1. Psychological Disorders
Beware of “psychology student’s disease”

2. Anxiety Disorders Specific Anxiety Disorders:
Anxiety – vague feelings of apprehension and nervousness
Specific Anxiety Disorders:
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)– persistent, unexplained feelings of apprehension and tenseness (must experience at least 3 symptoms of anxiety – pg. 535)
Panic Disorder – sudden episodes of intense, unexplained panic
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) – unwanted, repetitive thoughts and actions (obsessions – thoughts; compulsions – actions) – chart page 539

3. Specific Anxiety Disorders (cont.)
Phobia – disruptive, irrational fears
Agoraphobia – fear of having a panic attack in the wrong place or fear of open spaces (usually stay home)
Social phobia – fear of being scrutinized by others, avoid speaking up, eating out, going to parties
Other phobias – triskaidekaphobia (number 13), uxoriphobia (one’s wife), Santa Clautrophobia (getting stuck in chimneys), panaphobia (everything), phobophobia (fear of fear), anthophobia (flowers), trichophobia (hair), numerophobia (numbers); page 537
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder – triggered by stress; reliving a severely upsetting event in unwanted recurring memories and dreams; symptoms include: haunting memories, nightmares, social withdrawal, jumpy anxiety, depression

4. Explanation for Anxiety Disorders
Behaviorism:
Conditioning - can learn to associate certain things w/ anxiety-causing events from past
Observational Learning – children can learn fears just from watching their parents
Reinforcement – people gain release from anxiety by avoiding the situation/thing (reinforces that behavior)

5. Explanation for Anxiety Disorders
Biological Factors:
Heredity – predispositions for disorders (identical twins raised in different families have similar phobias)
Brain Function – higher degree of activity in frontal lobes (planning, attention, processing emotion) of people w/ OCD; amygdala (emotions) different in people w/ phobias
Neurotransmitters – OCD linked to low serotonin levels (mood/arousal)
Amygdala

6. Mood Disorders
Major Depressive Disorder – experience at least 2 weeks of depressed moods (pg. 543) & diminished interest in activities for no apparent reason; lack of energy; sleep disturbances; possible suicide risk
Bipolar Disorder –
alternate between major
depression and mania
(unrealistically optimistic,
wildly hyper, agitated)
Mark Twain
Vincent van Gogh

7. Explanations for Mood Disorders
Social-Cognitive Factors:
Learned Helplessness – can produce depression (negative thoughts) & self-fulfilling prophesies
Attributions (Explanatory Style) – depressed people are more likely to explain bad events as stable (lasting forever), global (affects everything), internal (my fault) – attributions lead to hopelessness & depression
Culture – depression less common in collectivist cultures – social supports available, feel less responsible for bad events

8. Explanations for Mood Disorders
Biological Factors:
Heredity – Major Depressive Disorder: identical twins - if one has, other has 50 % chance of developing it; only 20% for fraternal twins; Bipolar (identical twins: 70% chance)
Brain Function – Major Depressive Disorder: brain is less active during depression (esp. frontal lobes that are active for positive emotions) but more active in manic states
Neurotransmitters – Major Depressive Disorder connected w/ low levels of serotonin, dopamine, & norepinephrine

9. Dissociative Disorders: General Information
dissociate – to separate or divide
Breakdown in a person’s normal conscious experience (loss of memory or identity)
Believed by some to be an attempt to escape from part of self that one fears (reduce anxiety)

10. Dissociative Disorders
Dissociative amnesia – memory loss (including basic knowledge of self) as a reaction to specific, stressful events (basically amnesia with no physical cause)
Dissociative fugue – extended form of dissociative amnesia; loss of one’s identity is accompanied by travel to a new location
Dissociative identity disorder – person is said to exhibit two or more distinct and alternating personalities that take control at different times; usually suffered sever physical, psychological, or sexual abuse as a child; existence is controversial

11. Dissociative Disorders Debate
Evidence for: distinct brain states associated w/ different personalities, changes in eye-muscle balance, eye color, scars, handedness, and vision
Evidence against: virtually nonexistent outside North America

12. DID Quick Write
After watching the documentary, what do you think about the dissociate disorders debate (especially surrounding DID) now?
Do you think it is a real disorder or are these people misdiagnosed and under the influence of a persuasive therapist?
Explain how you came to your conclusion.

13. Schizophrenia: General Information
Not one disorder
“Schiz” – break from reality (psychosis)
Inappropriate behaviors & emotions
word salad – nonsense talks
Hallucinations (false perceptions) – most often auditory, can be visual or tactile
Delusions (false beliefs) of:
grandeur – you are more
important than you really are
persecution – people are out
to get you
sin or guilt – being responsible for some misfortune
influence – being controlled by outside forces “devil”

14. Schizophrenia Disorders
Paranoid schizophrenia – delusions , particularly grandeur & persecution; auditory & other hallucinations often support the delusions
Catatonic schizophrenia – variations in voluntary movement; alternates between two phases: excitement and stupor (flat emotions, appear to be in a daze & waxy flexibility)
Disorganized schizophrenia – bizarre behavior, delusions, and hallucinations; visibly disturbed (often described as “crazy”)
Undifferentiated schizophrenia – symptoms that are disturbed but are not clearly consistent with other types

15. Schizophrenia Explanations
Biological Factors:
Genetics:
predisposition – higher rates for people w/ sibling or parent (1 in 10) who has it (1 in 100 in general pop); in 2 if identical twin has it
Brain Structure:
small amounts of brain tissue & larger fluid-filled spaces
thalamus (routes sensory memory) is smaller
Brain Function:
less activity in frontal lobes
6x normal number of receptor sites for dopamine
Prenatal Viruses:
viral infection during middle of pregnancy (pg. 565)

16. Schizophrenia: Biological Explanations

17. Schizophrenia Explanations
Psychological Factors:
Stress & disturbed family communications– may contribute to the development of schizophrenia (for those have a predisposition)

18. Personality Disorders: General Information
Lasting, rigid patterns of behavior that seriously impair one’s social functioning
Usually evident by adolescence
The person often does not recognize the problem exists

19. Personality Disorders (related to anxiety)
Avoidant personality disorder – sensitive about being rejected; personal relationships difficult
Dependent personality disorder – behave in clingy, submissive ways & display a strong need to have others take care of them

20. Personality Disorders (odd or eccentric behaviors)
Paranoid personality disorder – shows deep distrust of other people; suspiciousness gets in the way of personal relationships
Schizoid personality disorder – detached from social relationships; hermits; avoid intimate interactions with others

21. Personality Disorders (dramatic or impulsive behaviors)
Borderline personality disorder – instability of emotions, self-image, behavior, and relationships
Antisocial personality disorder – (also known as psychopathic or sociopathic) no concern for the rights or feelings of other people; willing to engage in criminal behavior & shows no remorse; occurs more often in males & develops in adolescence ; often charming & clever; difficult to treat