1. Essentials of Understanding Psychology
9th Edition
By Robert Feldman
PowerPoints by Kimberly Foreman
Revised for 9th Ed by Cathleen Hunt
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2. Chapter 12: Psychological Disorders
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3. MODULE 37: Normal Versus Abnormal: Making the Distinction
How can we distinguish normal from abnormal behavior?
What are the major perspectives on psychological disorders used by mental health professionals?
What are the major categories of psychological disorders?
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4. Defining Abnormality
Behavior that causes people to experience distress and prevents them from functioning in their daily lives
As deviation from the average
As deviation from the ideal
As a sense of personal discomfort
As the inability to function effectively
As a legal concept
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5. Perspectives on Abnormality
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6. Six Perspectives Medical Perspective
Suggests that when an individual displays symptoms of abnormal behavior, the fundamental cause will be found through a physical examination of the individual
Hormonal imbalance
Chemical deficiency
Brain injury
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7. Six Perspectives Psychoanalytic Perspective Behavioral Perspective
Abnormal behavior stems from childhood conflicts over opposing wishes regarding sex and aggression
Freud
Behavioral Perspective
The behavior itself is the problem
Uses basic principles of learning
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8. Six Perspectives Cognitive Perspective Humanistic Perspective
Assumes that cognitions (thoughts and beliefs) are central to a person’s abnormal behavior
Humanistic Perspective
Concentrates on the view of people as basically rational, oriented toward a social world, and motivated to seek self-actualization
Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow
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9. Six Perspectives Sociocultural Perspective
Assumes that people’s behavior is shaped by the kind of family group, society, and culture in which they live
Culture may cause or support abnormal behaviors
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10. DSM-IV-TR: Determining Diagnostic Distinctions
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision
Axis I: Clinical Disorders
Axis II: Personality Disorders and Mental Retardation
Axis III: General Medical Conditions
Axis IV: Psychosocial and Environmental Problems
Axis V: Global Assessment of Functioning
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11. Major Diagnostic Categories
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12. DSM-IV-TR: Determining Diagnostic Distinctions
Conning the Classifiers: The Shortcomings of DSM-IV-TR
David Rosenhan, et al. (1970s)
Sought admission to mental hospitals based on statement that he or she was hearing voices
Pseudo-patients acted in a normal way after that and the hospitals still diagnosed them as severely abnormal
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13. MODULE 38: The Major Psychological Disorders
What are the major psychological disorders?
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14. Anxiety Disorders
When anxiety occurs without external justification and begins to affect people’s daily functioning
4 major types
Phobic disorder
Panic disorder
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
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15. Phobic Disorders
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16. Anxiety Disorders Phobic Disorder
Intense, irrational fear of a specific object or situation
Social phobia
Fear of strangers
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17. Anxiety Disorders Panic Disorder Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Panic attacks
Anxiety suddenly rises to a peak and one feels a sense of impending, unavoidable doom
Can last from a few seconds to several hours
Agoraphobia
Fear of being in a situation in which escape is difficult and help unavailable
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Long-term, persistent anxiety and uncontrollable worry – “free floating” anxiety
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18. Anxiety Disorders Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Obsession Compulsion
Persistent unwanted thought or idea that keeps recurring
Compulsion
Irresistible urges to repeatedly carry out some act that seems strange and unreasonable
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19. Anxiety Disorders The Causes of Anxiety Disorders Genetic factors
Overactive autonomic nervous system
Environmental factors
Learned response to stress
Cognitive perspective
Inappropriate and inaccurate thoughts and beliefs about circumstances in a person’s world
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20. Somatoform Disorders
Psychological difficulties that take on a physical (somatic) form, but for which there is no medical cause
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21. Somatoform Disorders Hypochondriasis Conversion Disorder
Constant fear of illness and a preoccupation with one’s health
Conversion Disorder
Actual physical disturbance such as the inability to see or hear or to move an arm or leg
Cause is purely psychological
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22. Dissociative Disorders
Characterized by the separation of different facets of a person’s personality that are normally integrated and work together
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23. Dissociative Disorders
Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)
Formerly multiple personality disorder
Characteristics of two or more distinct personalities, identities, or personality fragments
Controversial diagnosis
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24. Dissociative Disorders
Dissociative Amnesia
Significant, selective memory loss
“Forgotten” material is still present in memory but is repressed
Dissociative Fugue
People with amnesia take sudden, impulsive trips, and sometimes assume a new identity
After some time they suddenly remember
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25. Mood Disorders
Disturbances in emotional experience that are strong enough to intrude on everyday living
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26. Mood Disorders Major Depression
Severe form of depression that interferes with concentration, decision making, and sociability
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Figure 5 of Module 38

27. Mood Disorders Mania Bipolar Disorder
Extended state of intense, wild elation
Bipolar Disorder
Formerly known as manic-depressive disorder
Periods of alternating mania and depression
May occur over a few days or over a period of years
Periods of depression are usually longer than manic periods
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28. Mood Disorders Causes of Mood Disorders Genetic and biochemical roots
Psychological causes:
Result of feelings of loss or of anger directed at oneself
Behavioral theories
Stresses of life produce a reduction in positive reinforcers
Cognitive factors
Response to learned helplessness
Faulty cognitions (Aaron Beck)
Evolutionary psychology
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29. Schizophrenia
Refers to a class of disorders in which severe distortion of reality occurs
Characteristics
Decline from previous level of functioning
Disturbances of thought and speech
Formal thought disorder
Delusions
Hallucinations and perceptual disorders
Emotional disturbances
Withdrawal
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30. Types of Schizophrenia
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Figure 7 of Module 38

31. Types of Schizophrenia
Process schizophrenia
Symptoms develop slowly and subtly
Reactive schizophrenia
Symptoms are sudden and conspicuous
Type I Schizophrenia
Positive symptoms are dominant
Type II Schizophrenia
Negative symptoms are dominant
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32. Schizophrenia Solving the Puzzle of Schizophrenia: Biological Causes
Genetic factors
Structural abnormalities
Dopamine hypothesis
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Figure 9 of Module 38

33. Schizophrenia Environmental Perspectives on Schizophrenia
Emotional and communication patterns of the families of people with schizophrenia
Expressed emotion
Cognitive perspective
Overattention or underattention to stimuli in the environment
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34. Multiple Causes of Schizophrenia
Predisposition model of schizophrenia
Incorporates biological and environmental factors
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35. Personality Disorders
Characterized by a set of inflexible, maladaptive behavior patterns that keep a person from functioning appropriately in society
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36. Personality Disorders
Antisocial Personality Disorder
Show no regard for the moral and ethical rules of society or the rights of others
Lack guilt or anxiety about their wrongdoing
Impulsive and lack the ability to withstand frustration
Extremely manipulative
May have excellent social skills
“Con artists”
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37. Personality Disorders
Borderline Personality Disorder
Difficulty developing a secure sense of who they are
Tend to rely on relationships with others to define their identity
Emotional volatility leads to impulsive and self-destructive behavior
Feel empty and alone
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38. Personality Disorders
Narcissistic Personality Disorder
Characterized by an exaggerated sense of self-importance
Expect special treatment from others
Inability to experience empathy for others
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39. Childhood Disorders Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
Marked by inattention, impulsiveness, low tolerance for frustration, and generally a great deal of inappropriate activity
Autism
Severe developmental disability that impairs children’s ability to communicate and relate to others
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40. Other Disorders Psychoactive Substance-Use Disorder
Alcohol Use Disorders
Eating Disorders
Anorexia nervosa
Bulimia
Binge-eating disorder
Sexual Disorders
Organic Mental Disorders
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41. MODULE 39: Psychological Disorders in Perspective
How prevalent are psychological disorders?
What indicators signal a need for the help of a mental health practitioner?
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42. Sample of Prevalence
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43. Deciding When You Need Help
Long-term feelings of distress
Feelings of inability to cope with a situation
Prolonged depression
Withdrawal from other people
Thoughts of inflicting harm on oneself or suicide
A chronic physical problem for which no physical cause can be determined
A fear or phobia that prevents you from engaging in everyday activities
Feelings that other people are out to get you or are talking about and plotting against you
Inability to interact effectively with others, preventing the development of friendships and loving relationships
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