AQA A-Level Psychology 4.4 Psychopathology: abnormality, phobias, depression and OCD

What module 4.4 demands

Psychopathology studies how we define abnormality and how three disorders, phobias, depression and OCD, are explained and treated. It is examined in Paper 1. The examiners reward precise knowledge of the definitions, the three categories of characteristics, and the matched explanation-treatment pairings.

Defining abnormality and the disorders

There are four definitions of abnormality: statistical infrequency, deviation from social norms, failure to function adequately and deviation from ideal mental health. Each disorder has behavioural, emotional and cognitive characteristics that you must be able to list accurately.

The three approaches

The behavioural approach to phobias uses the two-process model (classical and operant conditioning) and treats them with systematic desensitisation and flooding. The cognitive approach to depression uses Beck's negative triad and Ellis's ABC model and treats it with CBT. The biological approach to OCD uses genetic and neural explanations and treats it with drug therapy (SSRIs).

Check your knowledge

1. Outline the failure to function adequately definition of abnormality. (3 marks)
2. Describe the two-process model of phobias. (4 marks)
3. Explain Beck's cognitive explanation of depression. (4 marks)
4. Outline drug therapy as a treatment for OCD. (3 marks)