Abnormal Behavior and Therapy (Modules 48-55) Flashcards
Psychological Disorder
Deviant, distressful and dysfunctional patterns of thoughts, feelings or behaviors
Medical Model
The concept that diseases have physical causes that can be diagnosed, treated and in most cases, cured, often through treatment in a hospital
What do psychologists who believe in biopsychosocial approach believe is the cause of disorders?
All behavior, normal and disordered, arises from the interaction between nature and nurture
What is the evidence of biopsychosocial beliefs?
There are links between specific disorders and cultures. For example, eating disorders are most frequent in western cultures.
What is the DSM-5 used for?
Classifying psychological disorders
What do critics say against the DSM?
It casts too wide a net and brings almost any kind of behavior within the compass of psychiatry.
Summarize the layout of the Rosenhan study.
Rosenhan sent a few non-mentally ill people to a mental institution on the complaint of “hearing voices” in order to gauge how long it would take for them to be diagnosed and released. All were misdiagnosed and the longest detainment was 30 days.
What can happen when we label a person with a disorder?
Labeling affects how we perceive a person; labels create preconceptions that guide our perceptions and our interpretations. Labels can also change reality – people, when expecting a certain reaction, may act in a way that elicits that reaction.
What are the benefits of diagnostic labeling?
Mental health professionals use labels to communicate about their cases, to comprehend the underlying causes and to discern effective treatment programs.
What percentage of adults in American suffer from a mental disorder in a given year?
26%
What are five risk factors for mental disorders?
Academic failure, birth complications, chronic pain, medical illness and social incompetence
Anxiety Disorders
Psychological disorders characterized by distressing, persistent anxiety or maladaptive behaviors that reduce anxiety
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
General persistence anxiety without cause although a person may be exposed to triggers that worsen it
What does it mean that the anxiety of GAD is free-floating?
A person with GAD cannot identify, and therefore cannot deal with or avoid, the cause of their anxiety.
Panic Disorder
An anxiety disorder marked by unpredictable minutes-long episodes of intense dread in which a person experiences terror and accompanying chest pain, choking or other sensations
Phobia
An anxiety disorder marked by a persistent, irrational fear and avoidance of a specific object or person
Social Anxiety Disorder (social phobia)
An intense fear of being scrutinized by others, avoid potentially embarrassing social situations, such as speaking up, eating out or going to parties
Agoraphobia
Fear or avoidance of situations in which escape might be difficult or help unavailable when panic strikes
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
An anxiety disorder characterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts (obsessions) and/or actions (compulsions)
When does OCD cross the line between normal and disorder?
When obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors interfere with everyday living and cause the person distress
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
An anxiety disorder characterized by haunting memories, nightmares, social withdrawal, jumpy anxiety and/or insomnia that lingers for more than four weeks after a traumatic experience
What were old names for PTSD?
Shellshock and battle fatigue
What determines whether a person suffers PTSD after a traumatic event?
The greater one’s emotional distress during a trauma, the higher the risk for post-traumatic symptoms
Posttraumatic Growth
Positive psychological changes as a result of struggling with extremely challenging circumstances and life crises
Explain how we learn fear from the learning perspective.
Fear Conditioning: Link between conditioned fear and anxiety. Ex. Assault victims feel anxious when returning to a crime scene.
Observational Learning: Observing others’ fears. Ex. Children learn to fear the same things as their parents.
Give an example of how an anxiety disorder might have been passed down from our biological ancestors.
We seem biologically prepared to fear threats faced by our ancestors: spiders, snaked, heights, and darkness. This may be a result of natural selection.
What two neurotransmitters might be involved in anxiety?
Serotonin and glutamate
Dissociative Disorders
Disorders in which conscious awareness becomes separated (dissociated) from previous memories, thoughts and feelings
Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)
A rare dissociative condition in which a person exhibits two or more distinct and alternating personalities
What was the old name for DID?
Multiple personality disorder
Why do some people believe that DID is NOT a real disorder?
Some argue that DID is merely a more extreme version of our capacity to vary the “selves” we present – the you your friends see vs the you your grandparents see. Also, many argue that DID is a product of roleplaying.
What evidence is there that DID IS a real disorder?
Distinct brain and body states are associated with difference personalities – for example, handedness sometimes switches with personalities.
Personality Disorders
Psychological disorders characterized by inflexible and enduring behavior patterns that impair social functioning
What does each cluster of personality disorders focus on?
One cluster focuses on anxiety; another on eccentric behaviors; another, dramatic and/or impulsive behaviors.
Antisocial Personality Disorder
A personality disorder in which a person exhibits a lack of conscience for wrongdoing. May be aggressive and ruthless or a clever con artist.
Why do most criminals not have Antisocial Personality Disorder?
Most criminals show responsible concern for friends and family members.
Is ther ea genetic link for Antisocial Personality Disorder?
No single gene codes this behavior, but twin studies show that biological relatives of people exhibiting antisocial tendencies are at an increased risk of being antisocial.
Somatoform Disorder
Psychological disorder in which the symptoms take a somatic (bodily) form without apparent physical cause
Conversion Disorder
A rare somatoform disorder in which a person interprets normal physical sensations as symptoms of a disease
Illness Anxiety Disorder (Hypochondriasis)
A somatoform disease in which a person interprets normal physical sensations as symptoms of a disease
Mood Disorders
Psychological disorders characterized by emotional extremes
Major-Depressive Disorder
A mood disorder in which a person experiences two or more week of significantly depressed moods, feelings of worthlessness and diminished interest or pleasure in most activities
What are the five symptoms of depression?
1) Lethargy
2) Feelings of worthlessness
3) Loss of interest in family
4) Loss of interest in friends
5) Loss of interest in activities
Mania
A mood disorder marked by a wild, hyperactive, wildly optimistic state
Bipolar Disorder
A mood disorder in which the person alternates between the hopelessness and lethargy of depression and the overexcited state of mania
Give some examples of behaviors someone would have during their manic phase.
Euphoric, hyperactive, wildly optimistic – over talkative, overactive, elated, little need for sleep, fewer sexual inhibitions – speech is loud, flighty and hard to interrupt – finds advice irritation – reckless spending and unprotected sex
Who is more at risk for depression – men or women?
Women
What neurotransmitter is scarce during depression and overabundant during mania?
Norepinephrine
What neurotransmitters are probably involved in depression?
Norepinephrine and serotonin