Psychological Disorders Flashcards
Bio-psycho-social Perspective
Assumes that biological, socio-cultural, and psychological factors combine and interact to produce psychological disorders
Anxiety disorder symptoms
Constantly on edge, insomnia, sweating, pounding heart, shortness of breath, fears remain even though the outcome is impossible, and avoid everyday activities because of anxiety
GAD
Constant, low level anxiety, no specific trigger or stimulus, Freud referred to this as “free floating” anxiety
GAD symptoms
Autonomic arousal, restlessness, feeling on edge, difficulty concentrating/mind going blank, irritabilitability, muscle tension, and sleep disturbances
Agoraphobia
Condition develops when person avoids spaces or situations associated with anxiety.
The Learning Perspective
Behaviourists - fear conditioning leads to anxiety.
This anxiety is associated with other objects or events (stimulus generalization) and is reinforced.
*Fear responses can be learned through observational learning.
OCD
High levels of serotonin, low levels of GABA
Major Depressive Disorder
Sometimes called unipolar or clinical depression. Lasts for more than two weeks, not caused by drugs or medical conditions.
Signs include:
- Lethargy and tiredness
- Feelings of worthlessness
- Loss of interest in family and friends
- Loss of interest in activities
- Suicidal thoughts
Cycle of Depression
- Stressful experiences
- Negative explanatory style
- Depressed mood
- Cognitive and behavioural changes
Schizophrenia
- Disorganized and delusional thinking
- Disturbed perceptions
- Inappropriate emotions and actions
Schizophrenic positive symptoms
Inappropriate symptoms not present in normal individuals - hallucinations, disorganized thinking, deluded ways.
Schizophrenic negative symptoms
Schizophrenics have the absence of appropriate symptoms present in normal individuals - apathy (resist lack of thinking or emotion), expressionless faces, rigid bodies
The absence of things present in most people. This includes things such as facial expressions, emotional response, and interest in the world.
Chronic Schizophrenia
When schizophrenia is slow to develop, recovery is doubtful. Usually display negative symptoms.
Treat with atypical antipsychotics - Clorazil
Acute Schizophrenia
When schizophrenia develops rapidly, chance of recovery is better. Usually show positive symptoms.
Treat with classic antipsychotics - Thorazine
Schizophrenia and dopamine
High levels of dopamine D4 receptors in the brain
Schizophrenia and brain activity
Brain scans show abnormal activity in front cortex, thalamus, and amygdala.
May also experience morphological changes in the brain like enlargement of fluid filled ventricles.
Personality Disorders - 3 categories
- Cluster A: Odd or eccentric behaviours - paranoid and schizoid personality disorder
- Cluster B: Dramatic or impulsive behaviours - borderline and antisocial personality disorder
- Cluster C: Related to anxiety - avoidant and dependent personality disorder
Dissociative amnesia (aka psychogenic amnesia)
Memory loss the only symptom, selective loss surrounding traumatic events (person still knows their identity and most of their past)
Depersonalization-derealization syndrome
Feeling disconnected from one’s body, feeling detached from one’s own thoughts/emotions, feeling as if one is disconnected from self, sense of feeling as if one is dreaming in a dreamlike state. Lost touch with reality, don’t have any emotions.
Thought to be caused by severe traumatic lifetime events including childhood abuse, accidents, natural disasters, war, torture, and bad drug experiences.
Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)
Originally known as multiple personality disorder.
Two or more distinct personalities manifested by the same person at different times.
Has been used in criminal defence before.
Varies by therapist. Some see none, others see a lot.
DID can be suggestive on the part of the therapist with the questions they ask.
More cases in US than anywhere.
Maladaptive
The extent to which is causes distress (pain and suffering) and dysfunction (impairment in one or more important areas of functioning).
Etiology of mental illness
- Supernatural - evil spirits, displeasure of gods, sin
- Somatogenic - identity disturbances in physical functioning from illness, genetic inheritance, or brain damage
- Psychogenic - traumatic or stressful experiences learned maladaptive associations and cognitions, or distorted perceptions
Trephination
Earliest supernatural explanation for mental illness. Drilling holes in skull could cure mental disorders.
Hysteria
Described women suffering from mental illness resulting from a wandering uterus.
Humourism
The belief that an excess or deficiency in any of the four bodily fluids directly affected health and temperament (bloodletting).
Interoceptive avoidance - panic
Avoidance of internal bodily or somatic cues for panic.
Eg. avoiding exercise or caffeine because you experienced a racing heart during a panic attack, or avoiding high-necked sweaters because you experienced a choking sensation during a panic attack.
Phobias - 4 major subtypes
- Blood-injury-injection
- Situation - planes, elevators or enclosed spaces
- Natural environment - heights, storms, and water
- Animal
Thought-action fusion
When an individual with OCD confuses having an intrusive thought with their potential for carrying out the thought.
Eg. intrusive thoughts of throwing hot coffee in someone’s face - cannot escape the thoughts
Dissociative amnesia
Selective memory loss, but no neurological explanation for forgetting.
Able to recall how to carry out daily tasks, but forget details in personal lives (name, age, occupation).
Dissociative fugue
Disorder in which one loses complete memory of their identity and may even assume a new one.
Fugue state may last for hours or months. Recovery from fugue state tends to be rapid.
When patients recover, no memory stressful event that triggered fugue or events that occurred during that state.
Dissociative Experiences Scale
DES - most widely used self-report measure of dissociation
Post-traumatic model
PTM - dissociative symptoms can be best understood as mental strategies to cope with the impact of highly aversive experiences.
Once learned to use as coping mechanism, it can become automatized and habitual.
Cross-sectional designs
Data collected at one point in time
Systematic desensitization
Aka Exposure therapy - compatible with James Lange theory.
If I always avoid elevators, I will be fearful every time I get into an elevator. If I start going in elevators, the interpretation to my brain will tell me that I’m okay.
Shaping - systematic desensitization
Before desensitization, you need to help the person learn to relax with deep breathing away from the elevator.
Once they have mastered that, they would practice relaxing and deep breathing in front of the elevator. Combine relaxation and desensitization.
Aversion therapy
Present individuals with an attractive stimulus paired with an unpleasant stimulation in order to condition a repulsive reaction.
Designed to reduce addictive behaviour.
Contingency management (ABA - applied behavioural analysis)
Approach to changing behaviour by altering the consequences of behaviours.
Effective in family, school, and prison settings. If I ask nicely, I will be rewarded. Being rewarded is contingent on doing the right thing.
Token economies
Applied to groups (classrooms or mental hospital wards). Involves distribution of tokens contingent on desired behaviours. Tokens can later be exchanged for privileges, food, or other reinforcers.
Students with ADD or ADHD can be trained to stay in their seats longer through contingency management.
