AP Psych Unit 8 Flashcards
DSM-V
The APA’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition; a widely used system for classifying psychological disorders
A behavioral or psychological syndrome or pattern that occurs in an individual
Reflects an underlying psychobiological dysfunction
The consequences of which are clinically significant distress (e.g., a painful symptom) or disability (i.e., impairment in one or more important areas of functioning) Must not be merely an expected response to [common stressors and losses (ex. the loss of a loved one) or a culturally sanctioned response to a particular event (ex. trance states in religious rituals)] Primarily a result of social deviance or conflicts with society
The DSM-5 classifies disorders by categories
- Depressive Disorders—extreme sadness and loss of interest
- Bipolar Disorders—depression and mania
- Anxiety Disorders—fear and worry
- Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders—obsessions and compulsions
- Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders
- Dissociative Disorders—amnesia
- Somatic Disorders - physical
- Eating Disorders
Psychological Disorder
a syndrome marked by a clinically significant disturbance in an individual’s cognition, emotion regulation, or behavior
Dysfunctional
Interfering with the ability to conduct daily activities in a constructive way
Distressful
The person and others feel pain and discomfort associated with his or her emotions, thoughts, or behaviors
Deviant
goes against the norm of behavior (may be abnormal in one culture, but normal in another)
Dangerous
cause harm to self or others
Ancient Treatments of psychological disorders
include trephination, exorcism, being caged like animals, beaten, burned, castrated, mutilated, and transfused with animal’s blood.
Medical Model
the concept that diseases, or psychological disorders, have physical causes that can be diagnosed, treated, and cured
Biopsychosocial Approach to Disorders
biological, socio-cultural, and psychological factors combine and interact to produce psychological disorders
Biological influences:
evolution, genes, brain structure, and chemistry
Psychological influences
stress, trauma, learned helplessness, mood-related perceptions and memory
Socio-cultural influences
roles, expectations, definitions of normality and disorder
Insanity Plea
Legal (not psychiatric) determination of whether someone was aware enough of their own actions to be held responsible for their behavior. Mentally ill patients in certain circumstances can plead legally insane
McNaughton Rule
rule determining insanity, which asks whether the defendant knew what he or she was doing or whether the defendant knew what he or she was doing was wrong
Forensic Psychology
intersections between psychological practice and research and the judicial system
Confidentiality
professionals will not divulge the information they obtain from a client
Etiology
is the cause(s) of a psychological disorder
Behavioral
Strength - Uses theories of conditioning which have been proven to help in rewiring behavior.
Weakness - Has little to no focus on biological aspects.
Biological
Strength - Experiments are objective, providing concrete data.
Weakness - Has little to no focus on environment,
upbringing, etc.
Cognitive
Strength - Used to successfully rewire thoughts in clinical settings
Weakness - Extremely logical and rarely accounts for emotional responses
Evolutionary
Strength - Can compare humans throughout different evolutionary stages
Weakness - More selectively used on animals than humans
Humanistic
Strength - Methods are adaptable to various types of people.
Weakness - Little objectivity is used.
Psychodynamic
Strength - Uses concepts from both nature and nurture arguments.
Weakness - Theories cannot be proven.
Sociocultural
Strength - Observations are most commonly made in real-world situations
Weakness - Variables are challenging to control
Positives of diagnostic labels
Treatment for the disorders and research
Negatives of diagnostic labels
Self-fulfilling prophecies and causing others around them to treat and perceive them based on stereotypical beliefs
Stigma
the societal disapproval and judgment of a person with mental illness because they do not fit their community’s social norms
The Rosenhan Study
-7 people were diagnosed with schizophrenia and 1 with bipolar disorder, which shows that they didn’t know how to differentiate normal behavior from symptoms of mental illnesses.
-Rosenhan shows the diagnostic system was unreliable. They were more likely to diagnose a healthy person as sick than they were to diagnose a sick person as healthy.
Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Groups of disabilities in the functioning of the brain that emerge at birth or during very early childhood & aect the individual’s behavior, memory, concentration and/or ability to learn
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
characterized by atypical behaviors, speech, interests, thought patterns, & interpersonal interactions. People with ASD have a difficult time interpreting social cues and may prefer routine over spontaneity
Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Disorder marked by the inability to focus attention, or overactive and impulsive behavior, or both
Intellectual disability (ID)
Is characterized by below-average intelligence or mental ability and a lack of skills necessary for
day-to-day living. Low IQ score of 70 or below. Have limitations in learning, solving problems, communicating, and lack many skills
needed for everyday life.
Neurocognitive Disorders
Group of disorders in which the primary problem is in cognitive function, impairments in cognitive abilities such as memory, problem solving, and perception
Alzheimer’s Disease
A fatal generative disease that destroys memory and other important mental functions. Symptoms include short-term memory loss, headaches, diculty walking and driving, and an inability to focus
Delirium
A rapidly developing, acute disturbance in attention, and orientation that makes it very difficult to concentrate and think in a clear and organized manner
Schizophrenia
Psychotic disorder in which personal, social, and occupational functioning deteriorates as a result of unusual perceptions, odd thoughts, disturbed emotions, and motor abnormality. Schizophrenia is an example of psychosis, in which a person
loses complete contact with reality and experiences false sensations
Psychosis
A syndrome of neurocognitive symptoms that impairs cognitive capacity leading to deficits of perception, functioning, and social relatedness
Positive Symptoms
involve behavioral access or peculiarities like hallucinations, delusions, disorganized thought and nonsensical speech, and bizarre behaviors
Negative Symptoms
involve absence of health behaviors like flat aect, social withdrawal, alogia, cataonia, and avolition
Hallucination
Perceiving a sensory stimuli that no one else is able to perceive, vividly real to the person experiencing it, content is usually negative (hearing voices, tasting, seeing, feeling, or smelling things that are not there)
Delusion
fixed false beliefs that are not amenable to change in light of conflicting evidence
Delusions of reference
Believing that hidden messages are being sent to you via newspaper, TV, radio, or magazines
Delusion of persecution
When you’re convinced that someone is mistreating, conspiring against, or planning to harm you or your loved one.
Disorganized Speech/Thinking:
might quickly jump from one unrelated topic to another, engage in incoherent “word salad,” repeat things another person says back to them, or appear to be speaking with nonexistent entities
Catatonia
A pattern of extreme psychomotor symptoms which may include catatonic stupor, rigidity, or posturing
Flat Affect
motionless state (unchanging facial expression, decreased spontaneous movements, a lack of expressive gestures, poor eye contact, lack of vocal inflections, and slowed speech)
Avolition
Apathy and an inability to start or complete a course of action
Alogia
involves a disruption in the thought process that leads to a lack of speech and issues with verbal fluency
Brain Abnormalities with Schizophrenia
● Genetic link - if your identical twin has schizophrenia you have a 50% chance of getting it
● High level of dopamine associated with schizophrenia
● Poor coordination of neural firing in the frontal lobes impairs judgment and self-control.
● The thalamus fires during hallucinations as if real sensations were being received
Diathesis-Stress Model
People inherit a predisposition or diathesis that increases their risk of schizophrenia; exposure to stress may put one at higher risk of developing schizophrenia
Mood disorders
are characterized by unusual and disruptive changes in mood, manifesting in depression, mania, or both
● Suicide and self-harm high with mood disorders
Major Depressive Disorder
Involves intense depressed mood, reduced interest or pleasure in activities, loss of energy, and
problems in making decisions for a minimum of 2 weeks (symptoms include loss of appetite, sleeping problems, low energy and self-esteem, loss of focus, and hopelessness)
Seasonal Affectiveness Disorder (SAD)
A mood disorder characterized by depression that occurs at the same time every year.
Seasonal affective disorder occurs in climates where there is less sunlight at certain times of the year. Symptoms include fatigue, depression, hopelessness, and social withdrawal
Bipolar Disorder
Mood swings alternating between periods of major depression and mania. Rapid cycling is usually short periods of mania followed almost immediately by deep pression, usually for longer duration
Mania
euphoric, giddy, easily irritated, with: exaggerated optimism, hyper-sociality and sexuality, delight in everything, impulsivity and overactivity, racing thoughts; the mind won’t settle down, and little desire for sleep
Brain Abnormalities with Depression and Bipolar disorder
● Diminished brain activity with depression, while increased brain activity with mania
● Smaller frontal lobes in depression and fewer axons in bipolar disorder
● more norepinephrine (arousing) in mania, less in depression
● reduced serotonin in depression
Social-Cognitive Perspective of Mood Disorders
Low self-esteem