Unit 12: Abnormal Psychology and Treatment

How do we define psychological disorders?• Is it a sickness that needs to be diagnosed and cured – or as a natural response to a troubling environment?

Defining order before disorder:Psychological Order

1. Self-acceptance• Understanding yourself and accepting the good and bad

parts of yourself

2. Positive relationships with others• Ability to form good/trusting interpersonal relationships

3. Environmental masters• Internal locus of control; master of your domain

4. Purpose in life• Goals and sense of direction; not diffused

5. Personal growth• See yourself growing and expanding; self-knowledge;

self-actualization

Defining Psychological Disorders

• How would you define it?

•Psychological disorders linked to behavior considered to be deviant, distressful, and dysfunctional •Atypical, disturbing, maladaptive, and unjustifiable

behavior•persistently harmful thoughts and feelings

What does it mean to be…

• Deviant? – schizophrenic or someone who speaks to the gods?• Distressful? – “I think I’m the reason everything goes wrong.”• Dysfunctional? – Does it impair your life?• Atypical? – outside norms• Disturbing? – related to deviancy from norm perspective• Maladaptive? –related to dysfunctional, cannot exist in the norm• Unjustifiable? – irrational thoughts, actions, etc

Psychological Disorders• Run on a spectrum from very mild to extreme•Much like what other aspects of psychology that we’ve

studied this year?

• How do we tell the difference then between a matter of a spectrum difference?• It is not until a behavior or feelings interfere with your

quality of life that it becomes diagnosable

Understanding multiple factors of psychological disorders: ADHD

• Rising numbers of ADHD diagnosis in the USA (from 1987-1997 population 4x)• Are more people being diagnosed

from before OR is there just more awareness of it today than yesterday?• Is it that once fidgety, distractible, and impulsive

kids now have valid diagnosis?

According to the DSM-5

• ADHD is classified under a neurodevelopmental disorder• Neurodevelopmental disorders are a group of conditions with onset in the

developmental period.• Typically manifest in early developmental stages• Characterized by developmental deficits that range from specific limitations of

learning or control of executive functions or global impairments of social skills or intelligence

• Onset at age 12• In order to diagnoses ADHD after age 17, you must reach 5 of the criteria• Specifiers include inattentive and impulsivity

• ADD is no longer its own designation. It is now known as ADHD-inattentive

Causes and Treatment of ADHD• Too much sugar or poor schools?• Uh… no• ADHD coexists with a learning disorder with behavior that is prone to

defiance and temper • If temper is involved than we know that ADHD is what type of trait?

• Extreme inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity• Treatment: • Non-addictive stimulants (Ritalin and Adderall) that calm hyperactivity and

increase focus• Shaping behaviors in classroom and at home

Understanding Psychological Disorders: Tourette Syndrome• Symptoms include: facial grimacing, head jerking, finger snapping,

whirling, hopping, making of unusual sounds – hooting, barking, screeching, grunting, cursing• 100,000 Americans suffer severe symptoms and some 3 million a

milder version• First symptoms appear by age 7• Although victims are unable to overcome the symptoms, many can

temporarily suppress them, sometimes for hours• How can you link this to your abilities of self-control (hint – muscle)

Tourettes and Multiple Perspectives

• Originally – exorcism was the only cure• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uteI0mUNFUI • Today• Psychoanalytical approach?• Behavior genetics?• Behaviorist perspective?• Biological perspective?

• Hint – think which neurotransmitters may be involved

What we know about cures today

• No cure, but antipsychotic meds have been used• Haloperidol• Effective in ¾ of patients • Very adverse side effects including depression and paradoxically – violent

muscle spasms

• Risperidone with clonidine (blood pressure med)• Will reduce tics• Side effects of weight gain, fatigue, and dry mouth

Tics as behavior

• Could you be conditioned against your tic?• 55% of medical professionals believe they cannot be controlled with 77% of

them believing that suppression of tic will lead to tic to become even worse later on

• If you’re in the 45% of medical professionals, what would you do to get the tic to stop?• Conclusion• Environmental factors may play a role in treatment

DSM-5

• Diagnostic and Statistical Manual• 5th edition• 3 sections – many changes from past• #1 change – it is a biomedical model for diagnosis that gives priority

to neuroscience over other psychological factors

Dangers of labeling

• Confirmation bias• Belief perseverance• Self-fulfilling prophesies – perception of you leads to behaviors that

direct you to act accordingly• Someone heard that you were mean, so they were cold to you, you then

respond by wondering why they are mean and act cold toward them • How does it work in a treatment scenario?

• How much of someone’s past is relevant?

Treatment: Biopsychosocial vs. medical model• “You can’t just will disorders away.”• Medical Model - concept that diseases have physical causes that can

be diagnosed, treated, and in most cases cured• Medical model is probably not correct, but can work in some instances

• You can’t take a pill and rid yourself of a disorder entirely

• Biopsychosocial approach to causes and treatment:• Disorders are caused by a biological predisposition, physiological state,

psychological dynamics, and social circumstances

Treatment and Psychological Perspectives

• Here is your patient:• Diagnose from the following

perspectives - • Psychoanalytic• Behavioral• Cognitive• Humanistic• Group• Biological