Chapter Fifteen

Question 1

psychological disorder

Answer 1

a syndrome marked by a clinically significant disturbance in an individual’s cognition, emotion regulation, or behavior.

Question 2

A lawyer is distressed by feeling the need to wash his hands 100 times a day. He has little time to meet with clients, and his colleagues are wondering about his competence. His behavior would probably be labeled disordered, because it is ________, that is, it interferes with his day-to-day life.

Answer 2

dysfunctional or maladaptive

Question 3

medical model

Answer 3

the concept that diseases, in this case psychological disorders, have physical causes that can be diagnosed, treated, and, in most cases, cured, often through treatment in a hospital.

Question 4

epigenetics

Answer 4

the study of environmental influences on gene expression that occur without a DNA change.

Question 5

Are psychological disorders universal or culture-specific? Explain with examples.

Answer 5

Some psychological disorders are culture-specific. For example, anorexia nervosa occurs mostly in Western cultures, and taijin kyofusho appears largely in Japan. Other disorders, such as schizophrenia, are universal—they occur in all cultures.

Question 6

What is the biopsychosocial approach, and why is it important in our understanding of psychological disorders?

Answer 6

Biological, psychological, and social-cultural influences combine to produce psychological disorders. This approach helps us understand that our well-being is affected by our genes, brain functioning, inner thoughts and feelings, and the influences of our social and cultural environment.

Question 7

DSM-5

Answer 7

the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition; a widely used system for classifying psychological disorders.

Question 8

attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Answer 8

a psychological disorder marked by extreme inattention and/or hyperactivity and impulsivity.

Question 9

What is the value, and what are the dangers, of labeling individuals with disorders?

Answer 9

Therapists and others apply disorder labels to communicate with one another using a common language, and to share concepts during research. Clients may benefit from knowing that they are not the only ones with these symptoms. The dangers of labeling people are that (1) people may begin to act as they have been labeled, and (2) the labels can trigger assumptions that will change people’s behavior toward those labeled.

Question 10

What is the relationship between poverty and psychological disorders?

Answer 10

Poverty-related stresses can help trigger disorders, but disabling disorders can also contribute to poverty. Thus, poverty and disorder are often a chicken-and-egg situation; it’s hard to know which came first.

Question 11

anxiety disorders

Answer 11

psychological disorders characterized by distressing, persistent anxiety or maladaptive behaviors that reduce anxiety.

Question 12

generalized anxiety disorder

Answer 12

an anxiety disorder in which a person is continually tense, apprehensive, and in a state of autonomic nervous system arousal.

Question 13

panic disorder

Answer 13

an anxiety disorder marked by unpredictable, minutes-long episodes of intense dread in which a person may experience terror and accompanying chest pain, choking, or other frightening sensations; often followed by worry over a possible next attack.

Question 14

phobia

Answer 14

an anxiety disorder marked by a persistent, irrational fear and avoidance of a specific object, activity, or situation.

Question 15

Unfocused tension, apprehension, and arousal are symptoms of ________ disorder.

Answer 15

generalized anxiety.

Question 16

Those who experience unpredictable periods of terror and intense dread, accompanied by frightening physical sensations, may be diagnosed with a ________ disorder.

Answer 16

panic.

Question 17

If a person is focusing anxiety on specific feared objects or situations, that person may have a _________.

Answer 17

phobia

Question 18

obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

Answer 18

a disorder characterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts (obsessions), actions (compulsions), or both.

Question 19

posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Answer 19

a disorder characterized by haunting memories, nightmares, hypervigilance, social withdrawal, jumpy anxiety, numbness of feeling, and/or insomnia that lingers for four weeks or more after a traumatic experience.

Question 20

Those who express anxiety through unwanted repetitive thoughts or actions may have a(n) - disorder.

Answer 20

obsessive-compulsive.

Question 21

Those with symptoms of recurring memories and nightmares, social withdrawal, jumpy anxiety, numbness of feeling, and/or insomnia for weeks after a traumatic event may be diagnosed with ___________ disorder.

Answer 21

posttraumatic stress

Question 22

Researchers believe that conditioning and cognitive processes are aspects of learning that contribute to anxiety-related disorders. What biological factors also contribute to these disorders?

Answer 22

Biological factors include inherited temperament differences and other gene variations; experience-altered brain pathways; and outdated, inherited responses that had survival value for our distant ancestors.

Question 23

major depressive disorder

Answer 23

a disorder in which a person experiences, in the absence of drugs or another medical condition, two or more weeks with five or more symptoms, at least one of which must be either (1) depressed mood or (2) loss of interest or pleasure.

Question 24

bipolar disorder

Answer 24

a disorder in which a person alternates between the hopelessness and lethargy of depression and the overexcited state of mania. (Formerly called manic-depressive disorder.)

Question 25

mania

Answer 25

a hyperactive, wildly optimistic state in which dangerously poor judgment is common.

Question 26

rumination

Answer 26

compulsive fretting; overthinking our problems and their causes.

Question 27

What does it mean to say that “depression is a whole-body disorder”?

Answer 27

Many factors contribute to depression, including the biological influences of genetics and brain function. Social-cognitive factors also matter, including the interaction of explanatory style, mood, our responses to stressful experiences, and changes in our patterns of thinking and behaving. Depression involves the whole body and may disrupt sleep, energy levels, and concentration.

Question 28

schizophrenia

Answer 28

a disorder characterized by delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, and/or diminished, inappropriate emotional expression.

Question 29

psychotic disorders

Answer 29

a group of disorders marked by irrational ideas, distorted perceptions, and a loss of contact with reality.

Question 30

delusion

Answer 30

a false belief, often of persecution or grandeur, that may accompany psychotic disorders.

Question 31

chronic schizophrenia

Answer 31

(also called process schizophrenia) a form of schizophrenia in which symptoms usually appear by late adolescence or early adulthood. As people age, psychotic episodes last longer and recovery periods shorten.

Question 32

acute schizophrenia

Answer 32

(also called reactive schizophrenia) a form of schizophrenia that can begin at any age, frequently occurs in response to an emotionally traumatic event, and has extended recovery periods.

Question 33

A person with schizophrenia who has _________ (positive/negative) symptoms may have an expressionless face and toneless voice. These symptoms are most common with _________ (chronic/acute) schizophrenia and are not likely to respond to drug therapy. Those with _________ (positive/negative) symptoms are likely to experience delusions and to be diagnosed with _________ (chronic/acute) schizophrenia, which is much more likely to respond to drug therapy.

Answer 33

negative; chronic; positive; acute.

Question 34

What factors contribute to the onset and development of schizophrenia?

Answer 34

Biological factors include abnormalities in brain structure and function and a genetic predisposition to the disorder. Environmental factors such as nutritional deprivation, exposure to virus, and maternal stress contribute by activating the genes that increase risk. Exposure to many environmental triggers can increase the odds of developing schizophrenia.

Question 35

dissociative disorders

Answer 35

controversial, rare disorders in which conscious awareness becomes separated (dissociated) from previous memories, thoughts, and feelings.

Question 36

dissociative identity disorder (DID)

Answer 36

a rare dissociative disorder in which a person exhibits two or more distinct and alternating personalities. (Formerly called multiple personality disorder.)

Question 37

The psychodynamic and learning perspectives agree that dissociative identity disorder symptoms are ways of dealing with anxiety. How do their explanations differ?

Answer 37

The psychodynamic explanation of DID symptoms is that they are defenses against anxiety generated by unacceptable urges. The learning perspective attempts to explain these symptoms as behaviors that have been reinforced by relieving anxiety.

Question 38

personality disorders

Answer 38

inflexible and enduring behavior patterns that impair social functioning.

Question 39

antisocial personality disorder

Answer 39

a personality disorder in which a person (usually a man) exhibits a lack of conscience for wrongdoing, even toward friends and family members; may be aggressive and ruthless or a clever con artist.

Question 40

How do biological and psychological factors contribute to antisocial personality disorder?

Answer 40

Twin and adoption studies show that biological relatives of people with this disorder are at increased risk for antisocial behavior. Researchers have also observed differences in the brain activity and structure of antisocial criminals. Negative environmental factors, such as poverty or childhood abuse, may channel genetic traits such as fearlessness in more dangerous directions—toward aggression and away from social responsibility.

Question 41

anorexia nervosa

Answer 41

an eating disorder in which a person (usually an adolescent female) maintains a starvation diet despite being significantly underweight; sometimes accompanied by excessive exercise.

Question 42

bulimia nervosa

Answer 42

an eating disorder in which a person’s binge eating (usually of high-calorie foods) is followed by inappropriate weight-loss promoting behavior, such as vomiting, laxative use, fasting, or excessive exercise.

Question 43

binge-eating disorder

Answer 43

significant binge-eating episodes, followed by distress, disgust, or guilt, but without the compensatory behavior that marks bulimia nervosa.

Question 44

People with ________ (anorexia nervosa/bulimia nervosa) continue to want to lose weight even when they are underweight. Those with _________ (anorexia nervosa/bulimia nervosa) tend to have weight that fluctuates within or above normal ranges.

Answer 44

anorexia nervosa; bulimia nervosa