WEEK 11 - Abnormal Psychology Part 1

Question 1

Psychopathology or Mental Disorder

Answer 1

Is defined as patterns of thought, emotion and behaviour that result in personal distress or a significant impairment in a person’s social or occupational functioning. It becomes uncomfortable for those who are affected or for those with whom they come in contact.

Question 2

What is the percentage of people diagnosed with mental disorders in Australia and New Zeland?

Answer 2

20% in Australia and 16% in New Zeland. Women experienced higher rates of 12-month mental disorders than men.

Question 3

To be considered a person who suffers from abnormal behaviour, they need to have the three Ds which are:

Answer 3

Deviance, distress and dysfunction.

Question 4

Deviance

Answer 4

• Involves the statistical infrequency criterion that is what is unusual or rare that would be considered deviant by a society. This criterion implies that to be normal, one must conform to all aspects of the majority’s standards.
• Also it involves the violation of social norms which consists on cultural rules of how should we behave and be. People can be described as abnormal if they behave in ways that are unusual or disturbing enough to violate social norms.

Question 5

Distress or personal suffering

Answer 5

Experiencing distress is the criterion that people often use to decide that their psychological problems are severe enough to require treatment.

Question 6

Limitation of distress

Answer 6

Personal suffering alone is not an adequate criterion for abnormality. It does not take into account the fact that people are sometimes distressed about characteristics (such as being gay or lesbian) that are not mental disorders. People can display psychological disorders without experiencing distress if the disorders have impaired their ability to recognise how maladaptive their behaviour is.

Question 7

Limitation of deviance

Answer 7

Social norms vary across cultures, subcultures and historical eras, so actions that qualify as abnormal in one part of the world might be perfectly acceptable elsewhere.

Question 8

Dysfunction

Answer 8

Involves impaired functioning that is a criterion that involves having difficulty in fulfilling appropriate and expected roles in family, social and work-related situations.

Question 9

Are the three Ds criterions adequate for identifying abnormality?

Answer 9

No single criteria is entirely adequate for identifying abnormality because they have limitations.

Question 10

Practical Approach

Answer 10

Is an approach that combines the three Ds of abnormal behavior (deviance, distress and dysfunction). This approach considers the content of behaviour (what the person does), the sociocultural context of the person’s behaviour, and the consequences of the behaviour for that person and other

Question 11

The practical approach defines abnormality as

Answer 11

Patterns of thought, behaviour and emotional reaction that significantly impair people’s functioning within their culture.

Question 12

Centuries ago, explanations of abnormal behaviour focused on

Answer 12

Possession by gods or demons. Disordered people were seen either as innocent victims of spirits or as social or moral deviants suffering supernatural punishment. They were cured by exorcisms.

Question 13

The Biopsychosocial Approach:

Answer 13

Consists on a view of mental disorders as caused by a combination of interacting biological, psychological and sociocultural factors.

Question 14

Medical model (neurobiological model) is a part of the biopsychosocial approach and consists of

Answer 14

A view in which psychological disorders are seen as reflecting disturbances in the anatomy and chemistry of the brain and in other biological processes including genetic influences.

Question 15

The biological factors thought to be involved in causing mental disorders include:

Answer 15

Physical illnesses, disruptions or imbalances in bodily processes, and genetic influences.

Question 16

Psychological model:

Answer 16

A view in which mental disorder is seen as arising from psychological processes. The causal factors emphasised by the psychological model of mental disorders include unconscious conflicts, disruptions in attachment, learning, or maladaptive cognitive schemas.

Question 17

Social learning theorists, see most psychological disorders as resulting from

Answer 17

The interaction of past learning and current situations. Social-cognitive theorists also emphasise that learned expectations, schemas and other mental processes can influence the development of disorders

Question 18

Psychodynamic Psychologists (Freud) ee most psychological disorders as resulting from:

Answer 18

Unresolved, mostly unconscious conflicts that begin in childhood. These conflicts pit people’s inborn impulses against the limits placed on those impulses by society.

Question 19

The humanistic approach to personality suggests that behaviour disorders appear:

Answer 19

When a person’s natural tendency towards healthy growth is blocked, usually by a failure to be aware of and to express true feelings. When this happens, the person’s perceptions of reality become distorted. The greater the distortion, the more serious the psychological disorder.

Question 20

The sociocultural perspective suggests that behavior disorders

Answer 20

Cant fully explain all forms of psychopathology without also looking outside the individual, especially at the social and cultural factors that form the background of abnormal behaviour. To find causes of disorders in this sociocultural context, we must pay attention to sociocultural factors such as gender, age and marital status; the physical, social and economic situations in which people live; and the cultural values, traditions and expectations in which they are immersed.

Question 21

The biopsychosocial model is currently the most comprehensive and influential approach to explaining psychological disorders because?

Answer 21

it encompasses so many important causal factors: biological imbalances, genetically inherited characteristics, brain damage, enduring psychological traits, sociocultural influenced learning experiences, stressful life events and many more.

Question 22

Diathesis-stress model

Answer 22

Is the notion that psychological disorders arise when a predisposition (biological, psychological and sociological) for a disorder combines with sufficient amounts of stress to trigger symptoms.

Question 23

Psychotherapy for psychological disorders is usually based on

Answer 23

Psychodynamic, humanistic or social-cognitive (behavioural) theories of personality and behaviour disorder. Most therapists combine features of these theories in an eclectic approach.

Question 24

The dominant system for classifying abnormal behaviour is the:

Answer 24

American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM),

Question 25

Longstanding and disruptive patterns of apprehension characterise:

Answer 25

Anxiety disorders

Question 26

Cyberchondria

Answer 26

Example, medical students often think they have the symptoms of every illness they read about, some psychology students worry that their behaviour (or that of a relative or friend) signals a mental disorder.

Question 27

Percentage of Australian and New Zealand population suffering from anxiety disorders

Answer 27

In Australia, 10 per cent of the population suffer from an anxiety disorder at any one time. In New Zealand, 6.1 per cent of the population suffering from anxiety disorders.

Question 28

Anxiety disorders are prevalent in _______ then _______.

Answer 28

Females; males.

Question 29

The most prevalent type of anxiety disorder is:

Answer 29

Phobia, which includes specific phobias, social anxiety disorders and agoraphobia.

Question 30

Phobia

Answer 30

An anxiety disorder involving strong, irrational fear of an object or situation that does not objectively justify such a reaction.

Question 31

Specific phobia

Answer 31

An anxiety disorder involving fear and avoidance of heights, animals, blood or other specific stimuli and situations.

Question 32

Social anxiety disorders

Answer 32

(previously social phobias) an anxiety disorder involving strong, irrational fears relating to social situations. It involves anxiety about being criticised by others or acting in a way that is embarrassing or humiliating. Common social phobias are fear of public speaking or performance (‘stage fright’), fear of eating in front of others, and fear of using public toilets.

Question 33

Sociocultural factors can alter the nature of ________.

Answer 33

Social phobias, for example, in Japan, where cultural training emphasises group-oriented values and goals, a common social phobia is taijin kyofusho, the fear that your appearance, odour or actions are causing offence or embarrassment to those around you.

Question 34

Agoraphobia

Answer 34

Is a strong fear of being away from a safe place, such as home; of being away from a familiar person, such as a spouse or close friend; or of being in a place (such as a crowded cinema or mall) that might be difficult to leave or where help may be unavailable. Their intense fear of public places occurs partly because they don’t want to risk triggering an attack by going to places in which they had a previous attack or where they feel an attack would be dangerous or embarrassing.

Question 35

People who suffer from __________ typically avoid social situations and refuse to shop, drive or use public transportation. They may be unable to work and can easily become isolated, and have panic attacks.

Answer 35

Agoraphobia

Question 36

Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD)

Answer 36

Is a condition that involves relatively mild but long- lasting anxiety that is not focused on any particular object or situation. Because the problem occurs in almost all situations and because the person cannot pinpoint its source, this type of anxiety is sometimes called free-floating anxiety and is essentially a disorder of worry. For weeks at a time, the person feels anxious and worried, sure that some disaster is about to happen the person becomes jumpy and irritable; sound sleep is impossible. Fatigue, inability to concentrate and physiological signs of anxiety are also common.

Question 37

Panic disorder

Answer 37

Which brings unpredictable attacks of intense anxiety. These attacks are marked by intense heart palpitations, pressure or pain in the chest, dizziness or unsteadiness, sweating, and feeling faint.

Question 38

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

Answer 38

Is characterised by uncontrollable repetitive thoughts (obsessions), urges and ritualistic actions (compulsions). OCD is common in males and females.

Question 39

For weeks at a time, the person feels anxious and worried, sure that some disaster is about to happen the person becomes jumpy and irritable; sound sleep is impossible. Fatigue, inability to concentrate and physiological signs of anxiety are also common. Is an example of:

Answer 39

Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD).

Question 40

Rituals such as checking locks; repeating words, images or numbers; counting things; or arranging objects ‘just so’ are an example of:

Answer 40

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

Question 41

Causes of anxiety

Answer 41

Biological, psychological and environmental factors

Question 42

Somatic symptom and related disorders, including conversion disorder, involve

Answer 42

Physical problems that have no apparent and are present without physical cause.

Question 43

Types of Somantic Disorders

Answer 43

-Conversion, Body Dysmorphic Disorder, and Hypochondriasis.

Question 44

Conversion disorder

Answer 44

Is a condition in which a person appears to be, but is not, blind, deaf, paralysed or insensitive to pain in various parts of the body, (An earlier term for this disorder was hysteria.)

Question 45

Conversion disorders differ from true physical disabilities in several ways.

Answer 45

First, they tend to appear when a person is under severe stress. Second, they often help reduce that stress by allowing the person to avoid unpleasant or threatening situations. Third, the person may show remarkably little concern about what is apparently a rather serious problem. Finally, the symptoms may be neurologically impossible or improbable. Rather than destroying sensory or motor ability, the conversion process may prevent the person from being aware of information that the brain is processing.

Question 46

Body Dysmorphic Disorder

Answer 46

The person is intensely distressed about an imagined abnormality of the skin, hair, face or other bodily area. The person may become preoccupied with the imagined deformity or imperfection, avoid social contacts, become dysfunctional, and even seek unnecessary corrective surgery.

Question 47

Hypochondriasis

Answer 47

Is a somatoform disorder involving strong, unjustified fear of having physical illness.

Question 48

Somatisation disorder

Answer 48

Is when the person complains of numerous, unconfirmed physical complaints.

Question 49

Somatoform pain disorder

Answer 49

Is when pain is felt in the absence of a known physical cause.

Question 50

Dissociative disorders

Answer 50

Are rare conditions that involve sudden and usually temporary disruptions in a person’s memory, consciousness or identity. It involves dissociative fugue, dissociative amnesia and dissociative identity disorder, or DID.

Question 51

Causes of somatic symptom and related disorders are related to

Answer 51

• Childhood experiences in which a person learns that symptoms of physical illness bring special attention, care and privileges.
• Severe stressors
• Biological and psychological traits.

Question 52

Fugue reaction or dissociative fugue

Answer 52

Is characterised by sudden wandering and loss of memory or confusion about personal identity. In some cases, the person adopts an entirely new identity.

Question 53

Dissociative amnesia

Answer 53

Involves sudden loss of memory about personal information, but the person does not leave home or create a new identity.

Question 54

Dissociative identity disorder (DID) still commonly called multiple personality disorder (MPD) consists:

Answer 54

A person diagnosed with DID appears to have more than one identity, each of which speaks, acts and writes in a different way. Each personality seems to have its own memories, wishes and (often conflicting) impulses.

Question 55

Dissociative disorders develop in several ways:

Answer 55

Psychodynamic theorists see massive repression of unwanted impulses or memories as the basis for creating a ‘new person’ who acts out otherwise unacceptable impulses or recalls otherwise unbearable memories. Social-cognitive theorists focus on the fact that everyone is capable of behaving in different ways, depending on the circumstances (for example, rowdy in a bar, quiet in a museum), but in rare cases, they say, this variation can become so extreme that an individual feels – and is perceived by others as being – a ‘different person’.

Question 56

Dissociative disorders are strengthened by

Answer 56

Reward as people find that a sudden memory loss or shift in behaviour allows them to escape stressful situations, responsibilities or punishment for misbehaviour.

Question 57

Researchers argue that dissociative disorders are characterized by:

Answer 57

• Memory loss.
• Many people displaying DID have experienced events they would like to forget or avoid.
• The majority (some clinicians believe all) have suffered severe, unavoidable, persistent abuse in childhood.
• Most of these people appear to be skilled at self-hypnosis, through which they can induce a trancelike state.
• Most found that they could escape the trauma of abuse, at least temporarily, by creating ‘new personalities’ to deal with stress.

Question 58

Affective disorders

Answer 58

(Mood disorder) is a condition in which a person experiences extreme mood of long duration that may be inconsistent with events, such as depression or mania.

Question 59

Major depression (major depressive disorder)

Answer 59

Is an affective disorder in which a person feels sad and hopeless for weeks or months. A person with this disorder feels sad and overwhelmed, typically losing interest in activities and relationships and taking pleasure in nothing. Is marked by feelins of inadequancy, changes in eating and sleeping habits, worthlessness and guilt. In extreme cases delusions may also occur.

Question 60

Delusions

Answer 60

False beliefs, such as those experienced by people suffering from schizophrenia or extreme depression

Question 61

Depression is not always so extreme, In what can sometimes be a less severe pattern of depression, called Persistent depressive disorder (previously dysthymic disorder) that consists in

Answer 61

An affective disorder involving a pattern of comparatively mild depression that lasts for at least two years.

Question 62

Bipolar disorders

Answer 62

Is an affective disorder in which a person alternates between the emotional extremes of depression and mania.

Question 63

Mania

Answer 63

An elated, very active emotional state.

Question 64

Slightly more common is a pattern of milder mood swings known as cyclothymic personality (also called cyclothymic disorder) that consists in

Answer 64

An affective disorder characterised by an alternating pattern of
mood swings that is less extreme than that of bipolar disorders

Question 65

The bipolar equivalent of persistent depressive disorder is known as:

Answer 65

Cyclothymic personality (also called cyclothymic disorder).

Question 66

Types of affective disorders

Answer 66

• Major depression (major depressive disorder).
• Persistent depressive disorder (previously dysthymic disorder)
• Bipolar disorders
• Cyclothymic personality (also called cyclothymic disorder)

Question 67

Causes of affective disorders

Answer 67

Biological, psychological and sociocultural risk factors.

Question 68

Role of Biological factors on affective disorders

Answer 68

Genetics especially in bipolar disorders have a great impact. Twin and family studies show that close relatives of people with a bipolar disorder are more likely than others to develop that disorder themselves. Major depression is also more likely to be shared among family members, especially by identical twins. Stress triggering events, and malfunctions in the brain, nervous system and the endocrine system, especially the hypothalamic-pituitary- adrenocortical (HPA) system also have an impact on affective disorders.

Question 69

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD)

Answer 69

This type of depression typically strikes during the short days of the year when the sun isn’t out as long.

Question 70

Does cortisol contribute to depression?

Answer 70

Yes, high levels of this stress hormone are associated with depression.

Question 71

Psychological and Social factors that Impact inaffective disorders.

Answer 71

• Culture
• Anxiety, negative thinking, personality traits, family interactions and the other psychological and emotional responses triggered by trauma, losses and other stressful events

Question 72

There is a higher incidence of depression among _______.

Answer 72

Females

Question 73

Aaron Beck’s cognitive theory of depression suggests that depressed people develop mental habits of:

Answer 73

1. Blaming themselves when things go wrong
2. Focusing on and exaggerating the negative side of events
3. Jumping to overly generalised, pessimistic conclusions.

Question 74

Schizophrenia

Answer 74

Is perhaps the most severe and puzzling disorder of all. Among the symptoms of schizophrenia are extremely disturbed problems in thinking, perception (often including hallucinations), attention, emotion, movement, motivation and daily functioning.

Question 75

People with schizophrenia often use new words, known as:

Answer 75

Neologisms, that are usually nonsensical and have meaning only to them. There are loose associations, the tendency for one thought to be logically unconnected or only slightly related to the next. Sometimes, the associations are based on double meanings or on the way words sound (clang associations).

Question 76

Schizophrenia occurs _______ in men and women.

Answer 76

Equally

Question 77

The content of schizophrenic thinking is also disturbed. Often, it includes:

Answer 77

Delusions, or false beliefs and hallucinations.

Question 78

Schizophrenia tends to develop in:

Answer 78

Adolescence or early adulthood.

Question 79

Hallucinations

Answer 79

A symptom of disorder in which people perceive voices or other stimuli when there are no stimuli pres

Question 80

The schizophrenia spectrumis categorized in

positive and negative symptoms that consists in:

Answer 80

Positive symtoms: are described as disorganised thoughts, hallucinations and delusions. Because they appear as undesirable additions to a person’s mental life.

In contrast, the absence of pleasure and motivation, lack of emotional reactivity, social withdrawal, reduced speech and other deficits seen in schizophrenia are sometimes called negative symptoms because they appear to subtract elements from normal mental life .

When symptoms are mainly negative, as they are in about 25 per cent of schizophrenia patients, the disorder is usually more severe and less responsive to treatment.

Question 81

Another way of categorising Schizophrenia symptoms focuses on whether they are:

Answer 81

Psychotic (hallucinations, delusions), disorganised (incoherent speech, chaotic behaviour, inappropriate affect) or negative (for example, lack of speech or motivation).

Question 82

Biological and Psychological factors that affect Schizophrenia.

Answer 82

Genetic factors, neurotransmitter problems, abnormalities in brain structure and functioning, and neurodevelopmental abnormalities are biological factors implicated in schizophrenia. Psychological explanations have focused on maladaptive learning experiences and disturbed family interactions.

Question 83

Vulnerability theory in schizophrenia.

Answer 83

All the causal theories of schizophrenia are consistent with the diathesis-stress approach, which assumes that various forms of stress can activate a person’s predisposition for disorder. The diathesis-stress approach is embodied in the vulnerability theory of schizophrenia This theory suggests that:
1. Vulnerability to schizophrenia is mainly biological.
2 Different people have differing degrees of vulnerability.
3 Vulnerability is influenced partly by genetic influences on development and partly by
neurodevelopmental abnormalities associated with environmental risk.
4 Psychological components – such as exposure to poor parenting or high-stress families, or having inadequate coping skills, may help determine whether schizophrenia actually appears and may also influence the course of the disorder.

Question 84

Personality Disorders

Answer 84

Are longstanding, inflexible ways of behaving that are not so much severe mental disorders as dysfunctional styles of living. These disorders affect all areas of functioning and, beginning in childhood or adolescence, create problems for those who display them and for others. t’s a deviation from cultural norms. People behave abnormally.

Question 85

Types of personality are divided in three clusters which are:

Answer 85

1. The odd–eccentric cluster, referred to as cluster A, includes paranoid, schizoid and schizotypal personality disorders.
2. The dramatic–erratic cluster, called cluster B, includes the histrionic, narcissistic, borderline and antisocial personality disorders.
3. The anxious–fearful cluster – cluster C – includes dependent, obsessive-compulsive and avoidant personality disorders.

Question 86

Antisocial personality disorder (APD)

Answer 86

Pervasive disregard for and violation of the right of others occurring since the age of 15 years and continuing into adulthood. People with antisocial disorder fail to conform with social norms, they are aggressive and impulsive. Symptoms tend to diminish after the age of 40. Is associated with criminality and It affects more male than females.

Question 87

The physical, cognitive, emotional and social changes seen in childhood and the stress associated with them can

Answer 87

Cause or worsen psychological disorders in children.

Question 88

Childhood disorders can be categorised

Answer 88

Childhood disorders can be categorised as externalising disorders (such as conduct disorders or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and internalising disorders (in which children show overcontrol and experience distress, as in separation anxiety disorder). Pervasive developmental disorders do not fall into either category and include the autistic spectrum disorders. In autistic disorder, which can be the most severe of these, children show no interest in or attachment to others.

Question 89

Childhood disorders can be categorised:

Answer 89

Externalising disorders (such as conduct disorders or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and internalising disorders (in which children show overcontrol and experience distress, as in separation anxiety disorder).

Pervasive developmental disorders do not fall into either category and include the autistic spectrum disorders.

Question 90

Conduct disorders

Answer 90

Are characterised by a relatively stable pattern of aggression, disobedience, destructiveness, inappropriate sexual activity, academic failure and other problematic behaviours. Often, these behaviours involve criminal activity, and they may signal the development of antisocial personality disorder.

Question 91

Which factors impact externalizing disorders?

Answer 91

Biological (genetics), environmental and parenting factors.

Question 92

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Answer 92

A diagnosis of ADHD is given to children who are more impulsive or more inattentive than other children their age As the name implies, many of these children are hyperactive. That is, they have great difficulty sitting still or otherwise controlling their physical activity. Their impulsiveness and lack of self-control contribute to significant impairments in learning and to an astonishing ability to annoy and exhaust the people around them. Children with ADHD also tend to perform poorly on tests of attention, memory, decision making and other information- processing tasks. As a result, ADHD is being viewed as a neurological condition rather than just ‘bad behaviour’

Question 93

Factors that affect ADHD disorder are:

Answer 93

ADHD may result from a genetic predisposition. Genes involved may be those that regulate dopamine, a neurotransmitter important in the functioning of the attention system. Other factors, including brain damage, poisoning from lead or other household substances, and low birth weight, may also play causal roles. In some cases, problems in parenting may increase the risk of this disorder.

Question 94

Separation anxiety disorder

Answer 94

Children constantly worry that they will be lost, kidnapped or injured, or that some harm may come to a parent (usually the mother). The child clings desperately to the parent and becomes upset or sick at the prospect of any separation. Refusal to go to school (school phobia) is often the result. Children who are shy or withdrawn are at a higher risk than others of internalising disorders, but these problems are also associated with environmental factors, including being rejected by peers and (especially for girls) being raised by a single parent.

Question 95

Pervasive developmental disorders.

Answer 95

Children diagnosed with these disorders show severe problems in communication and impaired social relationships. They also often display repetitive, stereotyped behaviours and unusual preoccupations and interests

Question 96

Autistic spectrum disorders (ASD).

Answer 96

The earliest signs of autistic disorder usually appear within the first 30 months after birth. as these babies show little or no evidence of forming an attachment to their caregivers. Language development is seriously disrupted in most of these children; half of them never learn to speak at all. They have great difficulty engaging in tasks that require shared attention, and they often focus on non-social aspects of human interaction, such as clothing, rather than on social aspects, such as eye contact, facial expression and tone of voice

Question 97

Those who display high-functioning autism or a less severe autistic spectrum disorder are called

Answer 97

Asperger’s syndrome. They have impaired relationships, engage in repetitive behaviours and may memorise arcane facts or activities (such as sports scores or postcodes), but they show few severe cognitive deficits and are able to function adaptively and, in some cases, independently as adults

Question 98

Possible biological roots of autistic disorder include

Answer 98

Genetic factors and neurodevelopmental abnormalities affecting language and communication as well as mirror neurons in the brain.

Question 99

Childhood disorders, especially externalising disorders, often lead to ____________.

Answer 99

Substance-related disorders in adolescence and adulthood.

Question 100

Schizotypal Personality Disorder.

Answer 100

Social and interpersonal deficits as indicated by pervasive discomfort with reduced capacity for close relationships, as well as cognitive and perceptual distortions and eccentric behavior. Schizotypal people have odd behavior, beliefs and speech. Magical thinking (is extreme superstition) is typical in people suffering this disorder.

• Equal in males and females.

Question 101

Narcissistic Personality Disorder

Answer 101

Pervasive sense of grandiosity, need for admiration, lack of empathy and chronic intense envy. They are inlove with themselves. Narcissistic individuals tend to be arrogant, endure a sense of entitlement and belief in their own specialness. Symptoms tend to diminish after the age of 40. o Is associated with criminality. It affects males more than females.

Question 102

Avoidant personality disorder

Answer 102

Is similar to social phobia in the sense that people labelled with this disorder tend to be ‘loners’ with a longstanding pattern of avoiding social situations and of being particularly sensitive to criticism or rejection. They want to be with others but are too inhibited.

Question 103

Substance-related disorders

Answer 103

Are defined as the use of psychoactive drugs for months or years in ways that harm the user or others .The substances involved most often are alcohol and other CNS depressant drugs (such as barbiturates), opiates (such as heroin), CNS stimulating drugs (such as cocaine or amphetamines) and hallucinogenic drugs (such as LSD).

Question 104

Addiction

Answer 104

Is the development of a physical need for a psychoactive drug

Question 105

Alcoholism

Answer 105

Is a pattern of drinking that may lead to addiction and almost always causes severe social, physical and other proble

Question 106

Mental Illness and the law

Answer 106

The law protects people with severe psychological disorders when they are accused of crimes. First, under certain conditions, people designated as mentally ill may be protected from prosecution. If, at the time of their trial, individuals accused of a crime are unable to understand the proceedings and charges against them, or to assist in their own defence, they are declared to be mentally incompetent to stand trial. Second, mentally ill defendants may be protected from punishment.They may be judged not guilty by reason of mental impairment if, at the time of the crime, mental illness prevented them from understanding what they were doing, knowing that what they were doing was wrong, or resisting the impulse to do wrong.

Question 107

Thought Insertion

Answer 107

Is when schizophrenics believe that other people’s thoughts are appearing in their mind.

Question 108

Thought Broadcasting

Answer 108

Is when schizophrenics believe that they can broadcast their thoughts to others.

Question 109

Delusions tend to fall into three general categories.

Answer 109

1. Delusions of influence focus on the belief that one’s body, thinking or behaviour are being affected or controlled by external forces. Patients with these delusions might claim that ASIO has implanted a control device in their brains. They can have though inception and thought broadcasting.
2. Self-significant delusions involve exaggerated beliefs about oneself. People with these delusions may believe, for example, that certain TV commercials contain coded messages about their innermost secrets; that they are truly an emperor, the pope or even God (delusions of grandeur); or that they are guilty of some terrible sin.
3. People displaying delusions of persecution believe that others are out to harass or harm them.They may claim, for example, that they are always being followed, that space aliens are trying to steal their internal organs, or that they are the targets of an assassin.T

Question 110

Fitness to Stand Trial

Answer 110

For some individuals experiencing mental illness, they Can be protected from prosecution for committing a crime if at the time of their trial they are deemed mentally incompetent. It is important that someone standing trial is able to understand the charges they are being accused of in order to ensure a fair trial. The key reasons why it is important the accused is fit to stand trial includes:

• Avoiding inaccurate verdicts
• Maintaining the ‘moral dignity’ of the trial process, and
• Avoiding unfairness

Question 111

How was mental illness perceived in the following periods:
Prehistoric
Ancient Greece
Middle Ages
Enlightenment

Answer 111

Prehistoric - Demonic/supernatural
Ancient Greece - Brain Disease
Middle Ages - Demonic/supernatural
Enlightenment - Illness