PSYCH 1100 Lecture 18: Ch. 15 Psychological Disorders
2 Sep 2016
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Document Summary
Psychological disorders consist of persistent, deviant, distressful, and dysfunctional behaviour patterns. Yet not all mental conditions are rare, some are quite common (ex. depression). And extreme creativity or athletic ability is rare but not an illness. Subjective distress- most disorders produce emotional pain for those afflicted by them. Yet some disorders do not generate stress (ex. manic phase of bipolar disorder or conduct disorder in adolescence). Impairment- most disorders interfere with people"s ability to function in everyday life. Yet some conditions, like laziness, or stress around exam time can produce impairment but these aren"t mental disorders. Societal disapproval- societal attitudes shape our views of abnormality (ex. homosexuality before 1973). Yet messiness, rudeness, or racism are deemed undesirable by society, but they are not mental disorders. Biological dysfunction- many mental disorders arise from a breakdown of physiological systems (ex. schizophrenia). Yet some arise through learning and experience (ex. phobias) combined with genetics.
