Abnormal Psychology Unit 11

Topics in Abnormal Psychology  Defining Abnormality  Categories of Disorders  Anxiety Disorders  Somatoform Disorders  Dissociative Disorders  Mood/Affective Disorders  Schizophrenic Disorders  Personality Disorders  Theories/Causes of Disorders

Abnormal Psychology  Abnormal Psychology is the study of people who suffer from Psychological disorders  An Abnormality is defined as a characteristic that is:  Maladaptive(harmful) or disturbing to the individual or others  Unusual(not shared by many member of the population)  Irrational(Does not make sense to the avg person)

Insanity  The term Insane is widely used in our common language.  It actually is not a medical term, but a legal term.  The term insane is used to differentiate who can be held accountable for their crimes and who cannot

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders(DSM)  The DSM is a book Psychologists use to determine if a Psychological condition is present or not  The DSM-5, published in 2013 is the most up to date edition  This book contains the symptoms of everything considered to be a Psychological disorder

DSM  The DSM is an ever evolving manual, and new disorders and classifications are always being added with each edition  The first two editions listed Homosexuality as a disorder  Since many factors play into a diagnosis, Psychologists traditionally have used 5 axes to assess a client to determine a disorder

DSM  Axis I-Clinical disorders: Psychologists are assessing their client’s major disorder. These include major depression, anxiety disorder, and paranoid schizophrenia  Axis II-Personality and Developmental disorders. Personality disorders are maladaptive, long term ways a person has of interacting with the world. (Antisocial, paranoid, dependency)

DSM  Axis II: (cont.) Most developmental disorders emerge during childhood. Development is not happening in a typical manner. (ex. ADHD, Autism)  Axis III-Medical Conditions: Psychologists take note of any physical ailments such as cancer, a brain injury, etc that might affect a person’s psychological state

DSM  Axis IV-Psychosocial conditions: Environmental factors that could affect mental health. Death in family, break-up, other stressful life circumstances  Axis V-Global Assessment of Functioning: GAF is a scale for Psychologists to use to determine a person’s level of functioning. Higher the score, higher the overall functioning

Anxiety Disorders  We will be covering 3 Anxiety disorders  Phobias  Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)  Panic Disorder They all obviously have the common symptom of Anxiousness or Anxiety Note: OCD and PTSD used to be in this category but the DSM-5 moved them to different categories

Phobias  A specific Phobia is an intense, unwarranted fear of a situation or object.  One of the common characteristics is avoidance behavior. The individual will go to great lengths to avoid the object of the phobia  Claustrophobia(fear of enclose space), Agoraphobia(fear of public spaces), Acrophobia(fear of heights) are common.  Uncommon ones: Anglophobia, Homichlophobia, Hylophobia

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)  A person suffering from GAD experiences constant, low-level anxiety.  Continual feelings of anxiousness and nervousness, apprehension and worry  Symptoms must be continuous and ongoing for a minimum of 6-months to be diagnosed with GAD  Linked with issues in the Amygdala

Panic Disorders  People suffering from Panic disorder suffer from episodes of intense anxiety without being provoked  Panic attacks may become more frequent in occurrence due to anxiety stemming from fear of another attack  Usually 5-15 minutes. Dizziness, increased heart rate, trouble breathing

Theories on Anxiety Disorders  Cognitive: Anxiety disorders result from a dysfunctional way of thinking. Irrational thoughts  Behaviorist: all behaviors are learned. Phobias are learned through conditioning  Psychoanalytic: Anxiety stems from unresolved conflicts in the unconscious. (Id, Ego, Superego)

Somatic Symptom Disorders  DSM-5 greatly reduced the number of disorders in this category.  Somatic disorders occur when a person manifests a psychological problem through a physiological symptom.  Basically, a person experiences a physical problem without an identifiable cause

Hypochondriasis  A Hypochondriac frequently complains or worries about medical conditions without doctors being able to find a cause  Generally a Hypochondriac is overly alarmed with any physical or psychological symptoms  Often express doubts and disbelief in doctor’s diagnosis. Lots of “2 nd opinions”

Conversion Disorder  Similar to a Hypochondriac, a person with Conversion disorder claims conditions without a doctor finding any cause  Difference being that the ailment actually exists (blindness, paralysis, numbness)  May result from intense stress or other psychological factors.

Dissociative Disorders  Dissociative disorders involve a disruption in the conscious process.  Dissociative Amnesia is when a person cannot remember things and there is no physiological basis for the condition (i.e., damage to the Hippocampus)  Psychoanalytic theorists believe repression of traumatic events can lead to this amnesia

Dissociative Identity Disorder(DID)  DID was formally known as Multiple Personality disorder.  A person may have several distinct personalities instead of one integrated personality  Personalities can be of all age ranges and both sexes  Childhood sexual traumas commonly correlate to DID

Mood or Affective Disorders  People suffering from this disorder experience extreme or inappropriate emotions at any given time  The most common mood disorder is Major Depressive Disorder (unipolar disorder)  A person needs to experience more than 2 weeks of unhappiness without a clear reason  Feeling of worthlessness, change in sleep patterns, loss of appetite and fatigue are common

Mood Disorders  Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is when people experience depression at certain times of year, usually winter.  Sometimes due to lack of sunlight. Can be treated with Light therapy  Note: most people feel unhappy or depressed at different times, but usually there is a clear, defined reason

Bipolar Disorder  Bipolar disorder involves feelings of depression and manic episodes  Bipolar disorder used to be known as Manic Depression  The feelings of depression are pretty consistent with mood disorders but the manic episodes set it apart from unipolar depression

Bipolar Disorder  Manic episodes present themselves in different forms.  Some people suffering from Bipolar disorder feel a heightened sense of euphoria during their manic episodes.  Others feel confidence, power and high energy.  Anxiousness, irritability and poor decision making are common as well

Causes of Depression  Cognitive researcher Aaron Beck believes depression stems from unreasonably negative ideas people have about themselves, their world and their future  Beck called this idea the Cognitive Triad  Low levels of Serotonin in the brain may also lead to depression

Learned Helplessness  Learned Helplessness is when one’s prior experiences has led them to feel as if they have no control over how future events may effect them  Martin Seligman tested this with dogs and electrical shocks. Thought the same applied to humans  Depression and learned helplessness have been shown to correlate

Schizophrenia  Schizophrenia is quite possibly the most severe of all Psychological disorders  Frequently surfaces in young adults  Characteristics are a disordered, distorted thinking often shown through delusions, hallucinations, scrambled language and unusual motor behavior

Schizophrenia  Schizophrenics have delusions, which are beliefs that have no basis in reality.  Delusions of Persecution are when you believe that people are out to get you  Delusions of Grandeur are when you believe that you hold great power or influence, i.e., thinking you are a famous movie star, or a King

Schizophrenia  Schizophrenics often experience Hallucinations(perceptions in the absence of any sensory stimulation)  This includes hearing voices, talking to people who aren’t there, etc.  In addition, Schizophrenics often use disorganized language.  Neologisms-made up words  Clang Associations-words strung together that make no sense, but rhyme

Schizophrenia  Further symptoms include:  Inappropriate effect: responding inappropriately to situations. (Laughing at a funeral, crying during a comedy movie)  Flat effect: Having no emotional response  Waxy Flexibility: Move into abnormal positions and hold that position for long periods of time

Categories of Schizophrenia  Schizophrenic Symptoms are divided into two categories: Positive and Negative  Positive Symptoms: excesses in behavior, thought or mood  Negative Symptoms: Deficits in behavior. Dullness, catatonia (motor immobility)  DSM-IV had many sub-categories of Schizophrenia. DSM-5 condensed them.

Theories on Schizophrenia  The Dopamine Hypothesis is one of the most common theories on the causes of Schizophrenia  Essentially, there is a correlation between high levels of Dopamine and Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia Theories  Anti-psychotic drugs used to treat this disease result in lower Dopamine levels in the brain.  Over-use of these drugs, however, may cause negative side effects known as Tardive Dyskinesia(Muscle tremors, stiffness)  A drug called “L-dopa” is used to treat Parkinson’s (has symptoms like T.D.) Increases Dopamine, created Schizophrenic like symptoms

Schizophrenia Theories  Genetic predisposition may exist. Identical twins have 50% chance. 1% chance for general population  Diathesis-stress model: Stress may provoke the pre-disposed illness to show itself.  Double-Binds: when a person is given contradictory messages. May create distorted ways of thinking (Parents say drinking is bad, but drink heavily themselves)

Personality Disorders  Personality Disorders are Maladaptive ways of behaving that affect people’s ability to function typically  One of the most common personality disorders is Antisocial Personality Disorder  A.P.D. tend to have very little regard for the feelings of others. View world as hostile place. People need to lookout for themselves. Selfish/manipulative (common in criminals)

Personality Disorders  Dependent personality disorder is when people rely too much on the attention and help of others.  Paranoid personality disorder is when people feel persecuted. (no delusions/hallucinations like Schizophrenics)  Narcissistic personality disorder involves viewing yourself as the center of everything. Extreme self-love

Personality Disorders  Histrionic personality disorder is when a person demonstrates overly dramatic behavior. (Atypical levels of drama)  Many of these personality disorders are common and emerge in childhood and early adulthood.  These behaviors can affect home-life, work, social interactions etc.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)  OCD can be a debilitating disorder in which people have persistent, unwanted thoughts (obsessions) that cause them to act in particular ways.  Cleanliness is common with OCD. A person with OCD might need to wash their hands times a day, frequently apply hand sanitizer, etc.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)  People with OCD may exhibit behaviors in which they walk in specific patterns, turn light switches on/off multiple times, check locks feverishly etc.  Note: being neat and organized does not mean you have OCD  OCD is marked by a stressful feeling of NEEDING to engage in sometimes ritualistic, repetitive acts that ease the feeling of anxiety