Psychological disorders Chapter 13 14 in Psychology by Schacter Gilbert Wegner Second Edition What is abnormal psychology Scientific study of abnormal of behavior Same goals describe predict explain and change abnormal patterns of functioning The four D s Unusual extreme o Deviance o Distress o Dysfunction o Danger Behaviors thoughts and feelings are often upsetting Interfere w day to day activities Can pose a risk or harm Medical model o Focuses on physiological conditions that underlie abnormal behavior o DSM IV TR 5 dimensions Axis I clinical Axis II personality mental retardation Axis III current medical conditions Axis IV psychosocial or environmental problems Axis V Global Assessment of Functioning o Criticisms Too complex No theoretical basis Not enough reliability Comorbidity Biased by gender and culture Perpetuates a medical model Diathesis stress model stress Anxiety disorders o Diagnosis is also difficult because some people suffer from more than one disorder o Predisposed heritability for a mental disorder that remains unexpressed until triggered o Generalized feeling of fear and apprehension o Physical cognitive emotional behavioral Generalized anxiety disorder o A disorder characterized by chronic worry and three or more of the following symptoms Restlessness Fatigue Concentration problems Irritability Muscle tension and an inability to relax Sleep disturbance o At least 6 months o Anxiety is difficult to control o No specific trigger o Cause neurotransmitter inbalance Benzodiazepines stimulate GABA Phobic disorder o Characterized by persistent excessive irrational fear and avoidance of a specific object activity or situation Negative reinforcement o Social phobia o Specific phobia o Preparedness theory Panic disorder An irrational d fear and avoidance of public situations Irrational persistent fear and avoidance of a specific objective or situation o A disorder characterized by the sudden occurrence of multiple psychological symptoms that contribute to a feeling of start terror o No identifiable trigger Obsessive compulsive disorder o Obsessions Repetitive intrusive persistent and uncontrollable thoughts and irrational o Compulsions ritualistic behaviors designed to reduce anxiety from the obsessions o key is that it interferes significantly with a person s functioning beliefs Dissociative disorders Sudden but temporary alteration in consciousness identity sensorimotor behavior and memory Dissociative identity disorder o The presence within an individual of two or more distinct identities Each are dominant at different times Each has own perceptions Each have different names Each have specific function o Prevalence Higher in females 9 1 ratio 1 of general population Dissociative amnesia Dissociative fugue o The sudden loss of memory for significant personal information o Sudden loss of memory for one s personal history Mood disorders Mood disturbance as predominant feature Depressive disorders o Types of depressive disorders Major depressive disorder Unipolar Severely depressed mood lasting two or more weeks Dysthymia Same symptoms less severe but longer at least 2 years Seasonal affective disorder SAD Recurrent depressive episodes in a seasonal pattern Postpartum depression Depression following child birth Doesn t always occur right after child birth o Factors Biological factors Heritability Drugs Brain activity o Psychological factors Negative cognitive style Seligman s learned helplessness theory Idea that people are prone to depression automatically attribute negative experiences to causes that are internal stable and global Bipolar disorder o Cycles of persistent high mood mania low mood depression Mania excitement euphoria boundless energy rapid speech inflated self esteem impulsivity o Time in between phases varies widely o Untreated is highly associated with the risk of suicide o 1 3 of the earth s population o Biological factors High rate of heritability May be polygenic o Psychological factors Stressful life experiences Stress personality Schizophrenia Different types o Paranoid type Delusions of grandeur and or persecution and possibly hallucination Both organized around a theme Most common o Catatonic type Portrayed in movies Disruption of movement Often characterized by alternating periods of extreme withdrawal and extreme excitement Excited Withdrawn Bursts of excited motor activity Excessive talking shouting Very little or no motor movement for hours or even days in a single position In some cases one or the other reaction predominates o Disorganized type Severely disturbed thought processes disorganized behavior inappropriate affect o Residual type In touch with reality despite previous schizophrenic symptoms At least one previous episode of another type o Undifferentiated type All the essential features of a schizophrenic disorder Symptoms do not fit easily into one of the other types Positive symptoms o Added to people with schiz Negative symptoms o Subtracted from people with schiz Biological factors o Offspring off two parents w schizophrenia o Siblings w one parent w this disorder o Prenatal exposure to toxin o Dopamine hypothesis o Neuroanatomy Enlarged ventricles Tissue loss in parietal lobe Bigger fluid filled cavities in the brain Activity of dopamine often leads to development of schiz Psychological factors o family environment Anti personality disorders lack of moral sense no remorse for others do not fear punishment history of conduct disorder deception crime legal problems and violent behavior more often to occur in men than women biological factors o amygdala and hippocampus o associated with smaller frontal lobes
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