Psychological Disorders Flashcards
Abnormal behavior
Behavior that is personally distressing, personally dysfunctional, and/or so culturally deviant that other people judge it to be inappropriate or maladaptive
3 Approaches to psychological disorder
- Biological
- Psychological
- Sociocultural
Biological Approach to psychological disorder
Sees the cause being organic, internal causes
Psychological Approach to psychological disorders
Focuses on experiences, thoughts, emotions and personality characteristics to explain psychological disorders
- “It will never work so why even try” (negative thinking)
Sociocultural Approach to psychological disorders
Looks at social contexts peoples live in
- (Gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, family, relationships, culture)
Medical Model
The view that psychological disorders are medical diseases with biological origins
Cultural-Bound Systems
Expressions of mental distress that are almost completely limited to specific cultural groups
- ex; Windingo psychosis
- ex; internet addiction
Bio-Psycho-Social model
Argues abnormal behavior can be influenced by all 3 (biological, psychological and sociocultural factors)
Vulnerability-stress hypothesis
A model that explains behavior disorders as resulting from predisposing biological factors that are triggered by a stressor
- Having a beer or two when stressed (drinking in response to stress)
DSM-5
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition.
- DSM serves as the principal authority for psychiatric diagnoses
Anxiety Disorders
A group of behavioral disorders in which anxiety and associated maladaptive behaviors are the core of the disturbance
- Tension, panicked, worrying, dwelling on thoughts, inability to cope with cause of anxiety, increased heart rate, fight or flight, tense muscles, shortness of breath
Phobia
Phobic Disorder
Strong and irrational fear of certain objects or situations
Specific phobias related to dogs, snakes, airplanes, illness etc
- usually developed in childhood or early adulthood
Social anxiety disorder
Phobia of social situations in which a person might be evaluated and possibility embarrassed
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Chronic state of diffuse (“free floating”) anxiety that is not attached to specific situation or objects
- Can be caused by GABA deficiency and genetics (In childhood/adolescence)
- Harsh standards, overly critical parents, automatic negative self-thoughts and history of uncontrollable traumas/stressors
Panic Disorder
An anxiety disorder characterized by unpredictable panic attacks and a pervasive fear that another will occur
- is not tired to the environment, may appear randomly
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
An anxiety disorder characterized by persistent and unwanted thoughts and compulsive behaviors
Obsessions VS
Compulsions
Obsessions: unwanted and disturbing thoughts/images that invades consciousness and is very difficult to control
- (“if i don’t _, then my family will die”) AKA superstitions
- ELICITS anxiety
Compulsions: repetitive act that the person feels compelled to carry out, often in response to an obsessive thought/image
- (washing hands, lack of symmetry in body)
- SOOTHES anxiety
Executive dysfunction model
VS
Modulatory control model
Executive dysfunction model argues the underlying problem is impulse control and behavioral inhibition
Modulatory control model argues it is a lack of control of socially appropriate behaviors
Eating disorders
The influence of cultural norms/expectation
(beauty standards)
Anorexia nervosa
An eating disorder involving a severe and sometimes fatal restriction of food intake.
- High levels of self-control
- Losses periods, causes heart strain, bone loss, hair loss, death
Bulimia nervosa
An eating disorder involving the bingeing and purging of food, usually by vomiting or laxative use, because of a concern with becoming fat. - Anxious and depressed, lower self-control
- Causes gastric problems, eroded teeth
Mood Disorders
Psychological disorders whose core conditions involve maladaptive mood states such as depression or mania
Major Depressive Disorder
A mood disorder characterized by intense depression that interferes markedly with functioning
- genetic factors
Chronic depressive disorder
A depressive mood disorder of moderate intensity that occurs over a long period of time but does not disrupt functioning as major depression does
Depressive cognitive triad
Negative thoughts concerning
1) the world,
2) oneself,
3) the future
that people with depression cannot control or suppress
Learned helplessness theory
A theory of depression that states if people are unable to control life events, they develop a state of helplessness that leads to depressive symptoms
Pessimistic attribution style
The tendency of depressed people to attribute negative outcomes to their own inadequacies and positive ones to factors outside themselves
Bipolar Disorder
Mood disorder in which intermittent mania appears against a background of depression
Mania
State of intense emotional and behavioral excitement in which a person feels very optimistic and energized
Dissociation Disorder
Disorders that involve a major dissociation of personal identity or memory
- repression
Dissociative amnesia
A disorder in which a person responds to a stressful event with extensive but selective memory loss
Dissociative fugue
A dissociative phenomenon in which a person loses all sense of personal identity and wanders to another place and establishes a new identity
Dissociative identity disorder
A dissociative disorder in which two or more separate identities/personalities coexist within an individual
- has hosts and alters
- DID
Trauma-dissociation theory
A theory that accounts for the development of dissociative identity disorder in terms of dissociation as a defense against severe childhood trauma
(defensive personalities)
Schizophrenia
A psychotic disorder involving serious impairment of attention, thought, language, emotion and behavior
(split mind, NOT DID)
Delusions
VS
Hallucinations
Delusions: false beliefs that are sustained in the face of evidence that normally would be sufficient to destroy them
Hallucinations: false perceptions that have a compelling sense of reality (ex: auditory)
- seeing things, hearing things that aren’t there
Type I
Vs
Type II
SCHIZOPHRENIA
TYPE I (positive symptoms)
- ADDED pathological extremes such as delusions, hallucinations and disordered speech/thinning
- good functioning prior to breakdown and better prognosis for recovery
TYPE II (negative symptoms)
- the ABSENCE of normal reactions such as lack of emotional expression, loss of motivation and absence of normal speech
- long history of poor functioning and poor outcome from treatment
Personality Disorder
Stable, inflexible and maladaptive personality styles
Antisocial personality disorder
A disorder involving behavior that is interpersonally destructive and emotionally harmful and exhibits a lack of conscience
Borderline personality disorder
A collection of symptoms characterized primarily by serious instability in behavior, emotion, identity, and interpersonal relationships
Causes for sex differences (4)
- Differences in reporting and suppressing
- reporting bias - Clinicians’ expectations
- Maybe be ‘expected’ in some more than others - Different social roles and experiences
- Different ways in which we respond to stress
- Internalizing VS Externalizing
Treatments for Psychological Disorders (5)
- Psychodynamic
- Humanistic
- Cognitive
- Behavioral
- Biological
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
A biomedical technique involving the application of electrical current to the brain that is used primarily to reduce severe depression
- Effects can be immediate BUT can cause seizures and memory loss
Psychosurgery
Surgical cutting or production of lesions in portions of the brain
- Prefrontal lobotomy: Anterior portions of the frontal lobes were surgically separated from the rest of the brain
- New procedures: Destruction of very small areas of the brain
Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS)
A technique that involves electrically stimulating specific regions of the brain
- May cause intended behavioral effects and states of depression or aggression
Psychoanalysis
why does this person have disturbing thoughts or actions; what is the core problem?
Insight
VS
Interpretation
Insight: The conscious awareness of psychodynamics that underlie psychological problems
- Allows for adjusting behaviors/thoughts
Interpretation: A statement made by the analyst that is intended to promote insight in the client
- Make the unconscious conscious
Free Association
Verbalizing all thoughts that enter consciousness without censorship
Dream interpretation
Manifest content
VS
Latent content
Manifest content: The literal subject matter of the dream
Latent content: The underlying meaning of the symbols that make up the manifest content of the dream
Resistance Response to Therapy
Largely unconscious maneuvers that protect clients from dealing with anxiety-arousing material in therapy
Transference Response to Therapy
The psychoanalytic phenomenon in which a client responds irrationally to the analyst as if they were an important person from the client’s past who plays an important role in the client’s dynamics
Humanistic Psychotherapies
Humanistic perspectives view humans as responsible for their choices and want personal growth and development
- Issues of distorted perceptions, lack of awareness about feelings, negative self-image, and threat to autonomy/integrity
3 Important Attributes for a Therapist
- Unconditional positive regard
- Empathy
- Genuineness
Cognitive Therapies
Challenging automatic, irrational and self defeating thought patterns when they thoughts come up
Alberta Ellis (RET)
Rational Emotive Therapy
Ellis’ ABCD model
Ellis thought people viewed their emotions were caused directly by an event but he argued it was the belief system that caused negative emotions
A: Activating environmental event (emotional response comes from beliefs that are activated by environment)
B: Beliefs that are activated by A
C: emotional and behavioral Consequences produced by B
D: Disputing an changing of B
Musturbation
The irrational belief that one must have some particular thing/act in some particular way in order to be happy or worthwhile
- Ex: I must get straight As or I’m not smart/worthwhile/useful
Aaron Beck (CT)
Beck’s goal, like Ellis, was to point out errors of thinking and logic and reprogram “automatic” thought patterns
- Doesn’t follow the ABCD model but instead:
Stressor -> Belief -> Reaction
Exposure Therapy
From a behaviorist perspective, fears/phobias come from classically conditioned emotional responses
Implosion therapy
Client imagines a particular, moderately fearful scene as vividly as possible, until it no longer seems frightening
Aversion therapy
The pairing of a CS that currently evokes a positive but maladaptive response with a noxious UCS in an attempt to condition repulsion toward the CS
Social skills training
A technique in which a client learns more effective social behaviours by observing and imitating a skillful model
Mindfulness based Treatments
A mental state of awareness, focus, openness, and acceptance of immediate experience (Nonjudgmental appraisal)
Openness
VS
Self-Relatedness
Openness: The client’s general willingness to invest themselves in therapy and take risks required to change
Self-relatedness: The client’s ability to experience and understand internal states, attuned to the processes underlying the therapist-client relationship, and apply what they learned in the real world
Situation-focused prevention
Directed at reducing or eliminating the environmental causes of behavior disorders or at enhancing situational factors that help to prevent the development of disorders
- unemployment, discrimination, poverty
Competency-focused prevention
Directed at increasing personal resources and coping skills
- Strengthening resistance to stress, improve social competencies, and building stronger support systems
- “Battlemind” and “You’re Not Alone”
