chapter 12 abnormal behavior Flashcards
psychological disorders
bring unexplained physical symptoms, irrational fears, and suicidal thoughts.
depression and schizophrenia
exist in all cultures, so that means STRONG GENETIC LINKS to mental disorders
abnormal vs disordered
abnormal: we are all abnormal at times, we are sad and anxious sometimes
disorders: are when abnormal behaviors are continuous and disruptive
a psychological disorder is
a syndrome that is a significant disturbance in a person’s cognition, emotion regulation, or behavior
the 3 characteristics of abnormal behavior
deviant - culturally abnormal behavior (watering your garden in the rain)
dysfunctional - the behavior doesn’t provide a function
distress - behavior that causes distress
deviant has to include distress and dysfunctional
ancient treatment of mental illness
they thought people with mental illness were being possessed by spirits so they would…
- use trephination where they screwed a hole in its head
- cage them like an animal
- burned
- beaten
- transfusion of blood with animals’ blood
what was “the medical model”
the idea that diseases, as well as psychological disorders, need to be diagnosed, treated, and cured. the medical model caused a shift in the mindset of treatment
the biopsychosocial approach is
the modern way we go about mental illnesses
when we factor in biological influences (evolution, brain chemistry)
when we factor in psychological influences (stress, trauma)
when we factor in social influences
(expectations, social pressure)
the DSM (diagnostic statistical manual of mental disorders)
is the mental disorder “bible”
describes the disorders
describes the symptoms
describes the treatments
describes EVERYTHINGGGGGGG
it provides reliable diagnoses
300 mental illnesses!
generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)
An anxiety disorder in which a person is
- continuously tense
- continuously apprehensive
- continuously in a state of autonomic nervous system arousal
-2/3 are women
panic disorder
- panic attacks
- short + sudden feelings of intense anxiety
- they start avoiding situations that cause panic
a specific phobia
-persistent fear and avoidance of a specific object or situation
- genetically inherited
obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
- negative reinforcement
- unwanted obsessions (thoughts)and compulsions (actions)
- anxiety-inducing obsessions
- high metabolic activity in the frontal lobes
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- haunting memories
- nightmares
- social withdraw
- flashbacks
- jumpy anxiety
freud labeled anxiety as
free floating
stimulus generalization
you can create generalized anxiety by generalizing anxiety-inducing stimulus
reinforcement
negatively reinforcing behavior when you avoid the anxiety-inducing stimulus
fear is inforced through…
observational learning
schizophrenia
- delusions
- disorganized speech
- hallucinations
- catatonic behavior (disturbances in speech, activity, and responsiveness)
delusional thinking (along with schizophrenia)
believing things that are not true
disorganized speech and thoughts (along with schizophrenia)
- loose associations) rapidly shifting between topics that are not similar or connected
- perseveration) repeating the same thing over and over
- made up words) they only have meaning to the speaker
- rhyming words without meaning
hallucinations (along with schizophrenia)
false sensory experiences) hearing voices, seeing things, smelling things, feeling something on you
selective attention failure (along with schizophrenia)
inability to focus well on just one thing, all the noises you hear are the same volume
catatonia (along with schizophrenia)
when you are motionless or full of motion
the flat effect (along with schizophrenia)
showing no emotion (laughing at a funeral)
positive symptoms and negative symptoms of schizophrenia
positive symptoms = hallucinations or disorganized talking
negative symptoms = the absence of appropriate behavior
chronic vs cute schizophrenia
chronic develops slowly and recovery is doubtful
acute develops rapidly and recovery is better
cognitive deficits of schizophrenia
decrease in memory, slower processing speed, lack of attention
schizophrenia is associated with…
dopamine overactivity (6x more than normal) causes positive symptoms, interference with glutamate (excitatory neurotransmitter) can produce negative symptoms,
the diathesis-stress model of schizophrenia
people that have a genetic predisposition to schizophrenia are more likely than those that don’t have that predisposition during very stressful situations (increased cortisol)
schizophrenia brain
- too much tissue loss, (in the parietal lobe where they feel touch differently, too much loss in the temporal lobe makes them hear things differently)
- MRIs detect these brain abnormalities
- schizophrenia is not defined by just one brain abnormality, but problems with several brain regions and their interconnections**
- people with schizophrenia have decreased prefrontal cortex activity
viral infection to schizophrenia
individuals who contract the flu in the 2nd trimester of their fetal development have been observed to develop schizophrenia more
polygenetic
where many genes contribute to schizophrenia
