PSY 325 Lecture 1: Untitleddocument (1)

• School: Ryerson University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSY 325
• Professor: Karen Milligan

Document Summary

Psychological disorder: a psychological dysfunction within an individual that is associated with distress or impairment in the functioning and a response that is not typical/culturally expected. Distress - contributes to a good definition but defining a psychological disorder by distress doesn"t work. It can be quite normal to feel a sense of distress and in fact many disorders are not defined by feeling distressed ie. bipolar manic periods where the person feels elated, happy and impulsive rather than distressed. Impairment - many people who face impairment such as: shyness/laziness are not abnormal therefore impairment is not entirely satisfactory. Phobia: a psychological disorder characterized by persistent fear of an object or situation- it puts lifestyle and health at risk. Psychological dysfunction: breakdown in cognitive, emotional, or behavioural functioning. Difficult to draw the line between what is considered to be normal vs. abnormal dysfunction.