PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS
Feb 25, 2016
PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS
MEDICAL MODEL APPLIED TO ABNORMAL BEHAVIOR Medical model proposes
that it is useful to think of abnormal behavior as a disease
Critics: Thomas Szasz—mind can’t be sick
Diagnosis: distinguish one illness from another
Etiology: causation and developmental history of an illness
Prognosis: forecast about probable course of an illness
CRITERIA OF ABNORMAL BEHAVIOR Deviance: deviating
from society’s norms Maladaptive behavior:
struggling to adapt Personal distress:
usually depression and/or anxiety disorders
Evolutionary psychs believe mental disorders should be referred to as evolutionary dysfunctions
STEREOTYPES OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS 1) Psych disorders
are incurable 2) People w/psych
disorders are often violent and dangerous
3) People w/psych disorders behave in bizarre ways and are very different from normal people
PSYCHODIAGNOSIS: CLASSIFICATION OF DISORDERS
1952: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) describes 100 disorders
1980: DSM-III---new classification system
Axes I and II diagnose disorders
Axes III-V are supplemental info
PREVALENCE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS Epidemiology: the
study of the distribution of mental or physical disorders
Prevalence: percentage of population that exhibits a disorder during a specific time period
DSM criteria: 1/3 of pop. has some psych disorder
ANXIETY DISORDERSA class of disorders marked by feelings of excessive apprehension and anxiety
GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER DEF: marked by a
chronic, high level of anxiety that is not tied to any specific threat
Called “free-floating anxiety”
Worry about minor matters
Physical symptoms: trembling, muscle tension, diarrhea, dizziness, faintness, sweating, heart palpitations
PHOBIC DISORDERS DEF: marked by a
persistent and irrational fear of an object or situation that presents no realistic danger
Even imagining the object can trigger anxiety
PANIC DISORDER AND AGORAPHOBIA Panic disorder:
characterized by recurrent attacks of overwhelming anxiety that usually occur suddenly and unexpectedly
Agoraphobia: fear of going out to public places
Majority who suffer from one or both are female
OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER OCD: marked by
persistent, uncontrollable intrusions of unwanted thoughts and urges to engage in senseless rituals
Obsessions are thoughts
Compulsions are actions
ETIOLOGY OF ANXIETY DISORDERS
BIOLOGICAL FACTORS Concordance rate: indicates the percentage
of twin pairs or other pairs of relatives that exhibit the same disorders
Anxiety sensitivity Neurotransmitters
CONDITIONING AND LEARNING Anxiety responses
are acquired by classical conditioning
They are maintained by operant conditioning
Phobias could be evolutionary
Observational learning may also play a part
COGNITIVE FACTORS Some are more
likely to have anxiety b/c they tend to:
1) misinterpret harmless situations as threatening
2) focus excessive attention on perceived threats
3) selectively recall info that seems threatening
PERSONALITY AND STRESS Certain personality
traits appear to be related to likelihood of anxiety
Neuroticism---nervous, jittery, insecure, guilt-prone, gloomy
SOMATOFORM DISORDERSPhysical ailments that cannot be fully explained by organic conditions and are largely due to psychological factors
SOMATIZATION DISORDER DEF: marked by a history of diverse physical
complaints that appear to be psychological in origin
Usually a very diverse array of symptoms
CONVERSION DISORDER DEF: characterized
by a significant loss of physical function (w/no apparent organic basis), usually in a single organ system
HYPOCHONDRIASIS DEF: characterized
by excessive preoccupation w/health concerns and incessant worry about developing physical illnesses
Usually coupled w/ anxiety disorders and depression
ETIOLOGY OF SOMATOFORM DISORDERS
PERSONALITY FACTORS Histrionic
personality most prevalent
Self-centered, suggestible, excitable, highly emotional, overly dramatic
Neuroticism also common
THE SICK ROLE Being sick is a way
to avoid life’s challenges
Creates an excuse for failure
Gets attention from others
DISSOCIATIVE DISORDERSClass of disorders in which people lose contact w/portions of their consciousness or memory, resulting in disruptions in their sense of identity
DISSOCIATIVE AMNESIA AND FUGUE Dissociative
Amnesia: sudden loss of memory for important personal info that is too extensive to be due to normal forgetting
Dissociative Fugue: loss of memory for entire life along with sense of identity
DISSOCIATIVE IDENTITY DISORDER DID: involves the
coexistence in one person of 2 or more largely complete, and usually very different, personalities
Personalities usually unaware of each other
Alternate personalities exhibit traits unusual for original personality
ETIOLOGY OF DISSOCIATIVE DISORDERS Nicholas Spanos: DID patients are merely
role-playing to mask personal failure Trauma does seem to be the main cause of
development of DID
MOOD DISORDERSClass of disorders marked by emotional disturbances of varied kinds that may spill over to disrupt physical, perceptual, social, and thought processes
MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER DEF: show persistent
feelings of sadness and despair and a loss of interest in previous sources of pleasure
Depression can occur at any point in life
Dysthynic disorder: chronic depression that is insufficient in severity to justify diagnosis of a major depressive episode
BIPOLAR DISORDER DEF: characterized
by the experience of one or more manic episodes usually accompanied by periods of depression
Cyclothymic disorder: exhibit chronic but relatively mild symptoms of bipolar disturbance
ETIOLOGY OF MOOD DISORDERS
GENETIC VULNERABILITY Heredity can create a predisposition Environmental factors may determine if it
becomes an actual disorder
NEUROCHEMICAL FACTORS Norepinephrine and serotonin thought to be
the main NT’s Recent studies are showing that other NT’s
may be involved
COGNITIVE FACTORS Depression caused by Learned
helplessness---a passive “giving up” People with pessimistic explanatory style are
most susceptible to depression Hopelessness theory: pessimistic style, high
stress, low self-esteem, etc… create depression
Basically…negative thoughts and emotions lead to and maintain depression
INTERPERSONAL ROOTS Behaviorist
approach Inadequate social
skills lead to depression
Depressed people are depressing