1. Psychological Disorders
Chapter 12
Psychological Disorders
This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law:
Any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network;
Preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or in part, of any images
Any rental, lease or lending of the program.
ISBN:
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

2. What is Psychological Disorder?
The medical model takes a “disease” view, while psychology sees psychological disorder as an interaction of biological, cognitive, social, and behavioral factors
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

3. What is Psychological Disorder?
Psychopathology – Any pattern of emotions, behaviors, or thoughts inappropriate to the situation and leading to personal distress or the inability to achieve important goals
Synonymous terms include:
Mental illness
Mental disorder
Psychological disorder
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

4. What is Psychological Disorder?
Three classic signs suggest severe psychological disorder
Hallucinations
Delusions
Severe affective disturbances
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

5. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Changing Concepts of Psychological Disorder: The Cognitive-Behavioral Approach
Behavioral perspective – Abnormal behaviors can be acquired through behavioral learning – operant and classical conditioning
Cognitive perspective – Abnormal behaviors are influenced by mental processes – how people perceive themselves and their relations with others
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

6. The Biopsychology of Mental Disorder
Although most psychologists have reservations about the medical model, the do not deny the influence of biology on thought and behavior
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

7. Indicators of Abnormality
Other signs of a disorder are more subtle, and a diagnosis depends heavily on clinical judgment
Distress
Maladaptiveness
Irrationality
Unpredictability
Unconventionality and undesirable behavior
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

8. How are Psychological Disorders Classified?
The most widely used system, found in the DSM-IV, classifies disorders by their mental and behavioral symptoms
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

9. DSM IV
Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: the big book of disorders. DSM will classify disorders and describe the symptoms. DSM will NOT explain the causes or possible cures.

10. Overview of DSM-IV Classification System
DSM-IV – Fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; the most widely accepted classification system in the United States
Neurotic disorder or neurosis
Psychotic disorder or psychosis
In multiaxial diagnosis, professionals look at the entire person, not just their “abnormal” behavior
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

11. Two Major Classifications in the DSM
Neurotic Disorders
Psychotic Disorders
Distressing but one can still function in society and act rationally.
Person loses contact with reality, experiences distorted perceptions.
John Wayne Gacy

12. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Mood Disorders
Major depression – Form of depression that does not alternate with mania
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) – Believed to be caused by deprivation of sunlight
Bipolar disorder – Mental abnormality involving swings of mood from mania to depression
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

13. Major Depression
A.K.A. unipolar depression Unhappy for at least two weeks with no apparent cause. Depression is the common cold of psychological disorders.

14. Seasonal Affective Disorder
Experience depression during the winter months. Based not on temperature, but on amount of sunlight. Treated with light therapy.

15. Bipolar Disorder
Formerly manic depression. Involves periods of depression and manic episodes. Manic episodes involve feelings of high energy (but they tend to differ a lot…some get confident and some get irritable). Engage in risky behavior during the manic episode.

16. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Anxiety Disorders
Generalized anxiety disorder – Characterized by persistent and pervasive feelings of anxiety, without any external cause
Panic disorder – Marked by panic attacks that have no connection to events in a person’s present experience
Agoraphobia – Fear of public places/open spaces
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

17. Anxiety Disorders
a group of conditions where the primary symptoms are anxiety or defenses against anxiety. the patient fears something awful will happen to them. They are in a state of intense apprehension, uneasiness, uncertainty, or fear.

18. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Anxiety Disorders
Phobias– A group of anxiety disorders involving a pathological fear of a specific object or situation
Preparedness hypothesis – Notion that we have an innate tendency, acquired through natural selection, to respond quickly and automatically to stimuli that posed a survival threat to our ancestors
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

19. Generalized Anxiety Disorder GAD
An anxiety disorder in which a person is continuously tense, apprehensive and in a state of autonomic nervous system arousal. The patient is constantly tense and worried, feels inadequate, is oversensitive, can’t concentrate and suffers from insomnia.

20. Panic Disorder
An anxiety disorder marked by a minutes-long episode of intense dread in which a person experiences terror and accompanying chest pain, choking and other frightening sensations.

21. Obsessive-compulsive disorder
Persistent unwanted thoughts (obsessions) cause someone to feel the need (compulsion) to engage in a particular action. Obsession about dirt and germs may lead to compulsive hand washing.

22. Phobias
A person experiences sudden episodes of intense dread. Must be an irrational fear. Phobia List

23. Post-traumatic Stress Disorder a.k.a. PTSD
Flashbacks or nightmares following a person’s involvement in or observation of an extremely stressful event. Memories of the event cause anxiety.

24. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Somatoform Disorders
Somatoform disorders – Psychological problems appearing in the form of bodily symptoms or physical complaints
Conversion disorder – Somatoform disorder marked by paralysis, weakness, or loss of sensation, but with no discernable physical cause
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

25. Hypochondriasis
Has frequent physical complaints for which medical doctors are unable to locate the cause. They usually believe that the minor issues (headache, upset stomach) are indicative are more severe illnesses.

26. Conversion Disorder
Report the existence of severe physical problems with no biological reason. Like blindness or paralysis.
Pol Pot

27. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Somatoform Disorders
Glove Anesthesia
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

28. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Somatoform Disorders
Hypochondriasis – Somatoform disorder involving excessive concern about health and disease
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

29. Dissociative Disorders
Dissociative disorders – Group of pathologies involving “fragmentation” of the personality
Dissociative amnesia
Dissociative fugue
Depersonalization disorder
Dissociative identity disorder
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

30. Dissociative Disorders
Dissociative amnesia
A psychologically induced loss of memory for personal information
Dissociative fugue
Depersonalization disorder
Dissociative identity disorder
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

31. Dissociative Disorders
Dissociative amnesia
Dissociative fugue
Dissociative amnesia with the addition of “flight” from one’s home, family, and job
Depersonalization disorder
Dissociative identity disorder
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

32. Dissociative Disorders
Dissociative amnesia
Dissociative Fugue
Depersonalization disorder
Abnormality involving the sensation of mind and body having separated
Dissociative identity disorder
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

33. Dissociative Disorders
Dissociative amnesia
Dissociative Fugue
Depersonalization disorder
Dissociative identity disorder
Condition in which the individual displays multiple identities
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

34. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Eating Disorders
Anorexia nervosa – Eating disorder involving persistent loss of appetite that endangers an individual’s health – stemming from psychological reasons rather than organic causes
Bulimia – Eating disorder characterized be eating binges followed by “purges,” induced by vomiting or laxatives; typical initiated as a weight-control measure
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

35. Schizophrenic Disorders
Schizophrenia – Psychotic disorder involving distortions in thoughts, perceptions, and/or emotions
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

36. Major Types of Schizophrenia
Disorganized
Catatonic
Paranoid
Undifferentiated
Residual
Positive
Negative
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

37. Major Types of Schizophrenia
Features incoherent speech, hallucinations, delusions, and bizarre behavior
Disorganized
Catatonic
Paranoid
Undifferentiated
Residual Type
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

38. Major Types of Schizophrenia
Disorganized
Catatonic
Involves stupor or extreme excitement
Paranoid
Undifferentiated
Residual Type
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

39. Major Types of Schizophrenia
Disorganized
Catatonic
Paranoid
Prominent feature: combination of delusions and hallucinations
Undifferentiated
Residual Type
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

40. Major Types of Schizophrenia
Disorganized
Catatonic
Paranoid
Undifferentiated
Persons displaying a combination of symptoms that do not clearly fit in one of the other categories
Residual Type
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

41. Major Types of Schizophrenia
Disorganized
Catatonic
Paranoid
Undifferentiated
Residual Type
Individuals who have had a past episode of schizophrenia but are free of symptoms
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

42. Major Types of Schizophrenia
Positive Schizophrenia
Any form in which the person displays active symptoms (e.g. delusions, hallucinations)
Negative Schizophrenia
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

43. Major Types of Schizophrenia
Positive Schizophrenia
Negative Schizophrenia
Any form distinguished by deficits, such as withdrawal and poverty of thought processes
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

44. Possible Causes of Schizophrenia
Evidence for the causes of schizophrenia has been found in a variety of factors including genetics, abnormal brain structure, and biochemistry
Diathesis-stress hypothesis – Genetic factors place the individual at risk, but environmental stress factors transform this potential into an actual schizophrenic disorder
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

45. Personality Disorders
Personality disorders – Conditions involving a chronic, pervasive, inflexible, and maladaptive pattern of thinking, emotion, social relationships, or impulse control
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

46. Narcissistic Personality Disorder
Having an unwarranted sense of self-importance. Thinking that you are the center of the universe.

47. Antisocial Personality Disorder
Lack of empathy. Little regard for other’s feelings. View the world as hostile and look out for themselves.

48. Personality Disorders
Borderline personality disorder – An unstable personality given to impulsive behavior
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

49. Dependent Personality Disorder
Rely too much on the attention and help of others.

50. Histrionic Personality Disorder
Needs to be the center of attention. Whether acting silly or dressing provocatively.

51. Obsessive –Compulsive Personality Disorder
Overly concerned with certain thoughts and performing certain behaviors. Not as extreme as OCD anxiety.

52. Parent-child problems
Adjustment Disorders and Other Conditions That May Be a Focus of Clinical Attention
Mild depression
Marital problems
Physical complaints
Academic problems
Parent-child problems
Job problems
Bereavement
Malingering
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

53. Developmental Disorders
Autism – A developmental disorder marked by disabilities in language, social interaction, and the ability to understand another person’s state of mind
Dyslexia – A reading disability, thought by some experts to involve a brain disorder
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

54. Developmental Disorders
Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder – A developmental disability involving short attention span, distractibility, and extreme difficulty in remaining inactive for any period
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

55. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Shyness
Shyness, a distressing pattern of avoiding or withdrawing from social contact is treatable, but it is not a DSM-IV disorder
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

56. What are the Consequences of Labeling People?
Ideally, accurate diagnoses lead to proper treatments, but diagnoses may also become labels that depersonalize individuals and ignore the social and cultural contexts in which their problems arise
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

57. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
The Plea of Insanity
Insanity – A legal term, not a psychological or psychiatric one, referring to a person who is unable, because of a mental disorder or defect, to conform his or her behavior to the law
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

58. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
End of Chapter 12
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007