PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS

MEDICAL MODEL APPLIED TO ABNORMAL BEHAVIOR Medical model proposes

that it is useful to think of abnormal behavior as a disease

Critics: Thomas Szasz—mind can’t be sick

Diagnosis: distinguish one illness from another

Etiology: causation and developmental history of an illness

Prognosis: forecast about probable course of an illness

CRITERIA OF ABNORMAL BEHAVIOR Deviance: deviating

from society’s norms Maladaptive behavior:

struggling to adapt Personal distress:

usually depression and/or anxiety disorders

Evolutionary psychs believe mental disorders should be referred to as evolutionary dysfunctions

STEREOTYPES OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS 1) Psych disorders

are incurable 2) People w/psych

disorders are often violent and dangerous

3) People w/psych disorders behave in bizarre ways and are very different from normal people

PSYCHODIAGNOSIS: CLASSIFICATION OF DISORDERS

1952: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) describes 100 disorders

1980: DSM-III---new classification system

Axes I and II diagnose disorders

Axes III-V are supplemental info

PREVALENCE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS Epidemiology: the

study of the distribution of mental or physical disorders

Prevalence: percentage of population that exhibits a disorder during a specific time period

DSM criteria: 1/3 of pop. has some psych disorder

ANXIETY DISORDERSA class of disorders marked by feelings of excessive apprehension and anxiety

GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER DEF: marked by a

chronic, high level of anxiety that is not tied to any specific threat

Called “free-floating anxiety”

Worry about minor matters

Physical symptoms: trembling, muscle tension, diarrhea, dizziness, faintness, sweating, heart palpitations

PHOBIC DISORDERS DEF: marked by a

persistent and irrational fear of an object or situation that presents no realistic danger

Even imagining the object can trigger anxiety

PANIC DISORDER AND AGORAPHOBIA Panic disorder:

characterized by recurrent attacks of overwhelming anxiety that usually occur suddenly and unexpectedly

Agoraphobia: fear of going out to public places

Majority who suffer from one or both are female

OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER OCD: marked by

persistent, uncontrollable intrusions of unwanted thoughts and urges to engage in senseless rituals

Obsessions are thoughts

Compulsions are actions

ETIOLOGY OF ANXIETY DISORDERS

BIOLOGICAL FACTORS Concordance rate: indicates the percentage

of twin pairs or other pairs of relatives that exhibit the same disorders

Anxiety sensitivity Neurotransmitters

CONDITIONING AND LEARNING Anxiety responses

are acquired by classical conditioning

They are maintained by operant conditioning

Phobias could be evolutionary

Observational learning may also play a part

COGNITIVE FACTORS Some are more

likely to have anxiety b/c they tend to:

1) misinterpret harmless situations as threatening

2) focus excessive attention on perceived threats

3) selectively recall info that seems threatening

PERSONALITY AND STRESS Certain personality

traits appear to be related to likelihood of anxiety

Neuroticism---nervous, jittery, insecure, guilt-prone, gloomy

SOMATOFORM DISORDERSPhysical ailments that cannot be fully explained by organic conditions and are largely due to psychological factors

SOMATIZATION DISORDER DEF: marked by a history of diverse physical

complaints that appear to be psychological in origin

Usually a very diverse array of symptoms

CONVERSION DISORDER DEF: characterized

by a significant loss of physical function (w/no apparent organic basis), usually in a single organ system

HYPOCHONDRIASIS DEF: characterized

by excessive preoccupation w/health concerns and incessant worry about developing physical illnesses

Usually coupled w/ anxiety disorders and depression

ETIOLOGY OF SOMATOFORM DISORDERS

PERSONALITY FACTORS Histrionic

personality most prevalent

Self-centered, suggestible, excitable, highly emotional, overly dramatic

Neuroticism also common

THE SICK ROLE Being sick is a way

to avoid life’s challenges

Creates an excuse for failure

Gets attention from others

DISSOCIATIVE DISORDERSClass of disorders in which people lose contact w/portions of their consciousness or memory, resulting in disruptions in their sense of identity

DISSOCIATIVE AMNESIA AND FUGUE Dissociative

Amnesia: sudden loss of memory for important personal info that is too extensive to be due to normal forgetting

Dissociative Fugue: loss of memory for entire life along with sense of identity

DISSOCIATIVE IDENTITY DISORDER DID: involves the

coexistence in one person of 2 or more largely complete, and usually very different, personalities

Personalities usually unaware of each other

Alternate personalities exhibit traits unusual for original personality

ETIOLOGY OF DISSOCIATIVE DISORDERS Nicholas Spanos: DID patients are merely

role-playing to mask personal failure Trauma does seem to be the main cause of

development of DID

MOOD DISORDERSClass of disorders marked by emotional disturbances of varied kinds that may spill over to disrupt physical, perceptual, social, and thought processes

MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER DEF: show persistent

feelings of sadness and despair and a loss of interest in previous sources of pleasure

Depression can occur at any point in life

Dysthynic disorder: chronic depression that is insufficient in severity to justify diagnosis of a major depressive episode

BIPOLAR DISORDER DEF: characterized

by the experience of one or more manic episodes usually accompanied by periods of depression

Cyclothymic disorder: exhibit chronic but relatively mild symptoms of bipolar disturbance

ETIOLOGY OF MOOD DISORDERS

GENETIC VULNERABILITY Heredity can create a predisposition Environmental factors may determine if it

becomes an actual disorder

NEUROCHEMICAL FACTORS Norepinephrine and serotonin thought to be

the main NT’s Recent studies are showing that other NT’s

may be involved

COGNITIVE FACTORS Depression caused by Learned

helplessness---a passive “giving up” People with pessimistic explanatory style are

most susceptible to depression Hopelessness theory: pessimistic style, high

stress, low self-esteem, etc… create depression

Basically…negative thoughts and emotions lead to and maintain depression

INTERPERSONAL ROOTS Behaviorist

approach Inadequate social

skills lead to depression

Depressed people are depressing