Abnormal Psych Flashcards
What IQ is the usual cutoff for mental retardation?
a score of 70
two SD below the mean
What is abnormal psychology?
the study of behavior that is considered not normal ie mental disorders
What are example disruptive behavior disorders?
- oppositional defiant disorder
- conduct disorder
What are the signs and symptoms of delirium?
disturbed
- consciousness (awareness, attention, focus)
- cognition (memory and disorientation)
What are the four famous dementias?
- Alzheimer’s
- Huntington’s
- Parkinson’s
- Pick’s
What are the areas affected by Pick’s disease, and the cognitive effects?
frontal and temporal lobes
changes in personality
What is an example of a mental disorder due to a general medical condition?
depression due to hypothyroidism
What are the features of substance dependence?
- continued use despite related problems
- desensitization and need for more
- desire but inability to stop use
- withdrawal
- decrease in outside interests
- sig time spent getting/using/recovering from the substance
What are the features of substance abuse?
recurrent over-use despite substance related problems or danger
What is an older name for schizophrenia?
dementia praecox
Who named schizophrenia?
Eugene Bleuler
What disorder did Eugene Bleuler study?
schizophrenia
What are the positive signs and symptoms of schizophrenia?
- delusions
- perceptual hallucinations
- disorganized speech & thought
- disorganized behavior
What are the negative signs and symptoms of schizophrenia?
- flat affect
- restricted thought, speech, & behavior
- catatonia
What is a delusion?
false ideas believed by the patient but not by other people in their culture and which cannot be corrected by reason.
What are the two types of schizophrenia based on history of sumptoms?
- process schizophrenia
- reactive schizophrenia
How do process and reactive schizophrenia differ from each other?
process is developed slowly over time, has a poor recovery outlook
reactive develops suddenly, has a better recovery outlook
What is the diathesis-stress theory of mental illness?
it posits that non-biological or genetic traits (diatheses) interact with environmental influences (stressors) to produce disorders
According to the book, what is the predominate theory about the biological origin of schizophrenia?
excessive dopamine in the brain
What are the five types of schizophrenia according to symptom profiles?
- paranoid
- disorganized
- catatonic
- undifferentiated
- residual
What is an alternative label for disorganized schizophrenia?
hebephrenic schizophrenia
What symptoms characterize hebephrenic/disorganized schizophrenia?
- disorganized speech & behavior
- flat affect
What symptoms characterize catatonic schizophrenia?
- psychomotor disturbance
- catalepsy
- excessive motor activity & prominent posturing
- echolalia
- echopraxia
What is catalepsy?
motor immobility or waxy figure
What is echolalia?
parroting back words and questions
What is echopraxia?
imitating the gestures of others
What are the two components of a schizoaffective disorder diagnosis?
- schizophrenic symptoms
- depressive episode
What is the folie de deux?
aka shared psychotic disorder - two people share delusions/reinforce each other’s delusions
How does dysthymic disorder differ from major depressive disorder?
same symptoms
but dysthymic waxes & wanes - symptoms must be present more days than not over a period of at least 2 years
What are obsessions?
persistent slash intrusive thoughts
What are compulsions?
repetitive behaviors (could be cognitive) that must be carried out to relieve anxiety
What are the two main somatoform diagnoses?
- conversion disorder
- hypochondriasis
What is a conversion disorder?
psychological distress is ‘converted’ to bodily symptoms - eg paralysis
What is another term for the dissociative disorders?
the psychogenic disorders
What are the three main dissociative disorders?
- amnesia
- fugue
- identity disorder
What are the characteristics of schizoid personality disorder?
detachment
small range of emotion
What are the characteristics of schizotypal personality disorder?
eccentricity
distorted perception of reality
What are the characteristics of borderline personality disorder?
instability in relationships and emotions
impulsivity
What are the characteristics of histrionic personality disorder?
excess of emotion
attention seeking
What is a neuroleptic?
an older term for antipsychotic drugs
What is the main method of action for neuroleptic drugs?
blocking dopamine receptors
atypical antipsychotics can also affect 5-HT pathways
What is the term for the involuntary motor symptoms caused by neuroleptics?
extrapyramidal symptoms spec. tardive dyskinesia
What two disorders can be caused by excessive alcohol consumption?
- Korsakoff’s syndrome
- Wernicke’s syndrome
What are the symptoms of Korsakoff’s syndrome?
loss of memory and orientation
sufferers often confabulate to fill in gaps
what are the three classical symptoms of Wernicke’s disease?
- eye problems (poor eye muscle control)
- muscle control problems associated with cerebellum disfunction (ataxia)
- confusion slash memory loss
What genetic abnormality leads to Klinefelter’s syndrome?
the possession of XXY karyotype
What was Thomas Szasz’s contribution to abnormal psychology?
criticized treatment of schizophrenic patients - believed they were unique but not disordered
What was Fromm & Reichman’s contribution to abnormal psychology?
coined the terrible term schizophrenic mother
What was David Rosenhan’s contribution to abnormal psychology?
studied effect of diagnostic labels on perception of behavior
sent normal patients into hospitals
