Unit XII - Abnormal Behavior Flashcards
What are anxiety disorders?
psychological disorders characterized by
distressing, persistent ANXIETY or MALADAPTIVE BEHAVIORS that reduce anxiety
What is social anxiety disorder?
INTENSE fear and avoidance of SOCIAL situations (formerly called
social phobia)
Characteristics of person with SAD
extremely anxious in social settings where others might judge them, such as parties, class presentations, or even eating in public. avoid going out at all
What is generalized anxiety disorder
an anxiety disorder in which
a person is CONTINUALLY tense,
apprehensive, and in a state of
AUTONOMIC nervous system arousal
Characteristics of person with GAD
EXCESSIVE and UNCONTROLLABLE worry that persists for 6 months or more. Worries continually Jittery, agitated, and sleep-deprived FREE-FLOATING ANXIETY
free-floating
not linked to a specific stressor or threat
What is panic disorder?
anxiety disorder marked by UNPREDICTABLE, minutes-long episodes of INTENSE dread in which a person may experience TERROR and accompanying chest pain, choking, or other frightening sensations;
For the 3% of people with panic disorder, panic attacks are
RECURRENT
not forgotten
What does a panic attack feel like?
thumping heartbeat & shortness of breath
How can panic attacks lead to agoraphobia?
people may avoid SITUATIONS where panic might strike
INTENSE fear-> may develop agoraphobia
Agoraphobia
fear or avoidance of public situations from which escape might be difficult.
Potential locations of agoraphobia
outside the home, in a crowd, or in an elevator.
What is a phobia?
an anxiety disorder
marked by a PERSISTENT, IRRATIONAL fear and AVOIDANCE of a SPECIFIC
object, activity, or situation
What are specific phobias?
may focus on
animals, insects, heights, blood, or close spaces.
What is obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)?
a disorder characterized
by UNWANTED REPETITIVE
thoughts (obsessions), ACTIONS (compulsions), or both
Compulsive behaviors are often ——— to those thoughts.
responses
What are some common obsessions among those with OCD?
Concern with dirt, germs, toxins
Something terrible happening
Symmetry, order, exactness
Obsession
Repetitive thoughts
Compulsions
Repetitive behavior
What are some common compulsions among those with OCD?
Excessive hand washing, toothbrushing, grooming
Repeating rituals
Checking doors, locks, appliances, car brakes, HW
Rituals and fussy behaviors cross the fine line between normality and disorder when they ———– interfere with everyday living and cause distress.
Persistently
Normal behavior
Checking that you locked the door is normal.
Washing your hands thoroughly is normal.
Organizing your markers and pens in rainbow order is normal.
sign of disorder
Checking 10 times that you locked the door is not.
Washing your hands so often that your skin becomes raw is not.
Not being able to use a pen unless it is in rainbow order is not.
Music star Justin Timberlake
discussed his obsessive-compulsive
disorder.
He says that support from family and a rich sense of humor have
helped him cope with the challenges.
What other disorders are classified as OCD-related disorders in the DSM-5?
Hoarding disorder
Body dysmorphic disorder
Trichotillomania
Excoriation disorder
What is posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)?
a disorder characterized by 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
PTSD common symptoms
recurring haunting memories and nightmares, laser-focused attention to possible threats, social withdrawal, jumpy anxiety, and
trouble sleeping.
What treatment exists for PTSD?
PARTICIPATE in an INTENSIVE recovery program using deep BREATHING, massage, and group and individual DISCUSSION techniques
Why do some develop PTSD after a traumatic event?
amount of trauma-related EMOTIONAL DISTRESS
HIGHER the DISTRESS, the GREATER the risk for post traumatic symptoms
What additional factors impact the development of PTSD in some people?
More SENSITIVE emotion-processing limbic system -> may result in another disorder
Genetic INFLUENCE
Gender -> females more likely
How does conditioning impact anxiety disorders, OCD, and PTSD?
Anxious or traumatized people learn to associate their anxiety with CERTAIN CUES
Disorders MORE LIKELY to develop when BAD EVENTS happen UNPREDICTABLY/ UNCONTROLLABLY
What is stimulus generalization?
tendency, once a response has been CONDITIONED, for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to ELICIT similar responses.
How does stimulus generalization explain anxiety, OCD and PTSD?
a person experiences a fearful event and later develops a fear of similar events.
Child bitten by dog-> scared of all dogs
What is reinforcement?
in operant
conditioning, reinforcement is any EVENT that
STRENGTHENS the behavior it follows.
How does reinforcement help explain anxiety, OCD and PTSD?
helps maintain learned fears and anxieties
Anything that enables us to avoid/ escape a feared situation -> REINFORCE MALADAPTIVE BEHAVIORS
How does cognition impact anxiety?
Our past experiences shape our expectations and influence our interpretations and reactions.
Creaky sound can be interpreted as both….
wind
knife-welding attacker
What research has been conducted on cognition and anxiety?
Susan Mineka -> 6 monkeys raised in wild -> fear of snakes
Lab monkeys -> no fear
When observing fear of snakes in other monkeys, younger monkeys developed a persistent fear of snakes
How do genes impact anxiety, OCD and PTSD?
One research team identified 17 gene variations associated with typical anxiety disorder symptoms
May be genes related to OCD
Identical twins develop similar phobias
How do genes regulate neurotransmitters that impact anxiety, OCD and PTSD?
Some genes influence disorders by regulating brain levels of NEUROTRANSMITTERS.
Examples of regulated neurotransmitter by genes
Serotonin -> sleep, mood, threats
Glutamate -> heightens activity in brain’s alarm centers
How do our experiences change our brain?
By PAVING NEW PATHWAYS
Traumatic fear-learning experiences can leave tracks in the brain, creating FEAR CIRCUITS within the AMYGDALA
How are brain structures involved?
Brain scans of people with OCD reveal ELEVATED activity in the ANTERIOR CINGULATE CORTEX during compulsive behaviors
What role does the anterior cingulate cortex play in OCD?
seems especially likely to be hyperactive
anterior cingulate cortex
brain region that monitors our ACTIONS and checks for ERRORS
How does biology drive fears?
helps us understand why most people have more fear of HEIGHTS than does Alex Honnold in 2017 becoming the first person to free solo climb (no safety ropes) Yosemite National Park’s El Capitan granite wall.
How does natural selection underlie our fears?
biologically PREPARED to fear threats faced by our ancestors.
Those fearless about these OCCASIONAL threats were LESS LIKELY to survive and leave descendants.
Common fears due to natural selection
spiders, snakes, and other animals; enclosed spaces and heights; storms and darkness.
What is a psychological disorder?
a SYNDROME marked by a CLINICALLY significant DISTURBANCE in an INDIVIDUAL’S COGNITION, EMOTION
REGULATION, OR BEHAVIOR
dysfunctional or maladaptive
SIGNIFICANTLY DISTURBED thoughts, emotions, or behaviors INTERFERE with NORMAL day-to-day life
How can cleaning become a disorder?
INTERFERING with work/ leisure
Can the definition of “significant disturbance” change over time? Such as in homosexuality?
American Psychiatric Association DECLASSIFIED homosexuality as disorder because MORE members view it as no LONGER a PSYCHOLOGICAL problem
What was trephining?
In the Stone Age, DRILLING skull HOLES may have been an
attempt to RELEASE EVIL SPIRITS and CURE those with mental disorders
How was mental illness treated during the Middle Ages?
Mental illness-> introduced by DEVIL
Need HARSH CURE -> to drive out demon
CAGING, GENITAL MUTILATION, BEATINGS, REMOVAL of teeth, intestines, TRANSFUSIONS of animal blood
What were some efforts at reform at the turn of the nineteenth century?
Opposed BRUTAL TREATMENTS -> sponsored PATIENT DANCES -> LUNATIC BALLS
What is the medical model?
the CONCEPT that PSYCHOLOGICAL
DISORDERS have PHYSICAL causes that can be DIAGNOSED, TREATED, and, in most cases, CURED, often through treatment in a hospital
How did the medical model cause change in mental health in the 1800s?
syphilis infects the brain and distorts the mind.
Researchers began to look for PHYSICAL causes of other mental disorders and for treatments that would cure them.
Hospitals REPLACED asylums, and the medical model of mental disorders was BORN.
What is the biopsychosocial approach to understanding mental illness?
As INDIVIDUALS, we differ in the amount of STRESS we experience and in the ways we COPE with stressors.
Biological influences on mental health
EVOLUTION
individual GENES
BRAIN structure and chemistry
Psychological influences on mental health
STRESS
TRAUMA
learned HELPLESSNESS
mood related perceptions & memories
Social-cultural influences on mental health
Rules
Expectation
Definitions of normality/ disorder
What is the vulnerability–stress (or diathesis-stress) model?
This model suggests that genetic PREDISPOSITIONS combine with environmental STRESSORS to increase or decrease the likelihood of developing a psychological DISORDER.
What is epigenetics?
the study of ENVIRONMENTAL influences on gene
expression that occur WITHOUT a DNA change
How does epigenetics support vulnerability-stress model?
In one environment, a gene will be expressed, but in another, it may lie dormant.
For some, that will be the difference between developing
a disorder or not developing it.
Why do clinicians classify psychological disorders?
CLASSIFICATION ORDERS AND DESCRIBES SYMPTOMS
What, beyond describing symptoms, is the purpose of diagnosing disorders?
CLASSIFICATION also aims to PREDICT a disorder’s future course, SUGGEST appropriate treatment, and PROMPT research into its
causes.
What is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition?
widely used system for classifying psychological disorders.
USED to guide DIAGNOSIS & TREATMENT
What are some changes to diagnostic labels in the 5th edition of the DSM?
conditions formerly called “autism” and “Asperger’s syndrome” were combined under the label autism spectrum disorder
“Mental retardation” became intellectual disability.
New disorders, such as hoarding
disorder and binge-eating disorder, were added.
Are some diagnoses controversial?
Yes. For instance, disruptive mood dysregulation disorder is a new DSM-5 diagnosis for children “who exhibit persistent irritability and frequent episodes of behavior outbursts three or more times a week for more than a year.”
What is one criticism of the DSM-5?
Critics have long faulted the DSM for casting TOO WIDE a net and bringing “almost any kind of behavior within the compass of psychiatry”
What is another criticism of the DSM-5?
Another concern critics of the DSM-5 raise is the OVER-LABELING of what might be common everyday feelings and practical responses to traumatic events
What is a benefit of labeling disorders with the DSM-5?
CHALLENGING symptoms, diagnosis and treatment
can be a relief and bring improved functioning.
How can diagnostic labels be misleading?
Once labeling a person, we view that person differently.
Labels can change reality by putting us on alert for evidence that confirms our view.
What research has been conducted on mislabeling of behaviors?
David Rosenhan and seven of his graduate students went to hospital admissions offices, complaining (falsely) of “hearing voices” saying
empty, hollow, and thud.
Apart from this complaint and giving false names and occupations, they answered questions truthfully.
All eight healthy people
were misdiagnosed with disorders.
How did being labeled as “ill” impact how others viewed the grad students?
Until being released an average of 19 days later, those eight “patients” showed no other symptoms.
Yet after analyzing their (quite normal) life histories, clinicians were able to “discover” the causes of their disorders, such as having mixed emotions about a parent.
Even routine note-taking behavior was
misinterpreted as a symptom.
How do labels have power in everyday life?
Getting a job or finding a place to rent can be a challenge for people recently released from a psychiatric hospital.
speaking out by public figure
Public figures have helped foster understanding by speaking openly about their own struggles with disorders such as depression and substance abuse.
How has broadening the diagnostic criteria of ADHD created a controversy?
criteria are now too broad and may turn normal, childish rambunctiousness into a disorder.
How frequently is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHS) diagnosed?
More COMMON in boys
11% of 4 to 17 years old
2.5% in adults
What are the symptoms of ADHD?
inattention and distractibility
hyperactivity
impulsivity
What are the arguments regarding the diagnosing of ADHD?
Children not meant to sit inside for hours in chairs
Youngest children tend to be more fidgety/ diagnosed
What do the supporters of ADHD diagnoses note?
More diagnoses reflect increased awareness.
ADHD is a real neurobiological disorder whose existence should no longer be debated.”
ADHD is associated with abnormal brain structure, abnormal brain activity patterns, and future risky or antisocial behavior.
How can ADHD be treated?
stimulant medication, behavior therapy and aerobic exercise.
Do disorders increase the risk of violence?
No. Most violent criminals are not mentally ill, and most mentally ill people are not violent.
Insanity is not a psychological or medical diagnosis but rather a
LEGAL one
defendants cannot
be held accountable for their actions at the time of the crime, typically due to mental disorder.
How many people have or have had a psychological disorder?
just under 1 in 5 adult Americans currently have a “mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder or have had one within the past year
What disorders are most prevalent in America?
Depressive/bipolar disorder Phobia Social anxiety disorder ADHD PTSD General anxiety disorder Schizophrenia OCD
How prevalent are disorders across the globe?
US 25% Ukraine 21% Columbia 21% New Zealand 20% France 19%
What are risk factors for mental illness?
POVERTY Academic failures Birth complications Child abuse/ neglect Medical illnesses Parental mental health
What are protective factors for mental illness?
Aerobic exercises Community Economic independence Effective parenting Social and work skills