Psychological Disorders Flashcards
What is a mental disorder defined as (broadly)
Clinically recogniseable set of symptoms and behaviours that disrupt wellbeing and impair functioning at home/work/school. They cause distress to the person or others and usually require treatment
What are the four different contexts of psychopathology
Historical
Social
Cultural
Theoretical (psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioural, biological, systems, evolutionary)
What are the five different perspectives on psychological illness
Psychodynamic perspective
Cognitive-behavioural perspective
Biological perspective
Systems perspective
Evolutionary perspective
How does the psychodynamic perspective approach psychopathology?
Recognises three types of psychopathology
1. neuroses – issues in living that involve anxiety/interpersonal conflict (primarily environmental)
2. personality disorder – chronic, severe disturbances, alter capacity to work and relationships (environmental or genes)
3. psychoses – marked disturbances of contact with reality (primarily gene vulnerability)
How does the cognitive-behavioural perspective approach psychopathology?
Integrates classical and operant conditioning with cognitive-social perspective
Cognitive – many psychological problems reflect disfunctional attitudes, beliefs and cognitive processes
Behavioural – many psychological problems arise from conditioned emotional responses
How does the biological perspective approach psychopathology?
Roots of abnormal behaviour lies within brain
- neurotransmitter dysfunction
- abnormality of brain structures
- disrupted neural pathways
- genetics
- diathesis-stress model (underlying vulnerability with symptoms appearing under stress)
How does the systems perspective approach psychopathology?
Roots of abnormality lies in context of a social group
- each person a member of a system
- group functions as a system (each part of the system independent)
- what happens in one part influences the group
How does the evolutionary perspective approach psychopathology?
Focus on genotypes
Random variations in genotypes can lead to less adaptive phenotypes
What are the main differences between the DSM-5 and ICD?
DSM – applies to only mental disorders, ICD – all illness
DSM – by the APA, ICD – by the WHO
DSM – for profit, ICD – not-for-profit
DSM – used for researchers and US clinicians
ICD – clinicians outside US and front-line workers
What are the two types of symptoms experienced with schizophrenia?
Positive symptoms
Negative symptoms
What are positive symptoms of schizophrenia and some examples?
Something (the symptom) is present
- Delusions – false beliefs without objective evidence
- Hallucinations – false sensory perceptions, experienced as real but not based on external stimuli
- Disorganised speech or behaviour
What are negative symptoms of schizophrenia and some examples?
Absence / lack of normal behaviour
- Emotional flattening
- apathy
- social withdrawal
- lack of spontaneous movement
What are the different types of delusions?
Persecutory (most common)
Grandiosity
Delusions of control
Delusions of reference
Somatic
Thought broadcasting
Thought withdrawal
What are the different types of hallucinations?
Auditory (most common)
Visual
Somatic
Tactile
Olfactory (smell)
Gustatory (taste)
What is a thought disorder defined as?
Disorganised way of thinking that leads to abnormal ways of expressing language when speaking or writing
(Primary symptom of schizophrenia)
