chapter 14 Flashcards
what are the 4 D’s of abnormal behavior in abnormal psychology?
deviance - unusual behavior, socially unacceptable behavior, break from reality
distress
dysfunction - maladaptive, self-defeating behavior
dangerous behavior
what is a psychological disorder?
the presence of a constellation of symptoms that create significant distress or impair work, school, family, relationships, or daily living
why is classification necessary?
- prediction of disorder’s course
- treatment suggestion
- research into causes and possible treatments
why are labels dangerous?
expectation effects, self-fulfilling prophecy, rosenhan study (he and a group of healthy individuals pretended to have mental illness symptoms to gain admission to psychiatric hospitals, demonstrating that psychiatrists often misdiagnosed sanity as insanity, highlighting issues with the reliability of psychiatric diagnoses)
how do you categorize disorders?
Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual (DSM-5); Used for diagnosing disorders; Varying degrees of accuracy; Often use BioPsychSocial
approach today (Biological, psychological, and social-cultural factors interact to
produce specific psychological
disorders)
what are the 3 anxiety disorders?
- generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)
- panic disorder
- phobias
what is generalized anxiety disorder?
a person for no obvious reason, is continually tense &
uneasy; lifetime prevalence 6%
what is panic disorder?
a disorder in which a person experiences panic attacks; begins to fear panic attacks; can lead to agoraphobia; lifetime prevalence 5%
what are phobias?
social anxiety disorder: a disorder in which a person fear public humiliation and/or
embarrassment; lifetime prevalence 12%
specific phobia: a disorder in which a person has an intense fear and
avoidance of a specific object, or situation; animals, blood-injection-injury, natural environment, situation, miscellaneous; lifetime prevalence 12%
what is OCD?
characterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts & behaviors; obsession: thought; compulsion: action (checking, washing, ordering); lifetime prevalence 2-3%
what is PTSD?
traumatic event; fear and helplessness; symptoms (re-experience event, avoidance and emotional numbing, social withdrawal, insomnia, heightened arousal); lifetime prevalence 7-9% (among americans)
what are possible causes for anxiety, OCD, PTSD?
conditioning: little albert; anxiety cues - stimulus generalization & reinforcement
cognition: hypervigilant - attend more to threatening stimuli; interpret ambiguous stimuli as threatening; higher chance of recalling threatening event
biology: genes - family studies, twin studies, chemical levels (serotonin), epigenetics; runs in families; the brain - amygdala (hypersensitive); anterior cingulate cortex (hyperactive in monitoring & checking for errors
what are the 2 mood disorders?
major depressive disorder (unipolar depression) and bipolar disorder
what is major depressive disorder (unipolar)?
a disorder that over 2 consecutive weeks people experience at least 5 of the following: depressed mood, loss of interest or pleasure, changes in appetite, sleep, physical activity level, energy, feelings of worthless or guilt, problems with concentration, suicidal thoughts or ideation; lifetime prevalence 20% for women 12% for men; suicide is attempted by 30% of depressed people
what is bipolar disorder?
mania - often cycles with depression; diagnosis correlated with working in creative profession and americans; high suicide risk; gender ratio is equal; lifetime prevalence is 1%; two affected parents 50-65%, one affected parent child or sibling 5-20%, one affected second-degree relative 5%
what are potential causes of unipolar depression?
the brain: decreased activity (especially left hemi), low neurotransmitters, hereditary factors
substance intake: nutritional effects (plant-based diet lowers inflammation -> inflammation linked with diagnosis of depression); alcohol is highly correlated with depression diagnosis
the person: attributional style - internal vs external, global vs specific, stable vs unstable; negative thoughts and moods - rumination and learned helplessness; culture
what are potential causes of bipolar disorder?
Na+ ion instability; Biochemistry (low serotonin, norepinephrine low or high depression or mania; genetics
how do you diagnose schizophrenia?
- for one month an individual displays 2 or more of the following symptoms much of the time (delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, abnormal motor activity including catatonia, and negative symptoms)
- one of the symptoms must be delusions, hallucinations, or disorganized speech
- individual functions worse in different spheres of life
- individuals continue to display impaired functioning for 5 more months
acute schizophrenia characteristics
can appear at any age
as a result of trauma or major stressors
greater likelihood of recovery
characteristics of chronic schizophrenia
appears late adolescent/ early adulthood
progressive
what are the negative symptoms of schizophrenia?
diminished speech
blunted and flat affect
loss of motivation
impaired theory of mind
catatonia
what are the positive symptoms of schizophrenia?
delusions
disorganized thinking and speech
hallucinations
inappropriate affect
how do we explain schizophrenia?
the brain:
- larger ventricles
- elevated dopamine levels
- smaller amounts of cortical gray matter
- fewer synaptic connections
- various environmental factors including abuse, cannabis use, parental loss
- winter births
- flu or other viral exposure in utero
- high antibodies in maternal blood
what is a personality disorder?
inflexible and enduring patterns of behavior that impair one’s social functioning
what is a cluster A personality disorder?
odd-centric
- paranoid
- schizoid
- schizotypical
what is a cluster B personality disorder?
dramatic-emotional
- antisocial
- borderline
- histrionic
- narcissistic
what are symptoms and etiology of antisocial personality disorder?
- failure to conform to social norms (lawful behaviors) that are grounds for arrest
- deceitfulness (repeated lying, aliases, conning others for personal reasons)
- impulsivity or failure to plan ahead
- irritability and aggressiveness (repeated physical fight or assaults)
- genetic predisposition to fearless and uninhibited life (comorbidity for substance use disorders)
- higher in individuals who experienced (abuse, family instability, poverty) in childhood
- brain activity differs compared to non-mental ill brain (amygdala smaller, hyperactive DA reward response system, reduced frontal lobe activity
what is narcissistic personality disorder?
what are cluster C personality disorders?
anxious-fearful
- avoidant
- dependent
- obsessive-compulsive
what are factors/ prevalence of eating disorders?
genetic predisposition, gender, cultural factors
lifetime prevalence 0.5%-4% (anorexia, bulimia)
differences in anorexia and bulimia
anorexia
- extreme diet; below minimally normal weight
- denial of anorexia; proud of diet
- comforted by rigid self control
- amenorrhea
bulimia
- binge eating/ compensatory behavior; normal weight
- aware of problem; secretive/ ashamed of bulimia
- distressed by lack of self control
- teeth/ gum problems
- brittle bones
what are dissociative disorders and symptoms?
identity confusion, identity alteration, derealization, depersonalization, amnesia
dissociative amnesia: unable to recall important personal information, usually related to a traumatic or stressful event, causing significant gaps in their memory that go beyond normal forgetfulness
dissociative fugue: a rare mental health condition characterized by a sudden and unexpected loss of memory and identity, accompanied by travel or wandering
dissociative identity disorder: a severe mental health condition characterized by the presence of two or more distinct personality states or identities that alternate in controlling a person’s behavior and thoughts
