Psychological Disorders Flashcards
Medical Model
The medical model asserts that psychological disorders have physical causes that can be diagnosed, treated, and cured. There are genetically influenced abnormalities in biochemistry and brain structure that contribute to many disorders.
BioPsychoSocial Approach
BioPsychoSocial Approach: Our biology, psychology, and socio-cultural influence our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. It is not JUST our biology (physical aspects of ourselves) that contributes to psychological disorders nor who we are as individuals.
How and why do clinicians classify psychological disorders, and why do some psychologists criticize the use of diagnostic labels?
The American Psychiatric Association’s DSM-5 contains diagnostic labels and descriptions that provide a common language and shared concepts for communication and research. Critics of the DSM say it casts too wide a net, pathologizing normal behaviors. Any classification attempt produces diagnostic labels that may create preconceptions, which bias perceptions of the labeled person’s past and present behavior. Clinicians use the DSM5 because it can help them treat the patient, understand how the illness will progress, and aid in research that aims to figure out the cause of the illness. The use of labels can be harmful because they can cause bias and lead to the individual self-fulfilling.
What makes behavior abnormal?
Violation of social norms, statistical rarity, personal distress, and maladaptive behavior. Maladaptive behavior
interferes with normal functioning (ex. Canceling plans at the last minute because you think you’ll humiliate
yourself, self-harm, substance abuse, etc.)
Social Anxiety Disorder
Extreme anxiety in everyday social interactions where they may
feel judged by others. May avoid going out to not face the risk
of doing something embarrassing or humiliating.
Example: Sam hates going to class because he is scared a classmate will
talk to him or a teacher will call on him. He only goes to class
to take exams, and his grades have suffered due to his poor
attendance.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Excessive and uncontrollable worry that lasts for 6+ months; jittery, agitated, sleep-deprived, tense, and uneasy.
Example: Felicia has not had any stressful events recently, but she feels overwhelmed by anxiety that leaves her trembling and
sweating in fear of something she doesn’t even know about.
Panic disorder
Unpredictable panic attacks that can last for minutes are
accompanied by chest pain, choking, and other sensations;
oftentimes, the individual worries about having another attack.
Example: Amber thought that she was having a heart attack when all of a
sudden, she experienced intense chest pain and fear.
Phobias
persistent, irrational fear and avoidance of a specific object,
activity, or situation.
Example: Melissa did not know a dog would be at the house. When the
door opened, she screamed and ran back to her car, crying in
fear of a chihuahua.
Obsessive-compulsive
disorder
Unwanted repetitive thoughts (obsessions), actions
(compulsions), or both.
Example: Before leaving his house, Danny locks and unlocks the door 20
times.
Posttraumatic stress
disorder
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.
Example: After returning home from war, Tyler had nightmares every
night that left him feeling on edge in public every day and
ready for anything to go wrong.
What disorders cause an overarousal of brain areas? Which areas of the brain?
Anxiety disorders, OCD, and PTSD. Amygdala for PTSD and anterior cingulate cortex for OCD.
Daniel thinks that the floor is never clean enough, so he vacuums for hours. Which is the obsession, and which is
the compulsion?
Obsession: “Dirty” floor Compulsion: Vacuum until it’s clean enough
While rumination is compulsive overthinking about problems and their causes, dissociation is:
The disconnect from conscious awareness of painful memories and feelings.
Provide an example of epigenetics occurring:
One twin faces a trauma that the other twin does not endure. While one twin lives a happy, healthy life, the traumatized
twin begins to show symptoms of bipolar disorder. The traumatized twin’s gene expression was switched on by
epigenetic marks.
What are the gender differences found surrounding mental illness?
Women are more vulnerable to anxiety/depression, while men are more vulnerable to external behaviors like drug
abuse. Gender differences in depression are more noticeable among preadolescent children. After puberty, girls are
more vulnerable than boys to eating disorders, self-injury, and anxiety. Women experience depression 1.7 times more
often than men.
Major Depressive Disorder
Two or more weeks, five or more symptoms: Depressed mood, loss of
interest or pleasure, challenges with sleep/appetite, feeling worthless,
suicidal thoughts.
Example: Sarah is exhausted - she has not been able to eat, sleep or
enjoy anything she used to love for five weeks now. She is
considering suicide because she feels hopeless.
Bipolar Disorder
Alternating between hopelessness and lethargy from depression to an
overexcited state of mania.
Example: After barely making it out of bed the last two weeks, Kim
is now full of energy. She begins speaking loudly and fast,
planning vacations she can’t afford, and tries to finish
writing her book again.
Biological perspective:
genetic predispositions and biochemical imbalances
Social-cognitive perspective:
There are biological influences, but nature-nurture plays a role. People perceive
things differently through their assumptions and expectations.
Psychoanalytic perspective:
Mental illness arises when impulses are too strong but are being repressed.
List the characteristics of schizophrenia and describe a person that may have it:
Delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, and/or diminished inappropriate emotional expression.
Example: Phil believes that his neighbors are out to get him and have been spreading lies about him to the whole neighborhood. He has delusions that they lock their car doors three times when they get home just to make him mad. The next time it happens, he walks outside to yell at his neighbors and tells them to leave him alone.
Chronic schizophrenia:
symptoms appear in late adolescence or early adulthood. Episodes last longer, and
recovery periods are shorter as people age.
Acute schizophrenia
can begin at any age, frequently occurs in response to an emotionally traumatic event,
has extended recovery periods.
What are brain abnormalities associated with schizophrenia?
Dopamine overactivity can create hallucinations and paranoia. Low activity in the frontal lobes helps us reason, plan,
and solve problems. Increased activity in the amygdala where fear is produced. Enlarged fluid-filled ventricles. Smaller
than normal cortex, hippocampus, thalamus, and corpus callosum.
What prenatal events are associated with an increased risk of developing schizophrenia?
Low birth weight, maternal diabetes, older paternal age, and oxygen deprivation during delivery. Famine and fetal virus
infections also contribute to the development of schizophrenia.
What is the difference between positive and negative symptoms? List positive and negative symptoms of
schizophrenia.
a. Positive - inappropriate behaviors are present. Ex. Hallucinations, word salad, inappropriate laughter, tears, or
rage.
b. Negative-appropriate behaviors are absent. Ex. Toneless voice, expressionless face, mute/rigid bodies.
Dissociative Identity Disorder
Rare dissociative disorder is in which a person exhibits two or more distinct
and alternating personalities that control a person’s behavior at different
times.
Example: Shirley was loud and flirtatious, but her other personality
Megan was timid and quiet.
Antisocial Personality Disorder
A person exhibits a lack of conscience for wrongdoing, even toward friends
and family members; maybe aggressive and ruthless or a clever con artist.
Example: Lucas cheated on his girlfriend, stole money from his mother,
and let his pet starve for a week but did not feel guilty.
List the biological characteristics of antisocial personality disorder:
The hyper-reactive dopamine reward system, deficits in the frontal lobe, and low autonomic nervous system arousal
level.
