Unit 12: Abnormal Psychology
Outline Guide
v Perspectives on Psychological Disorders
§ How should we…
Ø Defining Psychological Disorders
§ Psychological Disorders
· Deviance (cultural/time)
¨ ADHD
Ø New assessments
· Harmful dysfunction
Ø Understanding Psychological Disorders
§ Medical Model
· Philippe Pinel
¨ Moral Treatment
¨ Medical Model (Mental Health Movement)
§ Biopsychosocial Approach
· Evidence of Cultural Effects
¨ Examples of non-culture bound disorders
Ø Classifying Psychological Disorders
§ Aims to:
§ DSM-IV-TR
· Evidence of reliability
· Criticisms:
· Un-DSM Clusters (6)
Ø Labeling Psychological Disorders
§ Roseham study
§ Media Portrayals
§ Self-fulfilling prophecy
§ Benefits
v Anxiety Disorders
Ø Generalized Anxiety Disorder
§ Symptoms
§ Age
Ø Panic Disorder
§ Feels like:
Ø Phobias
§ Specific
§ Social
§ Agoraphobia
Ø Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
§ Age
Ø Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
§ Symptoms are often reported by:
§ What determines if PTSD develops (3):
§ Overdiagnosed?
§ Problem with “debriefing”
§ Survivor Resiliency
· Victims often develop:
¨ Post-Traumatic Growth
Ø Examples:
Ø Understanding Anxiety Disorders
§ Learning Perspective
· Fear Conditioning
¨ Traumatic events
¨ Stimulus Generalization
¨ Reinforcement
· Observational Learning
§ Biological Perspective
· Natural Selection
¨ Modern Fears/non-fears & Evolution
¨ Compulsive acts and Survival
· Genes
¨ Identical twins
¨ Specific Genes
¨ Neurotransmitters
· The Brain
¨ Overarousal in:
Ø Anterior Cingulate Cortex
Ø Amygdala
v Somatoform Disorders
§ Variety of complaints
§ Cultural influence
Ø Conversion Disorder
§ Symptoms
§ Characteristics
Ø Hypochondriasis
§ Role of reinforcement
v Dissociative Disorders
§ Fugue State
§ Dissociation:
§ Normal dissociation
Ø Dissociative Identity Disorder
Ø Understanding Dissociative Disorder
§ Skeptics:
· Varying self/Role playing?
· Localized in time/place?
· Leading Therapists?
§ Evidence that DID is real disorder (3):
§ Psychoanalytic view:
§ Learning View:
§ Post-traumatic Explanation:
v Mood Disorders
Ø Major Depressive Disorder
§ “Common Cold”
§ Why are periods of depression helpful?
Ø Bipolar Disorder
· Mania
§ Recent Increase in Diagnoses
§ Characteristics of the Manic Phase:
· Creativity
¨ Those more prone:
§ What goes up comes down (3)
Ø Understanding Mood Disorders
· Behavioral/Cognitive Changes
· Widespread
· Women 2x as vulnerable
· Self-termination
¨ Recovery more likely if:
· Stressful Events
· Striking Earlier/Affecting More
§ Psychodynamic View
§ Biological Perspective
· Genetic Influences
¨ Identical Twins Chances
¨ Heritability
¨ Linkage Analysis
· The Depressed Brain
¨ Frontal Lobe (2)
¨ Hippocampus
· Biochemical Influences
¨ Norepinephrine
¨ Serotonin
¨ Drugs
· Social-Cognitive Perspective
¨ Negative Thoughts & Negative Moods Interact
Ø Learned Helplessness
§ Women
· Rumination
Ø Explanatory Style
§ Stable
§ Global
§ Internal
Ø Optimism vs. Pessimism
Ø Rise of Individualism
¨ Depression’s Vicious Cycle
Ø Pieces of Depression Puzzle (5)
Ø Hirt Study
Ø Can Break the Cycle by:
v Schizophrenia
Ø Symptoms of Schizophrenia
· Schizophrenia
§ Disorganized Thinking
· Delusions
· Word Salad
· Selective Attention
§ Disturbed Perceptions
· Hallucinations
§ Inappropriate Emotions & Actions
· Flat Affect
· Motor Behavior
· Catatonia
· Dysfunction/Disruption
Ø Onset & Development of Schizophrenia
§ Appears Suddenly vs. Develops Gradually
§ Subtypes:
· Paranoid
· Disorganized
· Catatonic
· Undifferentiated
· Residual
§ Positive Symptoms
· Examples
§ Negative Symptoms
· Examples
§ Chronic/Process
§ Acute/Reactive
Ø Understanding Schizophrenia
§ Brain Abnormalities
· Dopamine Overactivity
¨ Drugs
¨ Glutamate
· Abnormal Brain Activity & Anatomy
¨ Frontal Lobe
¨ Amygdala
¨ Shrinkage
¨ Thalamus
¨ Risk Factors
· Maternal Virus During Pregnancy
§ Genetic Factors
· Predisposition
· Prenatal Environment
· Adoption Studies
§ Psychological Factors
· High-Risk
v Personality Disorders
Ø Anxiety Cluster
§ Avoidant
Ø Eccentric Cluster
§ Schizoid
Ø Dramatic/Impulsive Cluster
§ Histrionic
§ Narcissistic
Ø Antisocial Personality Disorder
§ Why aren’t most criminals antisocial?
Ø Understanding Antisocial Personality Disorder
§ Genetics (2)
§ Early Signs
§ Frontal Lobe
§ Evidence against genetics
§ Biopsychosocial Explanation
v Rates of Psychological Disorders
Ø Poverty
Ø Time of Life
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