PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS

6 Categories•P

sychologists usually identify abnormal behavior based on a combination of the following criteria

•1. Unusualness

•2. Social Deviance

•3. Emotional Distress

6 Categories

•4. Maladaptive behavior

•5. Dangerousness

•6. Faulty perceptions or interpretations of reality

Cultural Basis

•Are all things that would be considered abnormal behavior seen in the same context in every culture?•Ex. Hearing voices, anxiety

Early Beliefs

•Middle Ages- people displaying abnormal behavior were controlled by demons.

•17th and 18th centuries brought about different, more scientific, thinking.

The Medical Model•A

dvances in medicine in the 18th and 19th centuries changed the way mental illness was perceived.

•The belief that abnormal behavior was a mental illness that had a biological basis.

What are Psychological Disorders?

•Also known as mental disorders or mental illnesses

•Involve disturbances of mood, behavior, thought processes, or perception that result in significant personal distress or impaired functioning.

How are These Disorders Classified?

•Most mental health professionals use the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM-V (5th edition)

•The manual contains descriptions and diagnostic criteria for every recognized psychological disorder.

Hallucinations and Delusions•H

allucinations- Perceptions (hearing voices or seeing things) that are experienced in the absence of external stimuli (hearing things or seeing things that aren’t there)

•Delusions- Fixed but patently false beliefs. (such as believing that one is being hounded by demons)

Psychological Models

•Following the thinking of Freud, contemporary theorists feel that unconscious conflicts are at the root of abnormal behavior patterns.

Psychological Models

•Ivan Pavlov- Abnormal behavior is learned in the same ways that normal behavior is learned (phobias are brought on by past experiences).•Is this true for anyone here?

Psychological Models•C

arl Rogers and Abraham Maslow (Humanist theorists)- Abnormal behavior develops when people encounter roadblocks on the path of personal growth. To satisfy the demands of others, people become detached from their true selves and develop emotional problems such as anxiety and depression

Psychological Models

•Cognitive theorists Aaron Beck and Albert Ellis- Irrational or distorted thinking leads to emotional problems and maladaptive behavior.

Sociocultural Model

•Sociocultural theorists believe that the stress of coping with poverty and social disadvantage can eventually take its toll on mental health.

Biopsychosocial Model

•A recently developed theory which blends together elements of biological, psychological and sociocultural theories.

The Diathesis-Stress Model

Inherited predispositi

on to develop the

disorder

Diathesis

+

-Prenatal trauma

-Childhood abuse

(sexual/physical)

-Family conflict

-Significant life changes

Stress(environmental stressors)

= Psychological Disorder

Development of the Disorder