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14 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Introduction: How can we define abnormal behaviour? |
"behaviour which is regarded by society as deviant from norms or maladaptive; according to DSM, and individual must be suffering or show maladaptive functioning in order for behaviour to be described as abnormal" |
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Introduction: What are the causes of abnormal behaviour? |
The causes are generally complex and depend on the particular disorder and the individual. It has been found that biological, cognitive and sociocultural factors can contribute to the development of AB, an interaction of these may also influence. |
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Introduction: What is major depression? |
Major depression is a mental disorder characterised by episodes of encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. |
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Major depression Biological Factor Neurotransmitters: The Serotonin Hypothesis What is the Serotonin Hypothesis? What is serotonin? |
The serotonin hypothesis suggests that depression is caused by low levels of serotonin. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter produced by specific neurons in the brain that are called serotonergic neurons because they produce serotonin. |
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Major depression Biological Factor Neurotransmitters: The Serotonin Hypothesis How do antidepressant work? |
Antidepressants in the form of SSRI block the re-uptake process for serotonin, and results in an increased amount of serotonin in the synaptic gap - leading to an improvement in mood. |
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Major depression Biological Factor Neurotransmitters: The Serotonin Hypothesis Does there exist indirect support for the serotonin hypothesis? |
SSRIs are commonly sold antidepressants and this has been taken as indirect support for the serotonin hypothesis. This is an example of backwards reasoning, where assumptions about the causes of depression are based on how people respond to a treatment and this is logically problematic. |
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Major depression Biological Factor Neurotransmitters: The Serotonin Hypothesis Does there exist indirect support for the serotonin hypothesis? |
Henninger et al. (1996) -Reduced serotonin levels in healthy individuals to see if they would develop depressive symptoms. -The results did not support that levels of serotonin could influence depression - no evidence of a cause-and-effect relationship. -Thus necessary to revise the serotonin hypothesis. - However, there has been debate around just how depression was monitored in this study. |
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Major depression Biological Factor Neurotransmitters: The Serotonin Hypothesis Does there exist publication bias in research into effectiveness of SSRI in depression? |
Kirsch et al. (2002) -Found a publication bias in research in effectiveness of SSRI in depression. -If the results of all studies were pooled together it would seems that placebo effect accounted for 80% of the antidepressant response. -Of the studies funded by pharmaceutical companies, 57% failed to show a statistically significant difference between antidepressant and a neutral placebo. - Study casts doubt on the serotonin hypothesis and ethics of drug companies. |
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Major depression Biological Factor Neurotransmitters: The Serotonin Hypothesis Evaluation |
There exists some evidence that serotonin is linked to depression and stress. Science failed to show clear link between serotonin and depression, because antidepressants regulate serotonin does not mean that low serotonin causes depression. |
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Major depression Biological Factor Genetic predisposition Who are studied and why? |
Twins and families are studied to see if the disorder comes from a genetic origin, with an attempt at controlling environmental factors. MZ share 100% genetic makeup whilst DZ twins only share 50%. Assumption: if a predisposition of a disorder is inherited the concordance rates should be higher in MZ than DZ. |
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Major depression Biological Factor Genetic predisposition Who are studied and why, MZ vs DZ? |
Numberger and Gershon (1982) - reviewed 7 twin studies and found that MZ 65% concordance whilst DZ only had 14%. Since concordance rate was not 100% then environmental and psychological factors could be influencing depression. |
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Major depression Biological Factor Genetic predisposition Does the environment interact with genetics? |
Sullivan et al. (2000) - A meta-analysis of 21000 twins. They found that MZ were twice as likely to develop depression if their other twin had the disorder. On average the genetic influence in developing depression is between 31% and 42%.They concluded that depression has a strong genetic component and that it is a complex disorder resulting from interaction of genetics and environment. |
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Major depression Biological Factor Genetic predisposition Evaluation |
There seems to be a genetic vulnerability, but depression is a complex disorder. For example continuous stress, such as poverty, plays an important influence in the disorder. |
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Major depression Cognitive Factor |
Cognitive factors influence major depression through the ways we perceive, interpret and think about the world. In depression, negative schemas are likely to have some significant influence. |
