Lecture 14: Psychological Disorders

Question 1

Psychological Disorders

Answer 1

Ongoing patterns of thoughts, feelings, and actions (doesn’t need to be all three components) that are:

Deviant Distressful and Dysfunctional

Question 2

Discuss Psychological Disorders touching base on fascinations, culture, and trends

Answer 2

People tend to be fascinated by anything exceptional, abnormal or unusual

Rates and symptoms of psychological disorders vary by culture

Standards for what is deemed as deviant are based on culture and time context

There is no known society where there aren’t people who suffer from schizophrenia and depression

Question 3

Medical Model

Answer 3

Focus is on genetic abnormalities in brain structure and biochemistry

Psychological disorders have physical causes that can be diagnosed and treated (like the way your brain is structured)

Acknowledge that psychological factors like trauma and stress play a role

Question 4

Biopsychosocial Approach

Answer 4

Mental illness denotes a sickness that must be found and cured (thought of as something that can be stopped or easy to obey)

in addition there might be an issue in the persons environment, interpretation of events, habits, social skills, etc.

Believe all behavior is normal and abnormal arising from interactions between nature and nurture

Negative emotions contribute to illness

Question 5

Classification of Disorders aims to ?

Answer 5

1. Describe the disorder
2. Predict the disorders future course
3. Identify appropriate treatment
4. Stimulate research to identify causes

Question 6

Define DSM-5 and what it outlines

Answer 6

Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; outlines the classification system

Question 7

What does Classification lead to?

Answer 7

Classification creates pre-perceptions which leads to labeling and by extension leads to stigma

Question 8

David Rosenhan experiment ADD MORE

Answer 8

David Rosenhan a psychologist, and 7 of his colleagues were curious about the bias of labels.

lied on two questions answered the rest truthfully and were then hospitalized for 19 days misdiagnosed.

This experiment highlighted the detriments of labeling. One you fix a label its hard to see beyond that label.

Question 9

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Answer 9

Unexplainably and continually tense and uneasy

Symptoms might seem commonplace, their persistence is not (ex: excessive worry that goes on for long periods of time; gittery agitated and sleep deprived)

Difficult to identify the cause —> avoid removing the cause?

More common in women

Rare past age 50

Question 10

Panic Disorder

Answer 10

Sudden episodes of intense dread

Anxiety escalates into a panic attack

Strikes suddenly wreaks havoc, and disappears leaving its mark

panic attacks misdiagnosed as a heart attacks or physical illnesses

Prevalence is high ?

Smokers are at higher risk because nicotine is a stimulant that intensifies symptoms

Question 11

Phobias

Answer 11

irrationally and intensely of a specific object or situation

irrational fear that causes the person to avoid the stimulus that causes the fear

Not all phobias have specific triggers

Common forms include:
1. Claustrophobia (fear of closed space),
2. Acrophobia (fear of heights),
3. Hydrophobia (fear of water),
4. Agoraphobia (fear of being in a situation where escape might be hard).

Social Phobia is shyness taken to the extreme

YOU CAN HAVE PHOBIA WITHOUT THE DISORDER

Question 12

Obsessive-Compulsive disorder

Answer 12

Troubled by repetitive thoughts or actions

persistently interferes with everyday living and causes distress

2%-3% of the population develop OCD (usually teens and early 20’s)

obsessive thoughts that wont go away

These behaviors occur to try and calm obsessive thoughts which just reinforces disordered behavior

ex: washing hands so frequent that your skin starts to break
or checking if the door is locked multiple times within a 5 minute time span

Question 13

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Answer 13

Lingering Memories, nightmares etc. for weeks after a severely threatening, uncontrollable event

re-experiencing the event after it has long passed. Avoiding stimuli, difficulty concentrated symptoms must last at least a month

7% of the population has suffered from PTSD

Common among war veterans and those who are survivors of accidents disasters and violent and sexual assaults

the greater ones emotional distress the higher the risk for PTSD symptoms

Some PTSD symptoms might be genetically predisposed

Question 14

Etiology of Anxiety Disorders

Answer 14

what can anxiety disorders be attributed to and where do they stem from
anxiety affects how we feel and think
froyed argues from repressed memories signals etc.

Question 15

Learning Perspective:

_____________
_____________ _____________

Answer 15

two different ways of understanding how we learn to respond to anxiety

Conditioning: through conditioning the short list of naturally frightening events can multiply into a long list of human fears.

• stimulus generalization
  ex: child bit by pit-bull running in park–> overgeneralize fear to all dogs
• reinforcement maintains phobias and compulsions. Avoiding situations will reduce feeling but reinforces behavior of escaping to reduce anxiety feelings

Observational Learning : by observing others fears we learn to fear certain things

• ex: parents react to certain situations with feelings of anxiety we are likely to become fearful in similar ways

Question 16

Biological Perspective
__________ _____________
____________

Answer 16

why are some people more vulnerable than others?

This perspective believes there is more to anxiety than conditioning and observational learning

Seeks to help uncover why few people develop lasting phobias and while others do not

Natural Selection: fear things that were life threatening to ancestors. Might not apply to us but as though imprinted on our DNA we fear them ex: fears of animals closed spaces heights and darkness, storms

Genetics: argue generally that some people are more predisposed to anxiety than others

“anxiety gene” than effects serotonin

serotonin production levels = important relevance with anxiety

Question 17

Dissociative Disorders

1.) _______ ________
2.) ______ _________
3.)____ ______ _____

Answer 17

Conscious awareness becomes separated from previous memories, thoughts, and feelings

1.) Dissociative amnesia: Sudden loss of memory for important personal information, that is too extensive to be due to normal forgetting
–> in other words– missing some aspects

2.) Dissociative Fugue: Loss of memory for ones entire life, along with sense of personal identity
–> NOT PERMANANT
—>do not know who you are

3.) Dissociative Identity Disorder: Exhibiting two or more distinct and alternating personalities (usually after an extremely traumatic event in ones life)

Question 18

Mood Disorders Come in 2 main forms:
1.)
2.)

Answer 18

1.) Major Depressive Disorder: Prolonged feelings of hopelessness; lethargy

2.) Bipolar Disorder: Alternates between depression and mania or a person in a state of mania

Question 19

True or False: depression is the number one reason people seek mental health services

Answer 19

True

Question 20

Major Depressive Disorder occurs when at least 5 signs of depression last for 2 or more weeks

Answer 20

Depressed mood
Diminished Interest in Pleasure
Significant weight loss or gain

Changes in appetite
Insomnia
Fatigue

Feelings of worthlessness
Diminished ability to think
Suicidal ideations

Question 21

Bipolar Disorder:

During the manic phase the individual is…

Answer 21

is a mood disorder in which an individual alternates between depression and mania

Over-talkative
Overactive
Elated (super excited and happy)

Little need for sleep
Few sexual inhibitions
Irritated by advice (view most suggestions as unwanted advice even if they might need it )

Question 22

True or False: men and women are equally impacted by Bipolar Disorder

Question 23

Biological Perspective: Mood disorders

_______ ________
________ _________

Answer 23

Genetic Influences : Research demonstrated that mood disorders run in families
–> Ex: in identical twins if one has depression chances are 1 in 2 that the other twin will also develop it

with bipolar disorder, in identical twins, there is a 70% chance other will have Bipolar disorder if one has it; In fraternal its 2 in 10

Adopted individuals often have a close biological relative who suffers from the same mood disorder

Depressed Brain: tends to be less brain activity during depressed states and increased brain activity during manic states. Left frontal lobe active when experience positive emotions = likely to be inactive when in period of major depression. Two neurotransmitters play a role in mood disorders norepinephrine = scarce and overabundant amount in mania serotonin also scare during depression and

Question 24

Social Cognitive Perspective

________ _________ ________
__________ _____________ _________

Answer 24

Self-Defeating Beliefs: shame for personal limitations vs shame for letting down others

Negative Explanatory Style: who or what we blame for our everyday behaviors
- (externalize the blame –> strong emotions of anger or associate with i’m not smart enough good enough capable/self blaming –> more likely to feel depressed)

Question 25

Cycle Connections Etiology of Mood Disorders

                           \_\_\_\_\_\_\_ \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

______ __ __________ ______ _______ ______ ____

Question 26

Cycle Connections Etiology of Mood Disorders

           --->         _1\_\_\_\_\_\_ \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_      ----->

______ __ __4________ ______ __2_____ ______ ____

                     <---   \_\_\_\_3\_\_\_\_ \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ <------

Answer 26

1.) (negative) Stressful Experiences —> interpreted through a—> 2.) Negative Explanatory Style —> will feed into —> 3.)Depressed mood –> which hempers the way a person thinks or acts —> 4.) Cognitive and behavioral Changes —-> bad moods fuel on themselves

Question 27

Depression vs feeling down is the …

Answer 27

amount of time it lasts and how much it impacts our everyday life

Question 28

Schizophrenia definition and what it is marked by:

Answer 28

Means split mind; refers to the split in reality that shows itself in inappropriate emotions actions etc.

Disorganized Thinking:

Disturbed Perceptions: Hallucinations; seeing, feeling, or tasting something when nothing is to be seen felt or tasted.

Inappropriate Emotions and Actions: Split off from reality (laughing after learning about the death of a loved one, extremely angry for no reason, inappropriate motor behavior)

Question 29

When does schizophrenia usually strike

Answer 29

When young people mature into adults / low 20s

Question 30

Subtypes of schizophrenia include

Answer 30

paranoid (tend to display preoccupation with delusions or grandiosity )

disorganized (disorganized speech or behaviors)
catatonic (immobility, extensive purposeless emotions , extreme negativity)

undifferentiated
residual

Question 31

Different symptoms occur for different forms of schizophrenia there are _______ symptoms and ________ symptoms.

explain the difference

Answer 31

Positive symptoms: refers to the presence of inappropriate behavior

Negative symptoms: refers to the absence of what should be appropriate behaviors (ex: mute rigid bodies)

Question 32

Etiology (causes) of Schizophrenia
list all six and briefly explain what they are

Answer 32

1. Brain Abnormalities: Excess amount of dopamine leads to positive symptoms; amphetamine and cokeane worsen these symptoms and intensify Schizophrenia
2. Dopamine Over-activity
3. Brain Structure: advances in brain imaging suggest in brain structure differences
4. Internal Virus During Pregnancy: If you are pregnant during a flu outbreak and manage to catch the flu it increases your child’s chances of developing Schizophrenia
5. Genetics: 1/100 odds becomes 1/10 amongst those who have a sibling or parent with schizophrenia (1/2 if identical twin)
6. Psychological Factors: Trauma and stressors that someone with Schizophrenia might have faced