Psychological Problems (3)
what is bipolar depression?
phases of extreme depression followed by phases of mania
what is unipolar depression?
constant low mood and depression
what is the biological explanation for depression? (4 points)
- low levels of serotonin in the body
- serotonin is a neurotransmitter responsible for sleep, apetite and calm mood.
- low serotonin means the 'calm mood' message won't get transmitted to the next neuron, causing low mood
- serotonin levels may be low due to genes (nature) or a diet low in carbohydrates (nurture) as carbs give the body neccesary ingredients to produce seritonin
what is the psychological explanation for depression?
- cognitions of depressed individuals, specifically irrational thinking
- negative self schemas
- faulty attributions are a cognitive style common in depressed individuals which involve mistakenly blaming negative events on
- themselves (internal) global or stable causes, eg thinking things are always bad
- cognitive biases to focus on the negative
what are faulty internal attributions?
blaming negative events on themselves rather than external factors
what are faulty stable attributions?
believing things do not change and stay bad forever
what are faulty global attributions?
believing something negative happens all over the world instead of blaming the negative experience eg. all people are horrible
what do SSRI's do?
block the re-uptake ports in the pre synaptic neuron, forcing the body ti make more serotonin abailable to bind to the post synaptic meuron
what are some negative side effects of SSRI's
nausea, weight gain, insomnia
what is a positive for using SSRI's
less time consuming than therapy, cheaper and reduces symptoms
what are all characteristics of addiction?
Tolerance
Persistence despite harm
Difficulty controlling use
Higher priority given to substance
Withdrawal
Strong desire
what are the 3 main features of self management programmes fir addiction?
- surrendering control to a higher power
- admitting and sharing guilt
- recovery is lifelong
what are self management programmes for addiction?
when individuals organise and run the treatment themselves, typically a 12-step recovery programme
what are the 12 steps to addiction self management programmes?
1. admit powerlessness over addiction
2. find hope (typically through belief in any higher power)
3. surrender control to said higher power
4. take a personal inventory focusing on wrongs done
5. share inventory with higher power, oneself, ans another person, admitying wrongs done
6. become ready to have the higher power correct shortcomings in ones character
7. ask higher power to remove those shortcomings
8. make a list of people harmed
9. make amends, if possible, for past wrongs
10. continue personal inventory and recognise wrongs immediately
11. use prayer and meditation to continue connection with the higher power
12. carry the message of the 12 steps to othees in need
what is reductionism
only explaining/ treating behaviour by only looking at one possible cause
what is holism
the idea that human behaviour should be viewed/ treated by looking at the whole experience not separate parts
what is aversion therapy
- based on the principles of classical conditioning
- aims to get an addict to associate their addiction to something unpleasant & therefore avoid their addiction
- example substance + conditioned response
weaknesses of aversion therapy (2)
p- high dropout rates
e- unethical: harm eg. making them throw up from antabuse to condition them to stop drinking
a- causes participants to not want to continue treatment therefore still have their addiction & maybe be traumatised
p: only adresses behavioural aspect of addiction
e: ignores other factors such as genetics and upbringing
a: reductionist approach
aversion therapy addiction pairs
alcoholism (enjoyment) > (unpleasant stimulus) antabuse> (conditioned response of) throwing up associated w drinking
gambling (enjoyment)> (unpleasant stimulus) electric shocks >(conditioned response of this associated w gambling)
smoking (enjoyment)> (unpleasant stimulus)rapid smoking in a closed room> (conditioned response of nausea, disgust associated with smoking)
how is aversion therapy used to treat drinking (remember same format dif substance for other2)
- Before aversion therapy individuals associate alcohol with a pleasant
experience of enjoyment.
-Aversion therapy is used by giving the addict an unpleasant stimulus called Antabuse which makes the addict vomit every time they have it.
-The unpleasant experience of vomiting from the Antabuse is then paired with the taste of alcohol: the therapy makes an association
between these two sensations.
- This needs to be repeated several times to
strengthen the association. This results in a conditioned response where the
individual now associates alcohol with the unpleasant response of vomiting
so they therefore avoiding alcohol because it is now associated with vomiting
what is meant bu mental health
an individuals emotional and psychological wellbeing. this enables people to cope and function in everyday life ans society
(accurate perception of reality, independence, positive self attitude, mastery of environment, coping w stress resiliently, seeking growth&self actualisation)
what is the biological treatment of depression
-taking SSRI's (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors).
- This forces more serotonin to be available for the post synaptic neuron,
-continuing the messge of calm mood
3 key symptoms of depression
low mood, loss of interest&pleasure, reduced energy levels
what does serotonin do
helps witb memory, sleep, apetite and calm mood
weakness of the biological treatment of depression (use or ssri's) (2xPEA)
p - biologically reductionist
e - only treats biological aspect & neurotransmitters, ignores negative cognitive patterns
a - underlying cognitive causes may remain so symptoms may return if the person stops taking th medication
p- side effects
e- nausea, weight gain, sleep problems
a- reduce willingness to continue treatment& may make symptoms worse
strength of the biological treatment of depression (use or ssri's)(PEAx2)
p- quick &cost effective
e- reduces implications for economy and is easy to take doesnt require motivation
a- convenient and accesssible for depressed individuals compared to longer term intensive psychologicak research
p- supported by research
e- proven to reduce symptoms
a- biological treatments are effective
outline wiles study
A- investigate effectiveness of cbt + antidepressants for treatment resistant patients (antidepressants 6 weeks & still depressive symptoms)
M- 469 depressed ppts randomly allocated into 2 groups: just antidepressants, antidepressants + cbt
R- 20% antidepressants only group saw decrease in symptoms, 50% of those in combination treatment did. after 12 months cbt showed greater recovery
C- cbt + antidepressant is more effective than antidepressant alone for treatment resistant patients
outline psychological treatment of depression (cbt)
- irrational negative self schemas and faulty attributions are identified
- therapist challenges these thoughts in discussions
- client does hw for example thought diaries, learning to develop rational responses to negative thoughts
- client completes behavioural challenges in therapy, typically 10 weeks (1x a week)
strength of psychological treatment of depression (cbt)
p- provides client w tools to deal with everyday life
e- client does homework acts ans learns coping strategies, learning to be their own therapist
a- long lasting benefits
weakness of psychological treatment of depression (cbt)
p- takes a lot of time and effort
e- low motivation is a depression symptom, this means people may nit be able to cope due to symptoms
a- high droput rate, unsuccessful for many
what are the social effects of mental health
- need for more social care
- increased crime rates
- implications for economy
what are the individual effects of mental health
- damage to relationships
- difficulties coping w day-2-day life
- negative impact on physical well being
what is meant by need for more social care as a social effect of mh
nhs and charities such as mind needed to provide therapy, assisted living, institutionalisation.
this needs to be funded
what is meant by increased crime rates as a social effect of mh
severe mh problems:4x mlre likely to be violent
80% homeless struggle w mh, makes them vulnerable to physical&substabce abuse & prostitution (crimes)
mh>substance abuse> crime (drink&drive etc)
what is meant by implications for economy as a social effect of mh
16.18 billion£ spent on mh services in 2023
unemployment = nit contributing to economy
unemployment = benefit costs
what is meant by damage to relationships as an individual effect of mh
- bad mh reduces ability to communicate
- low energy, irritable, intolerant of others
- self isolate
- rls suffer> increased isolation
what is meant by difficulties coping w day2day life as an individual effect of mh
poor mh causes
- poor concentration
- difficulty getting out of bed
- poor personal hygiene
- difficulty with daily tasks eg get dressed, going to work
what is meant by negative impact on physical well being as an individual effect of mh
stress & anxiety caused by poor mh > fight or flight> wears out body
high bp wears out heart
high cortisol (stress hormone) worsens immune system
reasons for increase in mh problems
- less stigma seeking diagnosis& better recognition of symptoms
- modern living (isolation, social media)
- economic problems (unemployment, housing crisis, inflation etc)
- cultural variation: spread of western ideas and standards
other symptoms of depression (other than key3)
- change in sleep (insomnia/hypersomnia)
- change in apetite (over/under eating)
- decrease in self confidence& concentration
- feeling of guilt&unworthiness, pessimism
- sh/ suicidal behaviours
what is used to diagnose depression and its severity
ICD-10 , symptoms should be persistent for longer than 2 weeks
mild : 2 key + 2 other symptoms
moderate :5-6 symptoms
severe: 7+ symptoms
biological explanation for depression evaluation (1 strength 2 weakness)
-P: Biologically reductionist
E: Ignores other factors that might cause the development of depression – give examples.
A: Incomplete explanation
H: Alternative explanation – interactionist approach
+P: Research support for bio explanation
E: Low serotonin in depressed people’s brains compared to controls (people who did not have
depression).
A: Supports idea that serotonin causes depression, increases validity of explanation
-P: Cannot establish cause and effect
E: Negative thoughts may cause low levels of serotonin and not the depression itself.
A: Limited explanation. May tell us very little about the actual cause of depression
evaluation of psychological explanations for depression (1 strength 1 weakness)
- P- reductionist
E- Psychological explanations only focus on cognitions/thinking.
A- ignores other factors, incomplete theory
+P- real life application
E- Psychological explanations have led to the development of treatments such as CBT
(cognitive behavioural therapy) which aim to reduce their irrational thinking. This
treatment has high success rates.
A- proves validity of theory
dependence
complusion to take substance, withdrawal when stop
addiction
use substance for sense of escape, involves dependence, withdrawal and tolerance
substance misuse
not taking substance as per instruction/ for intended purpose
substance abuse
(not taling substance for intended purpose) taking substance to experience euphoria, escape, numbness.
addicts abuse substances
evaluation kaij's study, 1 strength 2 weakness
+p- supportine research
e- later twin studies (kendler) also found higher concordance rates between monozygotic twins, supports the idea that addiction has genetic influence
a- increases reliability
- p- correlation vs causation
e- not 100% concordance, raised tg closely, nature vs nurture
a- incomplete theory, addiction is not inevitable based on genetics
-p- limited sample
e- male sets of twins in sweden
a- low population validity
outline Kaijs study (amrc)
a- to investigate concordance rates (% both cases have a particular trait) for alc abuse between monozygotic& dizygotic twins
m- ppts sets of twins from sweden, where one had diagnosed alchoholism, monoxygotic and dizygotic. interviewed the twins and their families.
r- concordance rate mz: 61% dz: 39%
c- alcoholism has a biological basis and is potentially hereditary
biological explanation for addiction + short eval
- genetic factors
- more than one gene is responsible: polygenic
- diathesis-stress explanation: genetic vulnerability + environmental trigger
- reductionist, doesnt look at upbringing
+ research evidence , kaij's study
psychological explanation of addiction + short eval (copied)
-Social norms within a specific peer group may influence addition. Social norms are unspoken rules about behavior that you learn from other people around you
- we are more likely to imitate behaviour of someone we identify with (peer influence in teens)
- we are more likely to imitate observed behaviour if they are rewarded for that behaviour (vicarious reinforcement)
- if within a peer group its the ‘norm’ to drink lots of alcohol at parties, A person new to this social group may look to the others in the group and notice this so also begins to
start drinking alcohol in the same way.
- This therefore may influence the risk of potential
addiction in the future.
Social identity and peers
- Social identity theory may explain how peers influence addition. A significant part of who you are is defined by the social groups that you belong to (e.g. the football team you support)
- In order to remain as part of these social groups and be accepted by your peers, we are drawn to behave and think like them
- This is why we feel the pressure to conform to the social norms of the group
Evaluation:
+ A review was conducted of 40 studies and found an association between peers and
smoking.
- An alternative explanation is that people choose a peer group which matches their
behaviour, rather than peers influencing them.
+ There is real life application by using peer influence and social norms in advertising to
encourage certain positive behaviours.
+ Research has found that treatments which focus on educating addicts about norms and
acceptability in peers have greater success than those focused on resistance skills.
- Only look at peer influence – reductionist
monozygotic twins
Develop from one fertilised egg that splits into two.
Share 100% of their genes.
Usually look very similar and are the same sex.
dizygotic twins
Develop from two separate eggs fertilised by two sperm.
Share about 50% of their genes, like normal siblings.
Can be different sexes and may look quite different.