Unit 12 Abnormal Psychology s1
Unit 12 Abnormal Psychology
12.1 Perspectives on Psychological Disorders
· How should we define psychological disorders?
· How should we understand disorders—as sicknesses that need to be diagnosed and cured, or as natural responses to a troubling environment?
· How should we classify psychological disorders? And can we do so in a way that allows us to help people without stigmatizing them with labels?
psychological disorder: deviant, distressful, and dysfunctional patterns of thoughts, feelings, or behaviors.
attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): a psychological disorder marked by the appearance by age 7 of one or more of three key symptoms extreme inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity.
12.1.2 Understanding Psychological Disorders
medical model: the concept that diseases, in this case psychological disorders, have physical causes that can be diagnosed, treated, and, in most cases, cured, often through treatment in a hospital.
12.1.3 Classifying Psychological Disorders
DSM-IV-TR: the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, updated as a 2000 “text revision”; a widely used system for classifying psychological disorders.
The “un-DSM”—A Diagnostic Manual of Human Strengths
· Wisdom and knowledge—curiosity; love of learning; critical judgment and open-mindedness; creativity; and perspective (wisdom)
· Courage (overcoming opposition)—bravery/valor; industry and perseverance; integrity and honesty; and vitality (zest and enthusiasm)
· Humanity—love; kindness; and social intelligence
· Justice—citizenship and teamwork; fairness and equity; and leadership
· Temperance—humility; self-control; prudence and caution; and forgiveness and mercy
· Transcendence—appreciation of beauty, awe/wonder; gratitude; hope and optimism; playfulness and humor; and spirituality and purpose
12.1.4 Labeling Psychological Disorders
The DSM has other critics who register a more fundamental complaint—that these labels are at best arbitrary and at worst value judgments masquerading as science.
12.2 Anxiety Disorders
anxiety disorders: psychological disorders characterized by distressing, persistent anxiety or maladaptive behaviors that reduce anxiety.
· Generalized anxiety disorder, in which a person is unexplainably and continually tense and uneasy
· Panic disorder, in which a person experiences sudden episodes of intense dread
· Phobias, in which a person feels irrationally and intensely afraid of a specific object or situation
· Obsessive-compulsive disorder, in which a person is troubled by repetitive thoughts or actions
· Post-traumatic stress disorder, in which a person has lingering memories, nightmares, and other symptoms for weeks after a severely threatening, uncontrollable event
12.2.1 Generalized Anxiety Disorder
generalized anxiety disorder: an anxiety disorder in which a person is continually tense, apprehensive, and in a state of autonomic nervous system arousal.
12.2.2 Panic Disorder
panic disorder: an anxiety disorder marked by unpredictable minutes-long episodes of intense dread in which a person experiences terror and accompanying chest pain, choking, or other frightening sensations.
12.2.3 Phobias
phobia: an anxiety disorder marked by a persistent, irrational fear and avoidance of a specific object, activity, or situation.
12.2.4 Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD): an anxiety disorder characterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts (obsessions) and/or actions (compulsions).
12.2.5 Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): an anxiety disorder characterized by haunting memories, nightmares, social withdrawal, jumpy anxiety, and/or insomnia that lingers for four weeks or more after a traumatic experience.
post-traumatic growth: positive psychological changes as a result of struggling with extremely challenging circumstances and life crises.
12.2.6 Understanding Anxiety Disorders
Fear Conditioning When bad events happen unpredictably and uncontrollably, anxiety often develops
ObservationalLearning We may also learn fear through observational learning—by observing others’ fears.
NaturalSelection We humans seem biologically prepared to fear threats faced by our ancestors.
Genes Some people more than others seem predisposed to anxiety. Genes matter.
The Brain Generalized anxiety, panic attacks, PTSD, and even obsessions and compulsions are manifested biologically as an overarousal of brain areas involved in impulse control and habitual behaviors.
12.3 Somatoform Disorders
somatoform disorder: psychological disorder in which the symptoms take a somatic (bodily) form without apparent physical cause.
conversion disorder: a rare somatoform disorder in which a person experiences very specific genuine physical symptoms for which no physiological basis can be found.
hypochondriasis: a somatoform disorder in which a person interprets normal physical sensations as symptoms of a disease.
12.4 Dissociative Disorders
dissociative disorders: disorders in which conscious awareness becomes separated (dissociated) from previous memories, thoughts, and feelings.
12.4.1 Dissociative Identity Disorder
dissociative identity disorder (DID): a rare dissociative disorder in which a person exhibits two or more distinct and alternating personalities. Formerly called multiple personality disorder.
12.5 Mood Disorders
mood disorders: psychological disorders characterized by emotional extremes. See major depressive disorder, mania, and bipolar disorder.
12.5.1 Major Depressive Disorder
major depressive disorder: a mood disorder in which a person experiences, in the absence of drugs or a medical condition, two or more weeks of significantly depressed moods, feelings of worthlessness, and diminished interest or pleasure in most activities.
12.5.2 Bipolar Disorder
bipolar disorder: a mood disorder in which the person alternates between the hopelessness and lethargy of depression and the overexcited state of mania.
12.5.3 Understanding Mood Disorders
-Many behavioral and cognitive changes accompany depression.
-Depression is widespread.
- Compared with men, women are nearly twice as vulnerable to major depression
- Most major depressive episodes self-terminate.
- Stressful events related to work, marriage, and close relationships often precede depression.
- With each new generation, depression is striking earlier (now often in the late teens) and affecting more people.
Suicide:
· national differences: Britain’s, Italy’s, and Spain’s suicide rates are little more than half those of Canada, Australia, and the United States. Austria’s and Finland’s are about double (WHO, 2008). Within Europe, the most suicide-prone people (Lithuanians) have been 14 times more likely to kill themselves than the least (Greeks).
· racial differences: Within the United States, Whites are nearly twice as likely as Blacks to kill themselves (NIMH, 2002).
· gender differences: Women are much more likely than men to attempt suicide (WHO, 2008). But men are two to four times more likely (depending on the country) to succeed
· age differences and trends: In late adulthood, rates increase, dramatically so among men (. In the last half of the twentieth century, the global rate of annual suicide deaths rose from 10 to 18 per 100,000
· other group differences: Suicide rates are much higher among the rich, the nonreligious, and those who are single, widowed, or divorced Gay and lesbian youth much more often suffer distress and attempt suicide than do their heterosexual peers Among 1.3 million Swedish military conscripts at age 18, thinner men were more likely than their rounder age-mates to later commit suicide .In England and Wales, there is a 17 percent increased risk of suicide among those born in the spring and early summer rather than autumn
12.6 Schizophrenia
schizophrenia: a group of severe disorders characterized by disorganized and delusional thinking, disturbed perceptions, and inappropriate emotions and actions.
delusions: false beliefs, often of persecution or grandeur, that may accompany psychotic disorders.
12.6.2 Onset and Development of Schizophrenia
12.6.3 Understanding Schizophrenia
dopamine—a sixfold excess for the so-called D4 dopamine receptor
Abnormal Brain Activity and Anatomy Modern brain-scanning techniques reveal that many people with chronic schizophrenia have abnormal activity in multiple brain areas.
etal-virus infections do appear to increase the odds that a child will develop schizophrenia.
Psychological Factors
By comparing the experiences of high-risk and low-risk children who do and do not develop schizophrenia, researchers have so far pinpointed the following possible early warning signs:
· A mother whose schizophrenia was severe and long-lasting
· Birth complications, often involving oxygen deprivation and low birth weight
· Separation from parents
· Short attention span and poor muscle coordination
· Disruptive or withdrawn behavior
· Emotional unpredictability
· Poor peer relations and solo play
12.7 Personality Disorders
personality disorders: psychological disorders characterized by inflexible and enduring behavior patterns that impair social functioning.
antisocial personality disorder: a personality disorder in which the person (usually a man) exhibits a lack of conscience for wrongdoing, even toward friends and family members. May be aggressive and ruthless or a clever con artist.