Chapter 14-Psychological Disorders:
********pg.642-643********
ABNORMAL BEHAVIOUR
The medical model proposes that abnormal behavior is a disease
-Diagnosis-distinguishng one illness from another
-Etiology-the apparent causation and developmental history of an illness
-Prognosis-a forecast about the probable course of an illness
-Criteria in making diagnosis:
1. Deviance –behaviour deviates from societal norms
2. Maladaptive Behaviour-judges to have a disorder since their behaniour is impaired (ie.cocaine use)
3. Personal Distress-indivudual reports great personal distress-ie.depression
-Stereotypes of Psychology disorders:
1. Incurable
2. Pple with disorders are violent and dangerous
3. Pple behave in biarre ways and are very diff from normal peeps
*often it is hard to clearly draw a line btwn normal and abnormality
-DSM (Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders)-developed classification system that asks for
judgements about individuals on 5 separate dimensions/‟axes‟ – pg.610
-Epidemiology-the study of the distribution of mental or physical disorders in a pop
-Prevalence-the % of a pop that exhibits a disorder during a certain time period
ANXIETY DISORDERS
-defn: a class of disorders marked by feelings of excessive apprehension and anxiety
-Types of anxiety disorders:
1. Generalized anxiety disorder-“free-floating anxiety” –a chronic high level of anxiety that is not tied
down to any specific threat
2. Phobic disorder-a persistent + irrational fear of an object or situation that presents no realistic danger
3. Panic disorder-recurrent attacks of overwhelming anxiety that usually occur suddenly and unexpectedly.
Agraphobia=fear of going out into public places
4. Obsessive-Complusive disorder-persistent, uncontrollable intrusions of unwanted thoughts (obsessions)
and urges in sense less rituals (compulsions)
5. Post-Traumatic stress disorder-may appear immediately or months or years after a traumatic event
-Biological factors:
Concordance rate-the % of twin pairs or other pairs of relatives who exhibit the same disorder
A moderate genetic predisposition to anxiety disorders
Anxiety sensitivity-make pple more vulnerable to anxiety disorders
Neurotransmitter abnormalities
-Cognitive factors:
Pple: 1) misinterpret harmless situations as threatening. 2) focus excessive attention on perceived
threats. 3) selectively recall info that seems threatening
Stress
SOMATOFORM DISORDERS
1. Somatization disorder-marked by a history of diverse physical complaints that appear to be
psychological in origin-mainly women
2. Conversion disorder-a sig loss of physical fxn (with no apparent organic basis), usually in a single organ
system-ie. Vision/hearing loss, partial paralysis
3. Hypochondria-excessive preoccupation with health concerns and incessant worry about developing
physical illness
-Personality factors:
Self-centered, suggestible, excitable, overly dramatic/emotional pple
Neuroticism
-Cognitive factors: Think they are „sick‟
Overinterpret every ache or pain
DISSOCIATIVE DISORDERS
-pple lose contact with portions of their consciousness or memory, resulting in disruptions in their sense of
identity
-uncommon
-3 syndromes:
1. Dissociative amnesia-a sudden loss of memory of important personal info that is too extensice to be due
to normal forettting-ie.memory loss of a single traumatic event (ie.rape)
2. Dissociative fugue-pple lose memory of entire lives, along with sense of personal identity
3. Dissociative identity disorder-“multiple personality disorder”-the coexsistence in one person of 2+
largely complete personalites-ppple are engaging in intentional role-playng to use an exotic mental
illness as a face-saving excuse for their personal failings-could also be rooted in emotional trauma that
occurred during childhood
MOOD DISORDERS
-defn:disorders marked by emotional disturbances of varied kinds that may spill over to disrupt physical,
perceptual, social, and thought processes
-unipolar: experience emotional extreemes at just 1 end of the mood continuum-troubled by depression-more
common
-bipolar:-emotional extremes at both ends of the continuum-troubled by depression + mania
-episodic
-disturbed emotion*
1. Major Depressive disorder-pple show persistent feelins of sadness + despair and a loss of interest in
previous sources of pleasure. –pple lack energy, anxiety, feel worthless, hoplessess, guilt
-Dysthymic disorder:chronic depression that is insufficient in severirt to justify diagnosis if a maor
depressive episode
-prevalence is increasing (2x as much in women than men-women have a greater tendency to dwell on
stuff then men)
2. Bipolar disorder-“manic-depressive disorder”-experience periods of both manic/depression
-Cyclothymic disorder:pple exhibit chronic but relatively mild symptoms of bipolar disturbance
-seen equally in males and females
-average age of onset=25
-Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)-type of depression that follows a seasonal pattern and postpartum
depression, a type of depression that sometimes occurs after childbirth
-related to circadium rhythms and melatonin production
-can be a dehibilitating disorder
-closely correlated with suicide
-Factors:
Genetic vulnerability/predisposition
Biological and neurochemical factors
-neurochemical abnormalities
-neurogenesis-brain continues to
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