Chapter 14 Flashcards
Early Explanation of Mental Illness
Ancient times: evil spirits released via TREPANNING
Hippocrates: mental illness from imbalance of the body’s four humors
Middle Age- Spirits possession/exorcism
Renaissance: mentally ill-labeled witches
Psychopathology
Study of abnormal thoughts, feelings, and behavior
Abnormal Behavior
- statistically rare
- deviant from social norms
- causes subjective discomfort
- does not allow day-to-day functioning
- causes a person to be dangerous to self or tohers
Sociocultural perspective
Abnormal/normal thinking of behavior is product of behavioral shaping with,,
- family influences
- social group where someone belongs
- culture within family
“Models of Abnormality”
Biological Perspective
Disordered behavior and thinking are caused by biological changes in the chemical, structural, and genetic systems of the body
“Models of Abnormality”
Psychodynamic
Abnormal thinking/ behavior stem from repressed conflicts and urges that are fighting to become conscious
“Models of Abnormality”
Behaviorism
Abnormal behavior is learned
“Models of Abnormality”
Cognitive Perspective
Maladaptive functioning comes from irrational beliefs and illogical patterns of thoughts
“Models of Abnormality”
Biopsychosocial Model
Disordered thinking/behavior is the result of the combined and interacting forces of biological , psychological, social, and cultural influences
DSM
- publushed 1952
- Revised, when new knowledge of disorders emerged
- recent publication, 2013 known DSM-5
- 20 categories, 250 different disorders
- used for diagnosing disorders
How common are pyschological disorders?
- 2% of American adults over 18+ have mental disorders in any given year
- 61.5 million people in the U.S.
Disorders of mood: The effect of affect
-Bipolar/related disorders
depressive disorders
-AFFECT: emotional reaction
-DISORDERS OF MOOD: disturbances in emotion ranging from mild to moderate, or can be extreme
Major Depressive Disorder
Severe depression, sudden, no apparent external cause
- most common of the diagnosed disorders of mood
- 1.5-3 times more likely for woman than men
Culture Gender Depression
Lifetime risk for developing depression varies
- pre-puberty; boys
- after puberty; girls
- women in U.S. likely to suffer depression
- affected by consequences as a result
Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar 1- mood spans from normal to manic, with or without episodes of depression
Bipolar 2- normal mood with episodes of major depression and episodes of hypomania
Bipolar/ ADHD
- possible connection between them
- irrational thinking/mania are common in bipolar not present in ADHD
- Hyperactivity can be present in both disorders
Dysthymia
moderate depression
-two years or more, reaction to external stressor
Cyclothymia
mood swings from moderate depression to hypomania-
-two years or more
“Causes of Disordered Mood”
Behavioral
Link depression to learned helplessness
“Causes of Disordered Mood”
Cognitive
see depression as the result of distorted illogical thinking
“Causes of Disordered Mood”
Biological
Variation in neurotransmitter levels or specific brain activity; genes and heritability play a part
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Some people get depressed at certain times of the year.
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a mood disorder caused by the body’s reaction to low levels of light present in the winter months.
- One of the most effective treatments is phototherapy.
Dissociative disorders
Break in conscious awareness, memory, and/or sense of identity
Dissociative amnesia
Memory loss for personal information, either partial or complete
– Can occur with or without dissociative fugue, sudden travel away from home with amnesia for trip and possibly personal identity
Dissociative identity disorder
Person seems to have two or more distinct personalities
“Types of Personality Disorders”
Odd/ Eccentric
• Paranoid
• Schizoid
• Schizotypal
“Types of Personality Disorders”
Dramatic/ emotional/ erratic
- Antisocial
- Borderline
- Histrionic
- Narcissistic
“Types of Personality Disorders”
Anxiety/ Fearfulness
- Avoidant
- Dependent
- Obsessive- Compulsive
“Causes of Dissociative Disorders”
PSYCHODYNAMIC
Point to repression of memories, seeing dissociation as a defense mechanism against anxiety
“Causes of Dissociative Disorders”
COGNITIVE AND BEHAVIORAL
Trauma-related thought avoidance is negatively reinforced by reduction in anxiety and emotional pain
“Causes of Dissociative Disorders”
BIOLOGICAL
Lower than normal activity levels in areas responsible for body awareness; depersonalization disorder
Anxiety Disorders: Phobias
Phobia: Irrational, persistent fear of an object, situation, or social activity
• Socialanxietydisorder(social phobia): Fear of negative evaluation in social situations
• Specific phobias: Fear of particular objects, situations, or events
• Agoraphobia: Fear of place/situation from which escape is difficult or impossible
Panic Disorder
Panic attack: Sudden, intense panic; multiple physical and emotional symptoms
Panic disorder: Frequent, disruptive panic attacks
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
• With DSM-5, this disorder is no longer classified as an anxiety disorder.
– Now falls in the category of “Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders.”
• Obsessive, recurring thoughts create anxiety.
• Compulsive, ritualistic, repetitive behavior or mental acts reduce that anxiety.
“Causes of Anxiety Disorders”
PSYCHODYNAMIC
Repressed urges and desires trying to come into consciousness, create anxiety that is controlled by the abnormal behavior or thinking
“Causes of Anxiety Disorders”
BEHAVIORAL
Disordered behavior learned through operant and classical conditioning techniques
“Causes of Anxiety Disorders”
COGNITIVE
Excessive anxiety comes from illogical, irrational thought processes
“Causes of Anxiety Disorders”
BIOLOGICAL
Nervous system dysfunction, genetic transmission
“Eating Disorders”
Anorexia Nervosa
- BMI less than 18.5 in adults
* Vomiting, laxative abuse, food restriction, and excessive exercise used to control food intake
“Eating Disorders”
Bulimia Nervosa

• Binging large quantities of food with attempts to rid self of food through inappropriate means
“Eating Disorders”
Binge Eating Disorder
• Uncontrolled binge eating, but no attempts to purge or use inappropriate methods to avoid weight gain
Causes of Eating Disorders
- Adolescents and young adults are most at risk.
- Eating disorders have been observed in non-Western cultures that are not focused on thinness.
• Genetic components for eating disorders account for 40 to 60 percent of the risk for anorexia, bulimia,
and binge-eating disorder.
Schizophrenia
Severely disordered thinking, bizarre behavior, inability to separate fantasy from reality
Symptoms of Schizophrenia
“Positive”
Excesses of, or additions to, normal behavior
– Delusions: Unshakeable, false beliefs
– Hallucinations: Seeing or hearing things that don’t exist
Symptoms of Schizophrenia
“Negative”
Less than, or an absence of, normal behavior
– Poor attention
– Flat affect: A lack of emotional responsiveness
– Poor speech production
“Categories of Schizophrenia”
Disorganized
•Hallucinations • Confused speech • Inappropriate emotion • Social impairments
“Categories of Schizophrenia”
Catatonic
Periods of statue-like immobility mixed with bursts of wild, agitated movement and talking
“Categories of Schizophrenia”
Paranoid
Delusions of persecution, grandeur, and jealousy, together with hallucinations
Causes of Schizophrenia
- Positive symptoms appear to be associated with overactivity of dopamine areas of the brain; negative with lower dopamine activity
- Genetics, brain structural defects have been implicated
- Genetics supported by twin and adoption studies
- Biological roots supported by universal lifetime prevalence across cultures of approximately 7–8 people out of 1,000
- Stress-vulnerability model: Suggests people with genetic markers for schizophrenia will not develop the disorder unless they are exposed to environmental or emotional stress at critical times in development
Personality disorders
Persistent, rigid, maladaptive behavior interfering with normal social interaction
“Personality disorders”
Antisocial- personality disorder
• Disorder is more common in men.
Symptoms:
• May habitually break the law, disobey rules, or tell lies with no regard for others’ feelings.
- Indifferent, or able to rationalize taking advantage of or hurting others.
- Disorder is more common in men.
“Personality disorders”
Borderline Personality Disorder
- Moody
- Unstable sense of identity
- Clings to others
- More common in women
Causes of Personality Disorders
COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL: Specific behaviors learned over time, associated with maladaptive belief systems
GENETIC FACTORS: Biological relatives of people with personality disorders more likely to develop similar disorders
STRESS TOLERANCE: Individuals with antisocial personality disorder are emotionally unreactive to stress or threat, and have lower than normal levels of stress hormones
FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS:
Linked to disturbances in family communications and relationships
Higher Incidence of Specific Disorders
WOMEN
- Depression
- Agoraphobia
- Simple phobia
- Obsessive- compulsive disorder
Higher Incidence of Specific Disorders
MEN
- Substance abuse
* Antisocial personality disorder
