Abnormal Behavior:
Psychological Disorders
A. History, Classification Systems and Models
¡ No one absolute definition of psychological disorders.
¡ Continuum between mental health on one hand and pathology on the other.
B. History, Classification Systems and Models
¡ Proposed definitions include:
¡ A pattern of ________or psychological symptoms that causes significant personal stress and impairs the ability to function in one or more important areas of life, or both. (APA, 1994)
¡ A psychological disorder may exist when behavior is _________, disturbing, ___________ (types of behaviors that inhibit a person’s ability to adjust to particular situations.) and unjustifiable. (Myers, 1998)
¡ A psychological abnormality involves the presence of at least two of the following:
Distress
____________
Irrationality
Unpredictability
Unconventional and statistical rarity
Observer discomfort
¡ Sanity and insanity are legal rather than ___________ terms.
¡ Insanity
The ability of the defendant to distinguish right from wrong.
Historical Perspectives on Abnormal behavior
C. The ancient world
§ Greece
§ Hippocrates (460-377 BC) believed ________________ was the result of natural, as opposed to supernatural, causes.
§ Galen (130-200 AD) divided the causes of mental disorders into physical and psychological explanations.
§ In China in 200 AD, Chung Ching stated that both organ pathologies and stressful psychological situations were causes of_________________.
D. Historical Perspectives on Abnormal behavior
¡ The Middle Ages (500-1500 AD)
¡ In Europe, abnormal behavior viewed as ______________possession.
¢ Treatment involved prayer, laying on of hands, and exorcism by a clergy member.
¡ Islamic countries
¢ Humane mental hospitals were established (Baghdad 792 AD)
¢ Persian physician Ibn Sina (Avicenna, 980-1037) established principals for testing the _________________of new drugs.
¢ Still form the basis modern clinical drug trials.
E. Historical Perspectives on Abnormal behavior
¡ The Renaissance
¡ Led to re-emergence of the scientific approach in Europe.
¢ Spanish num Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) established the conceptual framework that the mind can be sick.
¢ Weyer (1515-1588) of Germany and Scot (1538-1599) of England used scientific skepticism to refute the concept of demonic possession.
¡ Humanitarian reforms of the 18th and 19th century.
¢ In the U.S., Benjamin Rush(1745-1813), the founder of American psychiatry, encouraged human treatment of mentally ill and the establishment of hospitals for their care.
¢ Historical Perspectives on Abnormal behavior
F. Scientific advances of the 20th century.
¡ Developments in technology such as MRI and PET scans have added to our knowledge of biological bases of psychological disorders.
¡ Development of psychopharmacology has provided effective treatments for many psychological disorders.
G. Models (or perspectives) of psychological disorders
¡ The_____________ model
¡ Emphasizes that mental illness needs to be diagnosed on the basis of its symptoms
¡ Cured only through therapy based on medical intervention.
¡ Recent discoveries______________ influenced abnormalities in brain structure and biochemistry contribute to wide range of disorders.
¢ Schizophrenia
¢ ____________
¢ Anxiety disorders
Medications influence many disorders and symptoms
Schizophrenia, depression and_____________disorders are often successfully treated medically.
H. Models (or perspectives) of psychological disorders
¡ The ______________ model
¡ Inspired by Freud
¢ Emphasizes the role of unconscious conflicts over aggressive and sexual impulses.
¢ Psychoanalytic therapy (the “talking cure”) dominated mid-20th century approaches.
¢ Currently practiced to a lesser extent.
¡ The behavioral model
¡ Emphasizes that psychological disorders have___________ as their basis.
¢ Ex. Inappropriate behaviors might have been reinforced and the punishment or extinction of appropriate behaviors may have occurred.
¡ Therapy relies on learning_____________ to change maladaptive behaviors.
I. Models (or perspectives) of psychological disorders
¡ The _____________ model
¢ Grew out of dissatisfaction with behaviorism’s limits.
¢ Emphasizes that irrational or maladaptive thought processes are the cause of psychological disorders.
¢ The greatest numbers of__________________ in psychology today use this model.
¡ The Biopsychosocial model
¢ Eclectic____________ model.
¢ Assumes that biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors interact to produce or exacerbate_________________ disorders.
¢ Therapists who subscribe to this view may recommend drugs as well as behavioral and cognitive therapies.
J. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV)
¡ Published by the American ________________Association, (APA), the DSM-IV, as it is known, is a widely used diagnostic classification system.
¡ Provides a set of criteria which allows______________ to make assessments.
¡ System based on five axes used by_________________ to provide a complete diagnosis.
¡ The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV)
K. Axis 1
¡ 16 major categories of________psychological disorders.
¢ Mood disorders
¢ Schizophrenic disorders
L. Axis 2
¡ Includes personality disorders and developmental disorders
M. Axis 3
¡ Includes medical conditions that might affect or interact with the client’s psychological disorder
¢ _______________
¢ Headaches
N. Axis 4
¡ A rating of recent social and____________ sources of stress,
¢ Death in the family
¢ Chronic unemployment
O. Axis 5
¡ Global_______________ of Functioning (GAF) made on a scale that ranges from 1 to 100, where 100 represents unimpaired function and 1 represents severe dysfunction.
P. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV)
¢ Example of therapists multiaxial diagnosis:
Axis 1: __________ dependence
Axis 2: dependent ___________ disorder
Axis 3: diabetes
Axis 4: death of spouse; unemployment
GAF= 60 (moderate symptoms, e.g., occasional panic attacks or moderate difficulty in social, occupational, or school functioning)
Q. Criticisms of classification
¡ System relies heavily on the medical perspective.
¡ Reliability in diagnosis remains a problem; psychological disorders have “fuzzy borders.”
¡ Different disorders share certain characteristics.
¢ Example
¢ A person might exhibit some, but not all, characteristics of a particular disorder.
¡ Controversy exists regarding the existence of some disorders:
¡ Dissociative identity disorder
¡ Premenstrual syndrome