Introduction to Psychology Class 19: Psychological Disorders and their Treatment Myers: , August 1 st, 2006

Psychological Disorders  Definition: A “harmful dysfunction” in which behavior is judged to be atypical, disturbing, maladaptive, and unjustifiable.  Perspectives : Middle Ages = Possession by demons Medical = Diagnosis of symptoms, therapy and treatment for cure Bio-psycho-social = Genes + Physiology + Environment+ Social Factors + Cultural Factors

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)  Continual autonomic nervous system arousal  Source of “free-floating” anxiety is inexplicable  Women > Men  Symptoms: tense, jittery, anticipating bad things, muscular tension, agitation, sleeplessness, trembling, perspiration, fidgeting, difficulty concentrating

Panic Disorder (AD)  Minute-long episode of intense dread in which a person experiences what seems like a heart attack  Palpitating heart, shortness of breath, choking, trembling, dizziness, chest pain  Smokers> Non-smokers  Often associated with Agoraphobia  Movie clip

Phobias (AD)  Persistent, irrational fear and avoidance of a specific object or situation  Movie clips TYPES OF PHOBIAS 1.Social phobias 2.Animal 3.Natural Environment 4.Blood-Injury-Injection 5.Situational

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (AD)  Characterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts (obsessions) and/or actions designed to reduce the obsessions (compulsions)  Young > Old  Common obsessions: dirt/germs, toxins, disaster, exactness, symmetry  Common compulsions: hand-washing, grooming, in/out of or checking doors, car brakes, homework  Movie clip

Explaining Anxiety Disorders  Good ol’ learning theory - Classical conditioning, Stimulus generalization, Reinforcement, Observational learning  Biological - Natural selection - Genes  Physiological: - Frontal lobe (OCD) - Amygdala and fear-learning circuits (GAD)

Dissociative Identity Disorder  A rare disorder in which a person exhibits 2 or more distinct and alternate personalities  Conscious awareness becomes separated from previous thoughts, memories and feelings  Also called Multiple Personality Disorder  Iatrogenic?  Movie clip

Personality Disorders  Characterized by inflexible and enduring patterns that impair social, vocational and interpersonal functioning  Axis II disorders (DSM-IV) - Schizoid PD - Paranoid PD - Borderline PD - Histrionic PD - Narcissistic PD - Antisocial PD (movie clip)