Psychological DisordersBeware of “psychology student’s disease”

Defining Disorder

What criteria do psychologists use to diagnose

psychological disorders?

Psychological disorder – a “harmful dysfunction” in which behaviors are judged maladaptive, unjustifiable, disturbing, and atypical.

4 attributes of a psych disorder: Maladaptive Unjustifiable Disturbing Atypical

Psych Disorders & MUDA

destructive to oneself or others

exaggeration of normal, acceptable behaviors

Maladaptive

does not have a rational basis

scenarios that meet this criteria: woman with fear of snakes

Unjustifiable

troublesome to other people

Mass-murderersAurora CoSandy HookDahmer

Disturbing

so different from other people’s behavior that it violates a norm (accepted behavior)

norms vary from culture to culture

Atypical

Classifying Disorders

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – Fourth Edition

published by the American Psychiatric Association

lists and describes all the currently accepted categories of mental disorders

DSM-IV-TR

divides mental disorders into 17 major categories

includes the symptoms but not the causes of each disease

Neurosis – disorder that is distressing but allows one to think rationally and function socially

Psychosis – disorder in which a person loses contact with reality, experiencing irrational ideas an distorted perceptions

DSM-IV-TR

Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety – vague feelings of apprehension and nervousness

Specific Anxiety Disorders: Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)– persistent,

unexplained feelings of apprehension and tenseness (must experience at least 3 symptoms of anxiety – pg. 535)

Panic Disorder – sudden episodes of intense, unexplained panic

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) – unwanted, repetitive thoughts and actions (obsessions – thoughts; compulsions – actions) – chart page 539

Specific Anxiety Disorders (cont.)

Phobia – disruptive, irrational fears Agoraphobia – fear of having a panic attack in the

wrong place or fear of open spaces (usually stay home)

Social phobia – fear of being scrutinized by others, avoid speaking up, eating out, going to parties

Other phobias – triskaidekaphobia (number 13), uxoriphobia (one’s wife), Santa Clautrophobia (getting stuck in chimneys), panaphobia (everything), phobophobia (fear of fear), anthophobia (flowers), trichophobia (hair), numerophobia (numbers); page 537

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder – triggered by stress; reliving a severely upsetting event in unwanted recurring memories and dreams; symptoms include: haunting memories, nightmares, social withdrawal, jumpy anxiety, depression

Explanation for Anxiety Disorders

Behaviorism: Conditioning - can learn to

associate certain things w/ anxiety-causing events from past

Observational Learning – children can learn fears just from watching their parents

Reinforcement – people gain release from anxiety by avoiding the situation/thing (reinforces that behavior)

Explanation for Anxiety Disorders

Biological Factors: Heredity – predispositions for

disorders (identical twins raised in different families have similar phobias)

Brain Function – higher degree of activity in frontal lobes (planning, attention, processing emotion) of people w/ OCD; amygdala (emotions) different in people w/ phobias

Neurotransmitters – OCD linked to low serotonin levels (mood/arousal)

Amygdala

Mood Disorders

Major Depressive Disorder – experience at least 2 weeks of depressed moods (pg. 543) & diminished interest in activities for no apparent reason; lack of energy; sleep disturbances; possible suicide risk

Bipolar Disorder – alternate between major depression and mania (unrealistically optimistic, wildly hyper, agitated)

Mark Twain Vincent van Gogh

Explanations for Mood Disorders

Social-Cognitive Factors: Learned Helplessness – can produce depression

(negative thoughts) & self-fulfilling prophesies

Attributions (Explanatory Style) – depressed people are more likely explain bad events as stable (lasting forever), global (affects everything), internal (my fault) – attributions lead to hopelessness & depression

Culture – depression less common in collectivist cultures – social supports available, feel less responsible for bad events

Explanations for Mood Disorders

Biological Factors: Heredity – Major Depressive

Disorder: identical twins - if one has, other has 50 % chance of developing it; only 20% for fraternal twins; Bipolar (identical twins: 70% chance)

Brain Function – Major Depressive Disorder: brain is less active during depression (esp. frontal lobes that are active for positive emotions) but more active in manic states

Neurotransmitters – Major Depressive Disorder connected w/ low levels of serotonin, dopamine, & norepinephrine

Dissociative Disorders: General Information

dissociate – to separate or divide

Breakdown in a person’s normal conscious experience (loss of memory or identity)

Believed by some to be an attempt to escape from part of self that one fears (reduce anxiety)

Dissociative Disorders

Dissociative amnesia – memory loss (including basic knowledge of self) as a reaction to specific, stressful events (basically amnesia with no physical cause)

Dissociative fugue – extended form of dissociative amnesia; loss of one’s identity is accompanied by travel to a new location

Dissociative identity disorder – person is said to exhibit two or more distinct and alternating personalities that take control at different times; usually suffered sever physical, psychological, or sexual abuse as a child; existence is controversial

Dissociative Disorders Debate

Evidence for: distinct brain states associated w/ different personalities, changes in eye-muscle balance, eye color, scars, handedness, and vision

Evidence against: virtually nonexistent outside North America

DID Quick Write

After watching the documentary, what do you think about the dissociate disorders debate (especially surrounding DID) now?

Do you think it is a real disorder or are these people misdiagnosed and under the influence of a persuasive therapist?

Explain how you came to your conclusion.

Schizophrenia:General Information

Not one disorder “Schiz” – break from reality (psychosis) Inappropriate behaviors & emotions word salad – nonsense talks Hallucinations (false perceptions) – most

often auditory, can be visual or tactile Delusions (false beliefs) of:

grandeur – you are more important than you really are

persecution – people are out to get you

sin or guilt – being responsible for some misfortune influence – being controlled by outside forces “devil”

Schizophrenia Disorders

Paranoid schizophrenia – delusions , particularly grandeur & persecution; auditory & other hallucinations often support the delusions

Catatonic schizophrenia – variations in voluntary movement; alternates between two phases: excitement and stupor (flat emotions, appear to be in a daze & waxy flexibility)

Disorganized schizophrenia – bizarre behavior, delusions, and hallucinations; visibly disturbed (often described as “crazy”)

Undifferentiated schizophrenia – symptoms that are disturbed but are not clearly consistent with other types

Schizophrenia ExplanationsBiological Factors: Genetics:

predisposition – higher rates for people w/ sibling or parent (1 in 10) who has it (1 in 100 in general pop); 1 in 2 if identical twin has it

Brain Structure: small amounts of brain tissue & larger fluid-filled spaces thalamus (routes sensory memory) is smaller

Brain Function: less activity in frontal lobes 6x normal number of receptor sites for dopamine

Prenatal Viruses: viral infection during middle of pregnancy (pg. 565)

Schizophrenia: Biological Explanations

Schizophrenia Explanations

Psychological Factors: Stress & disturbed

family communications– may contribute to the development of schizophrenia (for those have a predisposition)

Personality Disorders:General Information

Lasting, rigid patterns of behavior that seriously impair one’s social functioning

Usually evident by adolescence

The person often does not recognize the problem exists

Personality Disorders(related to anxiety)

Avoidant personality disorder – sensitive about being rejected; personal relationships difficult

Dependent personality disorder – behave in clingy, submissive ways & display a strong need to have others take care of them

Personality Disorders(odd or eccentric behaviors)

Paranoid personality disorder – shows deep distrust of other people; suspiciousness gets in the way of personal relationships

Schizoid personality disorder – detached from social relationships; hermits; avoid intimate interactions with others

Personality Disorders(dramatic or impulsive behaviors)

Borderline personality disorder – instability of emotions, self-image, behavior, and relationships

Antisocial personality disorder – (also known as psychopathic or sociopathic) no concern for the rights or feelings of other people; willing to engage in criminal behavior & shows no remorse; occurs more often in males & develops in adolescence ; often charming & clever; difficult to treat