Chapter 11 Flashcards
(44 cards)
Psychological disorders
clinically significant thoughts, emotions, or behavior patterns that cause serious suffering or interfere with a person’s ability to cope with everyday life
biopsychosocial model
assumed that three sets of influences (biological, psychological, and sociocultural) interact to produce specific psychological problems
Diathesis-Stress Model (theory)
a psychological disorder expresses itself when environmental stressors provide the circumstances to activate a biological predisposition; AKA Stress-vulnerability model
-epigenetics
Epigenetics
shows how our DNA and environment interact (a gene may lie dormant in one environment, but active in another)
Separate twins… one eats veggies and one eats junk… will one of them get diabetes?
Factors to consider in psychological disorder diagnosis
Level of dysfunction?
Alcohol use vs abuse
Perception of distress?
What bothers you may not bother others
Deviation from the social norm?
Diagnosis
The identification and characterization of an illness
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
most widely used diagnostic system
i. The most recent version is the DMS-5-TR
ii. Currently lists more than 200 mental disorders grouped into 20 broad categories on the basis of observable signs and symptoms
iii. The classification and codes in the DSM closely resemble those in the World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Classification of Disorders (ICD)
pos/neg of classifying psycho disorders depending on…
i. The nature of the disorder
ii. The individual being diagnosed
iii. Cultural norms
iv. Stigmas
Neurodevelopment disorders
(ND) - a group of disorders with onset occurring during the developmental periods (infancy, childhood, or adolescence); may be genetic, physiological, or environmental in nature
○ Symptoms focus on whether a person is exhibiting behaviors appropriate for their age or maturity range
i. To be diagnosed with an ND, impairments must impact social ability and limit functioning within society
Anxiety disorder
psychological disorder characterized by persistent or extreme anxiety
i. Subjective features - fear of the worst happening, fear of losing control, nervousness, and inability to relax
ii. Physical features - trembling, sweating, racing heart, elevated blood pressure, and faintness
Types of anxiety disorders
Social anxiety disorder
Generalized anxiety disorder
Panic disorder
Specific Phobia
Agoraphobia
Social anxiety disorder
marked by intense fear of being judged or watched by others; formerly called social phobia
i. People with social anxiety disorder become very anxious in social settings (class, parties, eating in public, peeing at trough-style urinals) where others might judge them
Generalized anxiety disorder
(GAD) - a prolonged experience of nonspecific anxiety or fear
i. Continually tense, agitated, and/or sleep deprived
Panic Disorder
An abrupt and recurring attack of fear/anxiety that is not triggered by a specific object or situation
i. Attacks typically last a few minutes
Specific Phobia
persistent, irrational fear of a specific object or situation, marked by avoidance
i. To be diagnosed with a phobic disorder, the fear must lead to avoidance behavior that interferes with normal life
Agoraphobia
fear of places or social situations
i. Crowded areas, standing in line, being outside of home, enclosed spaces, wide open spaces
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
(OCD) - Persistent, unwanted thoughts or ideas (obsessions) and the need to perform repetitive acts (compulsions) to reduce anxiety their obsessions produce
i. May be manifested as:
i. Hoarding - plagued by fear of throwing away something they may need
ii. Checking - re-check actions a number of times before anxiety will lessen; number of checks tends to increase
iii. Counting - preoccupied with counting (steps, words, tiles) that it disrupts daily life
Post-traumatic stress disorder -
disorder follows a traumatic event; characterized by intense, persistent anxiety, and avoidance of stimuli associated with the event
○ Sufferers may experience flashbacks, have sleep problems or nightmares, experience social withdrawal, and irritable outbursts
Stimulus generalization
occurs when a person experiences a fearful event and later develops a fear of similar events, hypervigilance
Major depressive disorder
a severe depression, including depressed mood or loss of interest, lasting two or more weeks; AKA clinical depression
Persistent depressive disorder
a moderate depression lasting a majority of days for two years or more; sometimes referred to as dysthymic disorder
○ Studies suggest that a combination of medical therapy (drugs) and cognitive-behavior therapy is the best treatment regimen for mood disorders… better than each alone
Bipolar Disorder
- a disorder characterized by extreme emotional changes; periods of mania alternate with periods of depression
i. Often develops between puberty ~25 -> but tends to be lifelong disorder
ii. Treatment often involves taking an anti-depressant and lithium (mood stabilizer for mania)
iii. Bipolar I: at least 1 severe manic episode, which likely causes hospitalization (due to psychosis)
iv. Bipolar II: at least 1 hypomanic episode (elevated mood, lack of sleep, lots of energy)
Mood Disorders
○ The biological perspective:
i. Depression is a whole-body disorder - it involves genetic predispositions and abnormalities in brain structure and function (including neurotransmitter systems)
ii. SSRIs, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor - antidepressant meds, allows serotonin to stay in system
mood disorders ○ Social cognitive perspective:
i. Views depression as an ongoing cycle of stressful experiences (interpreted by negative beliefs and intensified by rumination) leading to negative moods and actions, thus fueling more stressful experiences
