Chapter 16 - Psychological Disorders Flashcards
what three criteria underlie judgements that behaviour is abnormal
1) distressing
2) dysfunctional
3) deviant
what does it mean if a behaviour is deviant?
violates social norms
abnormal behaviour
behaviour that is personally distressing, personally dysfunctional, and/or so culturally deviant that other people judge it to be inappropriate/maladaptive
general paresis
A disorder characterized in its advanced stages by mental deterioration and bizarre behavior, resulted from massive brain deterioration caused by syphilis
vulnerability – stress model
each of us has some degree of all mobility for developing a psychological disorder, given sufficient stress
what factors contribute to vulnerability?
genetics
Personality
Environment
Culture
what is meant by reliability of diagnostic classification systems
clinicians using the system should show high levels of agreement in their diagnostic decisions
what is meant by validity of diagnostic classification systems
The diagnostic categories should accurately capture the essential features of the various disorders
what was the DSM 4
A categorical system
People were placed in specific diagnostic categories
cons of the DSM-IV
The criteria are so specific that many people don’t fit into any categories
people who receive the same diagnosis may share only certain symptoms but look very different from one another
Doesn’t provide a way of capturing the severity of the disorder
dimensional system
relevant behaviours are rated along a severity measure
why is severity of the behaviour important?
people without OCD can be conscientious, but people with OCD are extremely, maladaptivly conscientious
thus, it doesn’t make sense to make conscientiousness a criteria for OCD, but it does make sense to make the severity of it a criteria
what is the DSM-V
The new method of categorization
Diagnostic categories are retained, but dimensional skills have been added
social and personal implications of diagnostic labelling
we might start to see the label as describing the individual, rather than describing the behavior
we all have preconceptions of how they’ll act, can’t judge behaviour objectively
competency
A defendants state of mind at the time of the judicial hearing
insanity
The presumed state of mind of the defendant at the time the crime was committed
T/F insanity is a legal term, not a psychological one
True
what is the current burden of proof in insanity hearings, and what did it use to be
currently, the defence has to prove that the defendant was insane
before, the prosecution had to prove that the defendant wasn’t insane
anxiety disorders
frequency/intensity of anxiety responses are out of proportion to the situations that trigger them
Anxiety interferes with daily life
four components of anxiety
subjective – emotional
Cognitive
Physiological
Behavioural
what is the subjective – emotional component of anxiety
feelings of tension and apprehension
what is the cognitive component of anxiety
subjective feelings of apprehension
sense of impending danger
A feeling of an inability to cope
what is the physiological component of anxiety
increased heart rate and blood pressure, muscle tension, rapid breathing
Nausea, dry mouth, diarrhea, frequent urination
what is the behavioural component of anxiety
avoidance of certain situations
Impaired task performance