Announcements Scrapbook reminder Due on Thursday by 5pm on SAKAI Will take off 1 letter grade every day it s late WILL NOT ACCEPT AFTER THE FINAL 4 Examples with links or scanned images Grades comments posted on Sakai See me if you have questions explain SPECIFICALLY how each example relates to a psychological concept sub topics Shifting focus Explored how we function Built up from basic neurobiology Discussed cognition sensation perception consciousness Now we look at dysfunction How do these elements help us understand disorders Seen examples Test your attitudes Rate these items on a scale of 1 5 1 Completely disagree 2 Slightly agree 3 Moderately agree 4 Strongly agree 5 Completely agree I would rather not live next door to someone with a psychological disorder A person with a psychological disorder is unfit to raise children I would be afraid around a person with a psychological disorder A person with a psychological disorder can not hold a job A person with a psychological disorder is likely to be dangerous or violent Psychological Disorders Questions to consider Where is the line between normal and abnormal How should we define disorders Try it out are these people mentally ill Case 1 Andrew has always led a turbulent life As a young child he skipped school more often than he attended When he did attend he caused a lot of trouble often getting into fights with the other boys He was finally expelled from school after threatening to stab another student After his expulsion he could not hold down a job and began supplementing his income by breaking into homes and stealing whatever he could get his hands on However he appears to feel no guilt about this behavior Although he has never been in a relationship he has several children whom he never sees due partly to the fact that he frequently moves from town to town Despite these characteristics Andrew is a colorful and entertaining person and has a certain charm If asked he will tell you that he is quite happy with his current lifestyle Is it a psychological disorder if the person is happy Case 2 Barbara was generally a happy child and had many friends in high school She made very good grades and decided to go on to college and then to law school After her first year of law school she began to notice periods of feeling down At first she ignored this but after a year or so these episodes began to get worse When she started paying more attention she noticed that the episodes usually began about a week before her period and ended a few days after her period began In addition to feeling depressed during that time she was also overly sensitive to criticism Often her appetite would increase and she would especially crave sweets Sometimes she found it difficult to concentrate on her studies during this time and she often lacked the energy to do much of anything except watch television Is it a psychological disorder if it s hormonal Case 3 Charles is the third of seven children He attended school in the suburbs of a large city where he made average grades He dated a bit in high school and have several close friends During vacations he worked in his father s garage learning all he could about cars After high school Charles took a job as a mechanic in the garage However Charles was beginning to feel different from his co workers He began to realize that he was attracted to one of his customers a man with whom he had gone to school When Charles realized this he became very confused and felt angry with himself for having such feelings Although he tried to convince himself that the feelings would go away over time they did not and Charles finally admitted to himself that he was a homosexual Currently he is in a monogamous relationship with another man but is afraid to admit his sexual orientation to his friends or family for fear of their reaction He often finds himself preoccupied with trying to find ways to hide his orientation from them Is it a psychological disorder if it s only abnormal because society stigmatizes it Case 4 Diane is the only child of two professional parents She did well in high school and had several close friends While in college she met Don and the two married soon after graduation and had two children of their own Diane and Don decided that she would stay home until the children were in school since his job with a prestigious accounting firm would allow him to support the family Three months ago however Don came home from work and announced that he had met another woman and was having an affair and that he had decided to leave Diane The divorce proceeded quickly and while Diane retained custody of the children she had to move to a smaller apartment She began looking for work but found that it was difficult to find a job and eventually took a job she disliked Diane often finds herself thinking about how quickly her life has changed in the last few months She becomes very sad and will sometimes lie in bed crying after the children are asleep She finds herself eating a lot more than she used to and sometimes she has difficulty getting to sleep at night Sometimes she even thinks she would end her life if her children weren t counting on her Is it a psychological disorder if there s a clear environmental cause it s not someone s fault Case 5 Eric was born in a rural town in the midwest He made average grades in school and decided after graduation to purchase a farm in the area and raise corn He very much enjoyed this lifestyle and did quite well One day while working in the field an accident with a combine caused Eric to be rushed to the hospital While doctors were able to save his life they were not able to save his legs Eric is now confined to a wheelchair It has been a year since the accident and he is in a great deal of pain which is partially controlled by morphine which his doctor has prescribed However his thinking remains quite rational and he has been able to do some work helping with the books at his parents store He does not enjoy this work and misses his previous activity Recently he confided in his doctor that he does not feel that his new life is worth living and he has decided that he would like to end it all Is it a psychological disorder if there is a clear medical cause Psychological Disorders If we rule out things that Don t bother the person Have a hormonal cause Are just social stigmas but don t hurt anyone else Have a clear environmental cause Have a clear medical cause what s left What does
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