Chapter 11 Abnormal Psychology

Dimensions of Abnormality What is abnormal? Statistical prevalence maladaptiveness and harmfulness personal discomfort cultural influences Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Dimensions of Abnormality Abnormal behavior behavior that is maladaptive, harmful, statistically unusual, personally distressing, and/or designated abnormal by the culture Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The Origins of Abnormal Behavior The Biological approach medical model The Psychological approaches The Sociocultural approach Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Prevalence Estimates Gender prevalence Ethnic, socioeconomic, and contextual factors Interactionist approaches diathesis-stress view environmental stress and biogenetic disposition interact to produce abnormal behavior Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Classifying Abnormal Behavior Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th ed.(DSM IV) Axis I - clinical disorders Axis II - personality disorders Axis III - general medical conditions Axis IV - psychosocial and environmental problems Axis V - global assessment of functioning Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Anxiety Disorders Anxiety disorder motor tension, hyperactivity, and apprehensive expectations and thoughts general anxiety disorder panic disorder Phobic disorders irrational, overwhelming, persistent fear of a particular object or situation agoraphobia Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Anxiety Disorders Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) individual has anxiety-provoking thoughts that will not go away (obsessions) and/or urges to perform repetitive, ritualistic behaviors to prevent or produce a future situation (compulsion) Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) anxiety symptoms that develop through exposure to any of several traumatic events Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Somatoform Disorders Somatoform disorder mental disorder in which the psychological symptoms take a physical form even though no physical causes can be found Hypochondriasis pervasive fear of illness and disease Conversion disorder individual experiences genuine physical symptoms, event though no physiological problems can be found Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Somatoform Disorders Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Dissociative Disorders psychological disorders that involve a sudden loss of memory or change in identity Psychogenic amnesia memory loss caused by extensive psychological trauma Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Dissociative Disorders Fugue individual develops amnesia and unexpectedly travels away from home and establishes a new identity Dissociative Identity Disorder (multiple personality disorder) the presence of two or more distinct personalities Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Mood Disorders Mood disorders psychological disorders characterized by wide emotional swings Major depression individual is deeply unhappy, demoralized, self-derogatory, and bored Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Mood Disorders Bipolar disorder characterized by extreme mood swings individual might be depressed, manic, or both Suicide Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Causes of Mood Disorders psychoanalytic explanations cognitive and learning explanations learned helplessness occurs when animals or humans are exposed to prolonged aversive stimulation over which they have no control Biogenetic explanations Sociocultural explanations Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Schizophrenic Disorders characterized by distorted thoughts and perceptions, odd communication, inappropriate emotion, abnormal motor behavior, and social withdrawal delusions hallucinations word salad Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Forms of Schizophrenic Disorders Disorganized schizophrenia individual has delusions and hallucinations that have little or no recognizable meaning Catatonic schizophrenia bizarre motor behavior which sometimes takes the form of an immobile stupor Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Forms of Schizophrenic Disorders Paranoid schizophrenia characterized by delusions of reference, grandeur, and persecution Undifferentiated schizophrenia characterized by disorganized behavior, hallucinations, delusions, and incoherence Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Personality Disorders develop when personality traits become inflexible and, thus, maladaptive Schizotypal personality disorder odd, eccentric cluster aspects of behavior are distasteful which leads to rejection or withdrawal from others Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Personality Disorders Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder anxious, fearful cluster characterized by anxious adjustment Borderline personality disorder dramatic, emotional, and erratic Antisocial personality disorder dramatic, emotional, and erratic cluster often resort to crime, violence, and delinquency Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Substance-Use Disorders characterized by one or more of the following: a pattern of pathological use that involves frequent intoxication, a need for daily use, and an inability to control use a significant impairment of social or occupational functioning attributed to drug use physical dependence that involves serious withdrawal problems Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Legal Aspects of Mental Disorders Commitment the process by which an individual becomes institutionalized in a mental hospital Civil commitment transpires when a judge deems an individual to be a risk to self or others due to a mental disorder Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Legal Aspects of Mental Disorders Criminal commitment occurs when a mental disorder is implicated in the commission of a crime Insanity a legal term considered mentally disordered and incapable of being responsible for his or her own actions Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Legal Aspects of Mental Disorders Insanity defense a plea of “innocent by reason of insanity,” used as a legal defense in criminal trials Competency an individual’s ability to understand and participate in a judicial proceeding Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.