bipolar (Low & High mood
swings)
Behavioural Characteristics
REDUCED ACTIVITY LEVELS Behavioural Characteristics
DISRUPTION TO EATING/SLEEPING HIGH ACTIVITY/ENERGY
AGGRESSION/SELF-HARM RECKLESS BEHAVIOUR
TALKATIVE
Emotional Characteristics
LOWERED MODD Emotional Characteristics
ANGER ELEVATED MOOD STATE
IRRATIBILITY
LACK OF GUILT
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