GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY I CHAPTER 12 PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS 11 10 What is Psychological Abnormality abnormal psychology abnormal describes predicts explain and change abnormal patterns of functioning o deviance unusual extreme different or bizarre feeling or thought a person is having violations of social norms cannot only look at deviance idea that behaviors thoughts and feelings can be unpleasant and cause them o distress distress o dysfunctional doesn t mean they re abnormal but it could cause distress to others interferes with the person s ability to normally function in society have issues with everyday things some psychologists feel this is the best definition of abnormality o danger deviance causes a danger to the person Identifying Psychological Disorders medical model focuses on physiological conditions that underlie abnormal behavior o belief that abnormality can be diagnosed and cured o 1952 American Psychological Association created the DSM IV TR Diagnostic and Statistical Manual Four Text Revision book of symptoms but does not include how describes what disorders criticisms treats disorders like illnesses with medicine no theoretical basis o does not explain how the disorder occurs or why it happens o only describes symptoms too complex not enough reliability o two different diagnoses when two physicians diagnose two different patients o overall good reliability with clinical disorders biased by gender and culture o could skew diagnosis perpetuates a medical model o could pathologize everyday behaviors o negative effects with psychological disorder labeling comorbidity disorder so it makes diagnosis difficult sometimes people suffer from more than one psychological o diathesis stress model disorder that remains unexpressed until it is triggered by something ex stress predisposed heritability for a mental DSM IV TR o five dimensions axis I clinical disorders 17 different groups axis II personality disorders and mental retardation lifelong conditions that affect a person s functions axis III current medical conditions current medical issues that may influence a person s mental health axis IV psychosocial or environmental problems traumatic events abuse axis V global assessment of function person s overall functioning abilities Psychological Disorders anxiety disorders o anxiety generalized feeling of fear and apprehension accompanied by physiological arousal four components of anxiety physical component used to activate fight or flight sympathetic nervous system cognitive component is worrying exaggerating in head about severity of situation fear of loss of control etc emotional components derive from cognitive dread terror panic irritability behavioral components derive from emotional running away starting a fight freezing in tracks avoiding situation in future o generalized anxiety disorder GAD and three or more of these symptoms and will have had them for at least 6 months disorder characterized by chronic excessive worry restlessness fatigue concentration problems irritability muscle tension sleep disturbance anxiety is difficult to control no specific trigger neurotransmitter imbalance benzodiazepines stimulate GABA prevalence 5 of North Americans occurs more frequently in low socioeconomic status twice as likely to occur in women than men family and twin studies show a mild modest level of heritability characterized by persistent excessive and irrational fear and avoidance o phobic disorders of a specific object activity or situation negative reinforcement can cause a phobia two kinds of phobias social phobia be evaluated or publicly embarrassed irrational fear or avoidance of situations where one might o public bathrooms undressing in front of people talking in presentations o most common is agraphobia fear of venturing into public places sometimes people might not even leave their homes irrational persistent fear and avoidance of a specific specific phobia object or situation o five categories animal natural environments situations blood injections injury other o prevalence more common in women than men 11 of people in US o systematic desensitization o READ PG 353 about predispositions to phobias o panic disorder and physiological symptoms that contribute to a feeling of stark terror disorder characterized by the sudden occurrence of multiple psychological characterized by panic attacks intense anxiety and autonomic arousal often feels like one is dying no identifiable trigger for the panic attacks in order to be a panic disorder panic attacks MUST be present low prevalence s o obsessive compulsive disorder obsessions irrational beliefs interplay with obsessions and complusions repetitive intrusive persistent and uncontrollable thoughts and typically derived from things that could cause a real threat obsession becomes irrational ritualistic behaviors designed to reduce anxiety from the obsessions compulsions key is that it interferes significantly with a person s functioning ex obsessive germs compulsion cleaning prevalence women more susceptible than men moderate heritability 2 5 of people biological mechanism undetermined but has a heightened neural activity in the caudate nucleus of the basal ganglia treatments are antidepressants SSRI s Prozac Lexapro Zoloft o post traumatic distress disorder would fall under this category too dissociative disorders o loss of awareness of some part of ourselves sudden but temporary alteration in consciousness identity sensorimotor behavior or memory o dissociative identity disorder within an individual of two or more distinct identities that at different times take control of the individuals behavior formerly called multiple personality disorder presence each identity is dominant at different times alternate personalities will have their own thought gestures and mannerisms own specific function ex one for romantic relationships another for school work could be different ages genders or ethnicities stress crisis can bring on alternate personalities lost time frequent blackouts amnesia money out of the bank account self mutilation history of suicide attempt also diagnosed with other disorders some psychologists believe it is extreme post traumatic stress disorder b c of the violence in nearly all patient s background prevalence 0 5 1 0 of the general population much higher prevalence in females o dissociative amnesia the sudden loss of memory for significant personal information usually of something traumatic o dissociative
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