Chapter 13: Psychological Disorders

Question 1

Statistical Infrequency:

Answer 1

If most people statistically don’t go around kicking puppies, then kicking puppies must be abnormal.

Question 2

Violation of Social Norms:

Answer 2

This can be difficult to judge from place to place, and time to time. For instance, what might be acceptable dance moves in 1999 might not be so in 1920.

Question 3

Personal Distress

Answer 3

A person may experience distress because of a particular behavior and seek help for it. By the same token, a person might be causing others distress and yet feel none themselves.

Question 4

Level of Impairment

Answer 4

Whether a behavior interferes with a person’s ability to function and/or causes distress to that person or others.

Question 5

Western cultures lean towards 3 main models (/approaches) for understanding abnormal behavior:

Answer 5

a. Biological theories
b. Psychological Theories
c. Social or Cultural Theories

Question 6

Psychological Theories attribute abnormal behavior to internal or external stressors.

Answer 6

a. Psychoanalytic Perspective: Attributes abnormal behavior to unresolved unconscious conflicts.
b. Social Learning Perspective: Abnormal behavior is the result of classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and social learning. A person’s responses to the environment and the consequences of such lead to abnormal behavior.
c. Cognitive Perspective: Emphasizes role of thoughts, expectations, assumptions, and other mental processes in abnormal behavior. IE does your conscience say that starting a fire somewhere is good or bad?
d. Humanistic Perspective: Abnormal behavior results from a distorted perception of self and reality.

Question 7

Sociocultural Theories:

Answer 7

Emphasize social or cultural factors that may play a role in psychological disorders. Things like poverty, discrimination, and environmental stressors must be looked at as well to understand biological and psychological influences.

Question 8

Biopsychosocial Model:

Answer 8

Most psychological disorders result from a combination of biological, psychological, and social factors; they do not have just one cause.

Question 9

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders:

Answer 9

A book published by the American Psychiatric Association that lists the criteria for close to 400 mental health disorders.

Question 10

How Good is the DSM Model?

Answer 10

1. Numerous revisions of the DSM have sought to improve reliability and validity.
2. The reliability and validity of many Axis 1 clinical disorders are very high.
3. The reliability of Axis 2 personality disorders is considered extremely low.
4. DSM is not perfect, and can only provide a general description of a problem a person is experiencing. It DOES NOT consider uniqueness of individuals.

Question 11

Anxiety Disorder:

Answer 11

A disorder marked by excessive apprehension that seriously interferes with a person’s ability to function.

Question 12

Components of Anxiety Disorders:

Answer 12

1. Characterized by four components: physical, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral. All these components can and do interact to create different anxiety experiences.
2. Physical components of anxiety include: Dizziness, elevated heart rate and blood pressure, muscle tension, sweating palms, dry mouth.
3. Cognitive components of anxiety include: worrying, fearing loss of control, exaggerating (in one’s mind) the danger of a situation, exhibiting paranoia, or being extremely wary and watchful of people and events.
4. Emotional components of anxiety include: dread, terror, panic, irritability, or restlessness.
5. Coping with abnormal anxiety may include behaviors: escaping or fleeing from the situation, behaving aggressively, “freezing,” which results in being unable to move, or avoiding the situation in the future.

Question 13

Generalize Anxiety Disorder (GAD):

Answer 13

An anxiety disorder characterized by chronic, constant worry in almost all situations.

Question 14

Panic Disorder:

Answer 14

An anxiety disorder characterized by intense fear and anxiety in the absence of danger that is accompanied by strong physical symptoms.

Question 15

Agoraphobia:

Answer 15

An excessive fear of being in places from which escape might be difficult or where help might not be available if one were to experience panic.

Question 16

Phobic Disorder:

Answer 16

An anxiety characterized by an intense fear of a specific object or situation.

Question 17

Specific Phobia:

Answer 17

A persistent fear and avoidance of a specific object or situation.

Question 18

Social Phobia:

Answer 18

An irrational, persistent fear of being negatively evaluated by others in a social situation.

Question 19

Obsession:

Answer 19

A recurrent thought or image that intrudes on a person’s awareness.

Question 20

Compulsion:

Answer 20

Repetitive behavior that a person feels a strong urge to perform.

Question 21

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD):

Answer 21

An anxiety disorder involving a pattern of unwanted intrusive thoughts and the urge to engage in repetitive actions.

Question 22

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD):

Answer 22

An anxiety disorder, characterized by distressing memories, emotional numbness, and hypervigilance, that develops after exposure to a traumatic event.

Question 23

Explaining Anxiety Disorders:

Answer 23

1. Functioning of several neurotransmitters has been linked to anxiety disorder.
2. Genetic predisposition to anxiety disorder may exist.
3. An overactive amygdala may contribute to heightened anxiety and memory problems.
4. Phobias are learned and conditioned just like any other response.
5. People dealing with social upheaval, war, and other major events are more likely to display symptoms of anxiety disorders than people in stable countries.

Question 24

Dissociative Disorders:

Answer 24

A disorder marked by a loss of awareness of some parts of one’s self or one’s surroundings that seriously interferes with the person’s ability to function. IE: A milder temporary condition is when we listen to someone talking but are thinking about something else, and cannot recall what the person was talking about.

Question 25

Dissociative Fugue Disorder:

Answer 25

A disorder marked by episodes of amnesia in which a person is unable to recall some or all of his or her past and is confused about his or her identity; a new identity may be formed in which the person suddenly and unexpectedly travels away from home. 50 first dates.

Question 26

Dissociative Identity Disorder:

Answer 26

A disorder in which one or more personalities coexist within the same individual; formerly called multiple personality disorder.