exam 3 psychopathology Flashcards
what are the 3 common definitions of abnormal behavior
1) conformity to norms
2) experiencing subjective distress
3) disability/disfunction
how does conformity to norms define abnormal behavior? pros and cons?
- abnormal behavior is anything that doesn’t conform to the norm (any deviant behavior = abnormal)
- pros: cutoff points; intuitive & makes sense –> definition appeals to people
- cons: cutoff points are blurry; how many deviations makes a person mentally ill?; doesn’t account for variation in cultures which may make something seem deviant but it’s not deviant in the individual’s culture
how does subjective distress define abnormal behavior? pros and cons?
- does the individual have negative experiences bc of the behavior?
- pros: people are their own expert and know what’s normal for them; takes diagnostic burden off the therapist
- cons: doesn’t have objective criteria
- not all people experience distress
- how much distress should be considered abnormal?
how does disability/disfunction define abnormal behavior? pros and cons
- the behavior must cause social or occupational problems
- pros: less inference from the therapist
- cons: might be hard to determine who should define normality; hard to get to an agreement across many sources
what is used to classify/identify psych disorders?
DSM-V (DSM-5): diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders
- doesn’t have explanations or causes; only symptoms
4 types of disorders covered in class in the DSM
1) anxiety
- anxiety disorders (GAD, phobia, panic)
- OCD
- PTSD
2) dissociative disorders
3) mood disorders
4) schizophrenia
How are anxiety disorders characterized? what are the types of anxiety disorders discussed in class
- distress; persistent anxiety or maladaptive behaviors to reduce anxiety
- GAD
- panic disorder
- phobia
- OCD
- PTSD
how is GAD characterized
continuously anxious without any apparent cause
how is panic disorder characterized
episodes of intense dread; physical symptoms often mistaken for heart attack
how is phobia characterized
persistent irrational fear and avoidance of a specific object/situation
- ex) agoraphobia: fear of situations w/o escape in case of emergency
how is OCD characterized
- repetitive unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and/or actions (compulsions)
- obsessions: ideas, impulses, or images
- compulsions: repeated rigid behaviors to reduce anxiety of obsessions
- has to interfere with normal functioning
how is PTSD characterized
- repeatedly reliving traumatic event through memories, nightmares, social withdrawal, anxiety, insomnia
- usually for at least 4 weeks after trauma
what are dissociative disorders
- separating an experience from yourself
- usually have periods of amnesia
what is dissociative identity disorder (DID)/ multiple personality disorder
- person has 2+ distinct alternating personalities
- each personality / alter has own traits (vitals/phys characteristics and abilities/preferences)
- primary/host alter is dominant
- transitioning btwn alters = switching
what is fugue state
sudden amnesia in dissociative identity disorder
typical DID alters
- depressed and tired (unsure when you will switch again)
- strong angry protector (to prevent abuse again)
- scared hurt child (age of abuse)
- helper
- internal persecutor
*women have ~15 alters; men ~8
when does DID begin? When is it typically diagnosed?
- symptoms start in early childhood after abuse
- diagnosed usually in adolescence/adulthood
Why are there more cases of DID now?
- drs are more willing to make this diagnosis
- diagnostic methods have improved
what’s the issue with diagnosing DID
- there’s a belief that therapists can cause it by mentioning it
- others don’t believe it’s real
evidence DID is real
- different personalities have access to different memories; have different physical abilities and characteristics; different personality tests
evidence DID is not real
- the number of personalities a person with DID can have changed from 3 to 12; wouldn’t expect it to change
- no genetic link when studies in twins
what are the two categories of mood disorders
1) depressive
2) bipolar
what is major depressive disorder
- 2+ weeks of depressed mood for no reason
- triggered by something but persists
- women are twice as likely to have unipolar depression than men, but diagnostic criteria are based on women
symptoms of MDD (5 areas)
1) emotional: anxiety, anger, agitation, crying spells
2) motivational: lack of motivation; paralysis of will (forcing yourself to do regular behaviors)
3) physical: dizzy spells, indigestion (usually misdiagnosed as physical medical problems)
4) cognitive: negative self views, self blame
5) behavioral: moving/speaking slowly; rarely self-credit, pessimistic
types of factors that can cause depression
- stress
- biological
- physiological (what thoughts do you have while interacting with others?)
- sociocultural (do you feel like you have social support?)
what are the bio factors of depression
1) genetics: depression can be passed on through genetics
2) neurotransmitters: low serotonin and norepinephrine
what are the sociocognitive factors of depression?
1) learned helplessness: feeling like you have no control over your life and you’re responsible for feeling helpless)
2) attributions: attributing negative internal (“this is who I am”), global (“this always happens”), and stable (“this won’t change”) events with ourselves –> depression
what are sociocultural causes of depression
- feeling like you have low social support from others
- can depend on friends, family, isolation, relationship status
what are the 4 stages in the cycle of depression
1) a stressful experience (like a bad grade)
2) negative explanatory style (trying to explain why you got that grade; magnifies the issue)
3) depressed mood (you feel bad about the grade)
4) cognitive and behavioral changes (may feel hopeless and stop going to class)
*back to 1 with a new stressful experience (you’ve skipped class but have another exam soon)
what is bipolar disorder? what’s effective treatment?
major depressive disorder with episodes of mania
- treat with CBT (cognitive brain therapy); very effective; identifies and challenges the maladaptive thoughts
bipolar demographics
- equal in men and women
- onset between 15 and 44 yrs old
- manic and depressive episodes usually subside but come back; episodes get closer together
symptoms of mania (5 categories)
1) emotional: powerful emotions
2) motivational: need constant excitement, involvement, and companion
3) behavioral: active; move fast; talk loud
4) cognitive: overly optimistic; poor judgement
5) physical: high energy even w/o rest
what determines if you get MDD or bipolar
- both have low serotonin
- low norepinephrine = MDD
- high norepinephrine = mania/bipolar
schizophrenia demographics
- same number of men and women
- men diagnosed earlier; usually have more severe symptoms
- more common in low socioeconomic levels
what type of hallucinations are more common in schizophrenia
auditory
why are auditory hallucinations more dangerous?
they can convince the person to hurt themselves or someone else
what’s the first break
first time someone w/ schizophrenia hears voices
what’s “walk in their footsteps”
technology to simulate schizophrenia auditory and visual hallucinations
what are the treatments for schizophrenia
1) drugs: risperidal (only works for visual hallucinations); not a permanent solution
2) TMS: transcranial magnetic stimulation; for auditory hallucinations
what are the 3 categories of schizophrenia symptoms
1) positive (have an excess of things that normal people have)
2) negative (do not have things that a normal person would have)
3) psychomotor
what are positive schizophrenia symptoms and the 5 examples
- additions to behavior
1) delusions; false beliefs; faulty interpretations of reality (thinking everyone’s out to get you)
2) disordered thinking/speech (loose associations - jumping btwn topics, perseverations - getting stuck on topics, neologisms - made up words, clang - rhyming)
3) heightened perceptions (senses are very sensitive)
4) hallucinations: seeing/hearing things that aren’t there
5) inappropriate affect: mood/behavior doesn’t match situation (laughing at funeral)
what are negative symptoms of schizophrenia and 4 examples
- deficits
1) poverty of speech (alogia): taking a long time to answer/not answering at all
2) blunted/flat affect: no emotional reactions; apethy/lack of interest
3) loss of volition/motivation: feeling drained; not starting/following through with things
4) social withdrawal: self-isolating; leads to decline in social skills
what are psychomotor symptoms of schizophrenia
1) weird/repeated movements (like tourettes tics)
2) catatonia: stuck in a fixed position
- waxy catatonia: can be moved but will stay in that position until moved again
