Psychological Disorders

Question 1

Psychological Disorders

Answer 1

• only recently developed
• before 1700’s, western society believed these to be demonic possesses
• replaced by medical model
• psychological disorders considered diseases
• proximal causes, denied symptoms, potential cures

Question 2

Defining Abnormality

Answer 2

1. Infrequency: relatively few people show the behavior
2. Norm Violation: behavior contradicts societal norms
3. Personal Suffering: individual experience discomfort and distress from behavior
4. Criteria of Abnormality vary: culture, context, age

Question 3

Bio-psychosocial Model

Answer 3

• combination of biological, psychological, and social cultural factors cause mental disorders
  1. Bio Factors: anatomy/physical of brain
  2. Psychological Factors: thought process
  3. Social Factors: societal pressures and influences

Question 4

Classification Systems

Answer 4

• goal for clinical psychology has been to develop categories for mental disorders
• North America: diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM5)
• Europe: International Classification of Diseases

Question 5

DSM-IV: 5 Axes

Answer 5

1. Axis I Major Mental Disorders: major depression, anxiety disorders, somatoform disorders
2. Axis II Lifelong Conditions: personality disorders, mental retardation
3. Axis III Medical Conditions that might Impact Mental Health: HIV, cancer
4. Axis IV Psychological and Environmental Problems: poverty, family strife
5. Axis V Rating of Current Level of Functioning: 1 to 100

Question 6

Anxiety Disorders

Answer 6

1. Phobia: intense, irrational fear of an object or situation
   - specific phobias: heights, blood, animals, etc.
   - social phobias
   - agoraphobia: fear of being away from safe place/person
2. Generalized Anxiety Disorders: excessive anxiety not triggered by specific object or situation
3. Panic Disorders
4. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OSD): obsessive thoughts motivate compulsive behavior

Question 7

Mood Disorders

Answer 7

• Depression:
  1. Major Depressive Disorder: severely depressed mood, >2 weeks, feelings of worthlessness, lethargy
  2. Dysthymia: less severe symptoms, last at least 2 years
• Biological Factors: some relation with neurotransmitters (norepinephrine, serotonin); patterns of brain activity (left cortex>right)

Question 8

Depression: Psychological Factors

Answer 8

• helplessness theory: people subject to depression attribute negative experiences to internal causes
• failure is mine, success is circumstance
• “Learned Helplessness”: experiment with dogs jumping over walls

Question 9

Bipolar Disorders

Answer 9

• unstable emotional condition characterized by cycles of mania and depression
• mania must last at least 1 week
• grandiosity, irritability, sexual indiscretion
• depressive phase mut like major depression
• people cycle at different rates
• sometimes manic phase is very productive

Question 10

Dissociative Disorders

Answer 10

• conditions in which normal thought processes are severely disjointed, creating significant disruptions in memory, awareness, or personality
• dissociative identity disorder, amnesia, fugue

Question 11

Dissociative Identity Disorder

Answer 11

• formerly “multiple personality disorder”
• presence of two or more distinct identities within an individual that sometimes take control of behavior
• often associated with severe childhood abuse and trauma
• some lingering doubts about its status

Question 12

Dissociative Amnesia

Answer 12

• sudden loss of memory for significance personal info
• typically for specific traumatic event or time period
• time period can be for extended length

Question 13

Dissociative Fugue

Answer 13

• sudden loss of memory for ones personal history
• accomplished by an abrupt departure from home
• assuming new identity
• usually triggered by stressful life events

Question 14

Schizophrenia

Answer 14

• profound disruption of basic psychological process
• distorted perception of reality
• altered or blunted emotion
• disturbances in thought, motivation, behavior

Question 15

Schizophrenia DSM IV

Answer 15

• requires 2 or more symptoms present for at least 1 month with sings of disorder lasting for at least 6 months
• delusion, hallucination, disorganized speech, grossly disorganized behavior, negative symptoms

Question 16

Schizophrenia Symptoms

Answer 16

• delusion: patiently false belief system
• hallucination: false perceptual experiences
• disorganized speech: severe disruption in semantic coherence
• grossly disorganized behavior: behavior that is inappropriate for setting goals
• negative symptoms: emotional withdrawal, poverty of speech and motivation

Question 17

Paranoid Schizophrenia

Answer 17

• dominated by delusions, often with hallucinations resulting in unpredictable behavior
• less disorganized behavior and less withdrawal
• 40%

Question 18

Catatonic Schizophrenia

Answer 18

• AH periods of extreme withdrawal and extreme excitement
• remain motionless for hours or days: waxy flexibility
• suddenly become very animated, impulsive, even frenzied
• 8%

Question 19

Disorganized Schizophrenia

Answer 19

• delusions, hallucinations, negatively hygiene, disorganized behavior, prevalent among homeless
• 5%

Question 20

Undifferent Schizophrenia

Answer 20

• patterns of disorganized behavior that do not fall into other types
• 40%

Question 21

Genetic Factors of Schizophrenia

Answer 21

• monozygotic vs. dizygotic twins

- no smoking gun gene

Question 22

Dopamine Hypothesis of Schizophrenia

Answer 22

• Schizophrenia caused by excess dopamine activity

- treatment: dopamine blockers

Question 23

Neuroanatomy of Schizophrenia

Answer 23

• changes in gross anatomy of the brain
• Thompson showed significant loss of gray mater across adolescence
• all adolescents lose some gray matter to pruning
• much larger loss for diagnosed individual

Question 24

Personality Disorders

Answer 24

• Axis II: dysfunctional development outcomes; not so much severe disorders
• Three Clusters of Personality Disorders: odd-eccentric; dramatic-erratic; anxious-fearful

Question 25

Odd-Eccentric Cluster A

Answer 25

- Paranoid: suspiciousness, distrust, antagonism, social isolation, detachment, treatment is tricky - Schizoid: indifferent to others, social isolation, lack of intimacy - Schizotypal: odd behavior and speech, unusual preoccupations and fears, magical thinking, trouble with relationships and lack of intimacy bothers them

Question 26

Dramatic-Erratic Cluster B

Answer 26

- Historic: excessive emotionally, center of attention, shallow feelings, content need for approval - Narcissistic: obsessive self-interest, excessive self-importance, exaggerate achievement - Antisocial: impulsive, irresponsible, lack of morality

Question 27

Anxious-Fearful Cluster C

Answer 27

- Dependent: avoid being alone, fears of being abandoned, over reliance on others, passive in relationships - Obsessive-Compulsive: preoccupied with rules, orderliness, control, inability to discard things, unwillingness to show affection - Avoidant: excessive shyness, feelings of inadequacy, difficulty with intimacy, overestimate problems

Question 28

ADHD

Answer 28

- 8% of children - impulsive, difficulty being still - problems with attention and decision making - hyperactive

Question 29

Autism (DSM IV)

Answer 29

- problems with communication, social deficits, understanding and sharing feelings - routine following, representative behavior - 3 years of diagnosis

Question 30

DSM 5: 3 year olds

Answer 30

- axis system replaced with list of disorders - expanded decisions and addictions - dementia and amnestic disorders: major and mild neurological disorders - autism subtypes now under one timer - paraphiliac disorders: sexual deviance, not disorder unless distressing, harmful, or impairing