Psychopathology (final) Flashcards
Psychopathology
problematic thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that disrupts an individual’s sense of well-being
Diagnostic and Statistical Analysis
how mental illness and disorders are defined
Schizophrenia
Many different disorders and symptoms:
loss of contact with reality
problems with thought, attention, perception, motor behavior and emotion
Acute Schizophrenia
late onset schizophrenia
if you are schizophrenic, you were born schizophrenic (onset or not)
Chronic Schizophrenia
hospitalization
Paranoid
Delusions- irrational beliefs:
Being persecuted by others
Of “Grandeur”
Catatonic
Motor disturbances:
“Waxy flexibility”
Motionless to hyperactive
Disorganized
Bizarre ideas often about one’s body, confused speech, childish behavior
Cause of Schizophrenia
UNKNOWN but..
Genetic:
ID twins? 48% if one twin is schizophrenic
Fraternal? 17%
Neurochemical imbalance:
Dopamine
Structural abnormalities:
Enlarged ventricles (but could be an effect)
Prenatal development:
Virus or malnutriton
Diathesis Stress model
Diathesis- genetic predisposition
Stress- Environment increases or decreases it
the relationship between diathesis and stress that helps to form mental disorders
Major Depression
7-18% (!!!!)
Sad, dejected mood
Problems w/ appetite and weight, sleep
Anhedonia (loss of pleasure)
Loss of energy
Recurring thoughts of death, suicide
Our high predisposition to depression because it solved problems for our distant ancestors
non-coconsciously = “am I contributing enough to the group”
Bipolar Disorder
1-2%
Manic and depressive
Mania- racing thoughts, hyperactivity, euphoric
Cause of mood disorders
Genetic predisposition
2. Neurochemical Imbalance
Norepinephrine
Seratonin (Rx- a SSRI like Prozac)3. Beck’s Cognitive Theory
Depressives change the everyday experiences of life into negative
situations. Tend to interpret and distort things that happen to them as catastrophes,
and reasons for self-blame.
Rx- Change cognitions, ease depression (Cognitive Behavioral
Therapy)
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
persistent, moderate but disturbing symptoms: trembling, faintness,
nausea
Panic Disorder
Similar to GAD in symptoms, but occur randomly
Phobias
Intense, irrational fear
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Obsession- thought
Compulsion- behavior:
Washing your hands until they bleed; checking to see if the
door is “locked” 1000’s of times
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Anxiety that appears weeks or years after a shocking or deeply
disturbing event. May cause “flashbacks,” guilt and/or anger at having survived the
event, GAD
Cause for Anxiety Disorders
Genetic factors
Nt’s- GABA, serotonin
Classical/operant conditioning
Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)
sed to be known as Multiple
Personality Disorder
Dissociative fugue
Some people completely forget their identities,
develop new ones and start new lives
Controversial: Real disorders or caused by therapists and certain forms of
therapy?
Antisocial Personality Disorder
Failure to conform to society’s norms in many areas of life:
Lack of concern
Impulsivity
Easily irritated
Irresponsible
Shallow, smooth- “car salesman”
3% of men; 1% of women
– co-morbid w/substance disorders
– 70-80% of criminals
“Insanity”-
A legal term, not a psychological description
“knowing” the difference between right and wrong”
