Diagnosis
In Rosenhahn’s famous study, was he looking at the validity or reliability of diagnosis?
Validity. He wanted to see if the doctors would be able to diagnosis correctly – in this case, as being mentally healthy
What is name of the rate of similarity in behaviour between two MZ twins?
The concordance Rate
This term refers to the mental processes through which individuals interpret and make sense of the world around them and is often linked to the development of maladaptive behaviors in mental disorders.
Cognitive processing (cognitive appraisal)
This sociocultural factor involves the influence of societal expectations and pressures, which can contribute to the development of mental disorders, particularly those related to body image.
Cultural pressure (societal expectations)
A control often used to test the effectiveness of a drug
Placebo. A double blind test would also be an acceptable answer
This is the problem in diagnosis that doctors face when someone comes in and reports what they think they have wrong with them
Confirmation Bias
or
Sick-Role Bias
This is the name of the problem faced by many biological studies because the results are only correlational
Bidirectional ambiguity: we don’t know, for example, if low levels of serotonin are the cause of depression - or if depression leads to low levels of serotonin.
According to Beck, what is the basis of mental illness?
Irrational thinking and negative schema triggered by life events
Name the theory that a culture has a "collection" of symptoms that are appropriate to express psychological distress.
Kirmayer’s Explanatory Model
The theorist credited as the “Father of psychoanalysis
Sigmund Freud
Lipton & Simon’s study found that different doctors diagnosed the same patient differently. What were they studying?
Reliability of diagnosis
The mistaken belief that the success of a given form of treatment reveals the cause of the disorder
The Etiology-Treatment Fallacy
This cognitive concept refers to the tendency to focus on a single negative aspect of a situation while ignoring any positive elements, and it is often linked to the development of mental disorders.
Selective attention (selective perception)
The theory that it is the interaction of environmental stressors together with genetic predisposition that lead to the disorder
The Diathesis-Stress model
What are the three ways that a drug may affect neurotransmission?
Drugs may block the receptor site on the postsynaptic cleft; they may inhibit the reuptake of neurotransmitters into the terminal buttons of the axons; they may break down enzymes which have the role of breaking down neurotransmitters in the synapse.
According to Robins & Guze, what is the best way to increase the validity of diagnosis?
Triangulation - both of data and researchers (clinicians)
How can we explain that in twin studies, MZ twins do not have a 100% concordance rate for depression?
Not all genes that we have are "expressed." MZ twins have exactly the same genes and thus the same gene variations. They may not, however, have had the same environmental triggers or stressors that could then lead to the gene being expressed.
What are two ways that rumination can be measured?
Through self-reporting and in research like that carried out by Farb et al, fMRIs show that rumination leads to increased activity in the frontal lobe.
What is meant by the term "reporting bias"?
That there are limitations in where we get our data from. In the case of mental health, data often only comes from those who go to clinics
What did Rush et al (1977) find in their study of treatments?
Those with combined drug treatment and CBT had lower relapse rates. They argued that this was because CBT taught coping skills
What were the findings of Langer and Abelson’s study?
When told that someone was a job applicant, he was described positively; when told that he was a mental health patient, he was described negatively.
This type of research, often used to investigate the biological basis of mental disorders, compares the rates of a disorder among individuals who are genetically related, such as twins or adoptees.
Genetic Research (Genetic Studies)
This cognitive distortion refers to viewing situations in extreme, black-and-white terms, without recognizing any middle ground or possibility of a more balanced perspective.
All-or-Nothing Thinking
What is one limitation of vulnerability models?
The theory does not explain why one gets a disorder, just that there are factors that may help to prevent it; It is very difficult to isolate variables; Studies are often case studies, making it difficult to generalize to larger populations
The CBT technique of learning to identify and dispute irrational or maladaptive thoughts
Cognitive restructuring - also known as validity testing