1. Myers’ EXPLORING PSYCHOLOGY (4th Ed)
Chapter 12
Psychological Disorders
James A. McCubbin, PhD
Clemson University
Worth Publishers

2. Psychological Disorders
a condition in which behavior is judged:
atypical- not enough in itself
disturbing- varies with time & culture
maladaptive- harmful
unjustifiable- sometimes there’s a good reason

3. Historical Perspective
Perceived Causes
movements of sun or moon
lunacy- full moon
evil spirits
Ancient Treatments
exorcism, caged like animals, beaten, burned, castrated, mutilated, blood replaced with animal’s blood

4. Psychological Disorders
Medical Model
concept that diseases have physical causes
can be diagnosed, treated, and in most cases, cured
assumes that these “mental” illnesses can be diagnosed on the basis of their symptoms and cured through therapy, which may include treatment in a psychiatric hospital

5. Psychological Disorders
Bio-psycho-social Perspective
assumes that biological, sociocultural, and psychological factors combine and interact to produce psychological disorders
Biological
(Evolution,
individual
genes, brain
structures
and chemistry)
Psychological
(Stress, trauma,
learned helplessness,
mood-related perceptions
and memories)
Sociocultural
(Roles, expectations,
definition of normality
and disorder)

6. Psychological Disorders- Etiology
DSM-IV
American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fourth Edition)
a widely used system for classifying psychological disorders

7. Psychological Disorders- Etiology
Neurotic disorder (term seldom used now)
usually distressing but that allows one to think rationally and function socially
Freud saw the neurotic disorders as ways of dealing with anxiety
Psychotic disorder
person loses contact with reality
experiences irrational ideas and distorted perceptions

8. Anxiety Disorders Anxiety Disorders Generalized Anxiety Disorder
distressing, persistent anxiety or maladaptive behaviors that reduce anxiety
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
client is tense, apprehensive, and in a state of autonomic nervous system arousal
Phobia
persistent, irrational fear of a specific object or situation

9. Anxiety Disorders Common and uncommon fears 100 90 Percentage 80
Afraid of it
Bothers slightly
Not at all afraid of it
Being
closed in,
in a
small
place
alone
In a house
at night
Percentage
of people
surveyed
100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10
Snakes
in high,
exposed
places
Mice
Flying
on an
airplane
Spiders
and
insects
Thunder
lightning
Dogs
Driving
a car
In a
crowd
Cats

10. Anxiety Disorders Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Panic Disorder
characterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts (obsessions) and/or actions (compulsions)
Panic Disorder
marked by a minutes-long episode of intense dread in which a person experiences terror and accompanying chest pain, choking, or other frightening sensation

11. Anxiety Disorders Common Obsessions and Compulsions Among
People With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Thought or Behavior
Percentage*
Reporting Symptom
Obsessions (repetitive thoughts)
Concern with dirt, germs, or toxins
Something terrible happening (fire, death, illness)
Symmetry order, or exactness
Excessive hand washing, bathing, tooth brushing,
or grooming
Compulsions (repetitive behaviors)
Repeating rituals (in/out of a door,
up/down from a chair)
Checking doors, locks, appliances,
car brake, homework

12. Anxiety Disorders
PET Scan of brain of person with Obsessive/ Compulsive disorder
High metabolic activity (red) in frontal lobe areas involved with directing attention

13. Dissociative Disorders
conscious awareness becomes separated (dissociated) from previous memories, thoughts, and feelings
Dissociative Amnesia
selective memory loss often brought on by extreme stress

14. Dissociative Disorders
Dissociative Fugue
flight from one’s home and identity accompanies amnesia
Dissociative Identity Disorder
rare dissociative disorder in which a person exhibits two or more distinct and alternating personalities
formerly called multiple personality disorder

15. Mood Disorders Mood Disorders Major Depressive Disorder
characterized by emotional extremes
Major Depressive Disorder
a mood disorder in which a person, for no apparent reason, experiences two or more weeks of depressed moods, feelings of worthlessness, and diminished interest or pleasure in most activities

16. Mood Disorders Mania Bipolar Disorder
a mood disorder marked by a hyperactive, wildly optimistic state
Bipolar Disorder
a mood disorder in which the person alternates between the hopelessness and lethargy of depression and the overexcited state of mania
formerly called manic-depressive disorder

17. Mood Disorders- Suicide
Suicides per
100,000 people 70 60 50 40 30 20 10
Males
Females
The higher suicide rate
among men greatly
increases in late
adulthood

18. Mood Disorders-Suicide
Suicide rate
per 100,000
people
In recent decades teen
suicides have soared
Ages 15-19
All Ages 12 8 4

19. Mood Disorders-Depression
Percentage
of population
aged 18-84
experiencing
major
depression
at some
point In life 20 15 10 5
USA Edmonton Puerto Paris West Florence Beirut Taiwan Korea New
Rico Germany Zealand
Around the world
women are more
susceptible to

20. Mood Disorders-Bipolar
PET scans show that brain energy consumption rises and falls with emotional swings
Depressed state
Manic state

21. Mood Disorders-Depression
Altering any one component of the chemistry-cognition-mood circuit can alter the others
Brain
chemistry
Cognition
Mood

22. Mood Disorders-Depression1
Stressful
experiences 4
Cognitive and
behavioral changes 2
Negative
explanatory style 3
Depressed
mood
The vicious cycle of depression can be broken at any point

23. Schizophrenia Schizophrenia literal translation “split mind”
a group of severe psychotic disorders characterized by:
disorganized and delusional thinking
disturbed perceptions
inappropriate emotions and actions

24. Schizophrenia Delusions
false beliefs, often of persecution or grandeur, that may accompany psychotic disorders
Hallucinations
false sensory experiences such as seeing something without any external visual stimulus

25. Schizophrenia Subtypes of Schizophrenia
Paranoid: Preoccupation with delusions or hallucinations
Disorganized: Disorganized speech or behavior, or flat or inappropriate
emotion
Catatonic: Immobility (or excessive, purposeless movement),
extreme negativism, and/or parrotlike repeating of
another’s speech or movements
Undifferentiated Schizophrenia symptoms without fitting one of the
or residual: above types

26. Schizophrenia 40 30 Lifetime risk of developing schizophrenia 20
for relatives of
a schizophrenic 40 30 20 10
General
population
Siblings
Children
Fraternal
twin
of two
victims
Identical

27. Personality Disorders
disorders characterized by inflexible and enduring behavior patterns that impair social functioning
usually without anxiety, depression, or delusions

28. Personality Disorders
Antisocial Personality Disorder
disorder in which the person (usually male) exhibits a lack of conscience for wrongdoing, even toward friends and family members
may be aggressive and ruthless or a clever con artist

29. Personality Disorders
Adrenaline
Excretion(ng/min.) 15 10 5
Nonstressful
situation
Stressful
Those with criminal
convictions have lower
levels of arousal
No criminal conviction
Criminal conviction

30. Personality Disorders
Percentage
of criminal
offenders 35 30 25 20 15 10 5
Total crime
Thievery
Violence
Childhood
poverty
Obstetrical
complications
Both poverty
and obstetrical

31. Rates of Psychological Disorders
Percentage of Americans Who Have Ever Experienced Psychological Disorders
Disorder White Black Hispanic Men Women Totals
Ethnicity Gender
Alcohol abuse
or dependence % % % % % %
Generalized anxiety
Phobia
Obsessive-compulsive
disorder
Mood disorder
Schizophrenic
disorder
Antisocial personality
disorder