1. PSYC 101
Week 13

2. Psychological Disorders
Topics:
What is normal?
The major psychological disorders
Social and cultural elements

3. What is Normal?
What would you define as “normal”? What behaviors are considered normal?
Which of these things would you consider normal? Discuss
Being married more than once
Being married five times
Exercising 7 days a week
Exercising 3 to 5 days a week
Living in a segregated community, such as Amish people do
Not using birth control
Using birth control
Praying daily
Praying three times daily

4. What is Normal? continued
Who decides what is normal and why?
Where is the line between normal and abnormal?
What, then, is “abnormal”?
Deviation from average
Average based on statistics of behaviors
Deviation from ideal
Based on cultural and/or societal standards
Many people within a culture and/or society do not agree on standards, however, making this difficult to judge

5. What is Normal? Continued 2
Personal discomfort
Individually based, also includes bringing harm to others
Ineffective or non- functioning
Are persons who do not function in main society, with the same responsibilities such as providing for one’s self and family, having a job, paying bills, etc. abnormal?
What about persons who are not able to function effectively?
What about persons who cannot function effectively?
Legal perspective = insanity
Is there such thing as “temporary insanity”?
How do you define insanity?
If insanity is a real occurrence, should that lead to or allow for different consequences than those who are considered sane or competent?

6. Abnormal Behavior
Typically defined as behaviors that cause enough distress to inhibit proper, effective everyday functioning of the individual
Medical perspective
Searches to find answers for abnormal behaviors due to physical or biological factors that can be medically determined
Psychoanalytic perspective
Focuses on prior life experiences to explain current abnormal behaviors
Freudian; “abused as a child”, or “parents died early”, etc.

7. Abnormal Behavior continued
Behavioral perspective
Sees behavior as the issue rather than the result of some other cause
Responses to stimuli, focuses on learned behaviors and past consequences of the displayed abnormal behaviors
Cognitive perspective
Believes that abnormal behaviors occur and are based off of an individual’s personal thoughts and feelings (cognitions)

8. Abnormal Behavior continued 2
Humanistic perspective
Self-determinism is key here, where individuals can and should regulate, be responsible for, and determine what is acceptable and appropriate for him or her self
Sociocultural perspective
Abnormal is determined by societal and cultural standards
Think about differing cultures. What is abnormal there but not here (where we are currently living) and vice versa? Discuss

9. DSM Classification system for determining abnormal behaviors
Current edition: DSM-IV-TR
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision
Used to describe, not find or determine underlying causes for behaviors
Some issues and problems with this system, including the non-fluid categories and physician overreliance

10. Psychological Disorders
Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety felt without just external causes
Must disrupt and/or inhibit proper daily functioning
Types of anxiety disorders
Phobic disorders
Includes a phobia (intense, irrational fear)
Generalized Anxiety disorders
Long-term suffering, uncontrollable by individual
Obsessive-Compulsive disorders
Includes obsessions (unwanted, uncontrollable, persistent thoughts or ideas)
Long-lasting
May include compulsions (unwanted, uncontrollable, intense urges to repeat a certain action)

11. Psychological Disorders continued
Somatoform Disorders
Disorders that seem to manifest physically though no biological and/or medical cause can be found
Types of somatoform disorders
Hypochondriasis
Characterized by a fear of illness, being in poor health; obsession with one’s health
Sensations are felt but misinterpreted and misunderstood; it is the reaction to the feelings that causes issues rather than the feelings themselves
Conversion disorders
Characterized by actual physical symptoms
Cause of symptoms are psychological, not physical

12. Psychological Disorders continued 2
Dissociative Disorders
Different elements of personality are separated rather than combined
Types of disorders
Dissociative Identity disorder
Used to be called multiple personality disorder
Each personality has its own functions, almost like a separate individual
Dissociative Amnesia
Memory loss is selective and significant
May include “repressed memories”
Information is still retained but cannot be recalled
Dissociative Fugue
An individual enters a “fugue” state where travel may occur and the person may assume a new identity, only to later return to the former identity, without much of a choice, like an involuntary switch

13. Psychological Disorders continued 3
Mood Disorders
Extreme changes in mood that interfere with everyday living and efficient functioning
Types of mood disorders:
Major Depression
Severe depression
Interference in functioning to a debilitating level
Mania
The “high”, manic state
Euphoria, extreme elation
Bipolar disorder
Once known as manic-depressive
Extreme mood swings from manic states to extreme depressive states

14. Psychological Disorders continued 4
Schizophrenia
Distortion of reality
Much less likely to recover from, though can be kept in check with medication
Two types:
Type I = (referred to as positive symptoms) hallucinations, delusions, emotional extremes
Type II = (referred to as negative symptoms) social withdrawal, lessened or non-experienced emotional states

15. Psychological Disorders continued 5
Childhood Disorders
Affecting children
Most common
ADHD (Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)
Often overdiagnosed
Autism
Typically characterized by extreme social difficulties

16. Psychological Disorders continued 6
Personality Disorders
Maladaptive behavioral patterns that do not allow an individual to properly function in society
Types of Disorders
Antisocial personality disorder
Maladaptive behaviors that can be logically understood as harmful though the person with the disorder often has no remorse or other emotion toward his or her “victims”
Narcissistic personality disorder
Extreme sense of self-worth and/or self-importance; others are less important
Empathy for others not an emotion that is experienced
Borderline personality disorder
Inappropriate attachment to others as a way to form an identity

17. Psychological Disorders continued 7
Other
Includes but not limited to:
Alcohol use disorder
Substance use disorder
Psychoactive substance use disorder
Eating disorders (anorexia, bulimia)
Sexual disorders
Organic mental disorders (ex: Alzheimer’s)

18. Causes for Psychological Disorders
Nature
Biological factors
Genetic factors
Both factors can create a predisposition for disorders
Nurture
Environmental elements
Can create a fostering environment, when combined with genetic and/or biological factors, may allow for expression of a disorder

19. Societal and Cultural Considerations
DSM is based on Western culture (typical culture prevalant in USA)
In a study conducted (see textbook page 419)
48% of those interviewed have, at one time or another, experienced a psychological disorder
Most common = depression
Second most common = alcohol use disorder
**Discussion: what do you think? Do these statistics seem reliable? Are they representative? Why or why not? Are they personally relevant?

20. Societal and Cultural Considerations continued
Only four disorders that are cross-cultural:
Schizophrenia
Bipolar disorder
Major depression
Anxiety disorders
Other disorders we may not be familiar with due to culture:
Koro = fear of penis retracting into abdomen (Southeast Asia)
Amok = a typically calm, quiet, withdrawn individual randomly killing or severely hurting another

21. Discussion If time: Refer to page 425 in textbook
Read described situation aloud
Discuss the questions listed