1. Psychological Disorders
Chapter 14:
Psychological Disorders
Normal Brain
Individual with Schizophrenia

2. Defining Psychological Disorders
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Defining Psychological Disorders
How do we know whether behavior should be classified as a disorder?
Depression - where does the normal blues leave off and disordered depression begin
Anxiety.

3. Upstate
Three criteria used to judge whether a behavior is disordered: Is the behavior. . .
Deviant? Does it deviate from norm?
Distressful/disturbing to others?
Dysfunctional/disabling (harmful) to self and perhaps others?

4. History of Psychological Disorders and Treatment
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History of Psychological Disorders and Treatment
Prehistoric times - bizarre and unusual behavior was thought to be due to evil spirits
Greek and Roman civilizations - natural causes
Hippocrates did not believe that evil spirits defiled the body.

5. Upstate Europe entered the dark ages
For many hundreds of years, until the 1700 and 1800s bizarre behavior again was thought to have supernatural causes
In the late 1400s, a pope issued a papal decree stating that there were witches in the woods and they should not be tolerated.

6. Upstate Two monks wrote a book about how to detect and treat witches
Detection: look for a mark on body - the mark of the devil
Detection: torture them until they confess
Treatment: burn them at the stake or behead them and then burn them at the stake
Many thousands were killed.

7. Upstate
Why would the pope, the church, and society favor such barbaric treatment?
The pope took his authority from the Bible
Exodus 22:18 - “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.”
A time of great superstition when people could not rationally explain disease and other calamities.

8. Upstate During 1800s, the medical model gradually emerged
A mental illness needs to be diagnosed on the basis of symptoms and cured through therapy
In around 1900, scientists discovered an infectious brain disease which produced a disordered mind and bizarre behavior
This gave a boost to medical model
What disease was it?

9. The Biopsychosocial Perspective
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The Biopsychosocial Perspective
Assumes that biological, social, and psychological factors combine to produce psychological disorder
Classifying Psychological Disorders
DSM-IV: the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th edition).
A system for classifying psychological disorders.

10. Upstate
The DSM-IV defines and describes 16 clinical syndromes (categories) of mental disorder
Some major categories:
- Substance related disorders
- Anxiety disorders
- Mood disorders
- Schizophrenia
- Personality disorders

11. Labeling of Psychological Disorders
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Labeling of Psychological Disorders
David Rosenhan’s study (1973)
He and seven colleagues went to mental hospitals complaining of hearing voices
What happened?
Labels affect how we perceive one another
Labels have the power to stigmatize people
Labels and the popular media.

12. Upstate Anxiety Disorders
1) Generalized anxiety disorders - can escalate into panic attacks: tense, uneasy, arousal
2) Phobias - irrational fears
3) Obsessive-Compulsive disorders -
obsessions (repetitive thoughts: germs, something terrible happening, order or exactness)
compulsions (repetitive behaviors: excessive hand washing/bathing, repeated rituals, excessive checking) Case of Kevin.
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder – memories, nightmares, jumpy, insomnia after trauma.

13. Dissociative Disorders:
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Somatoform Disorders:
Disorders which take a bodily form without apparent physical cause
Conversion Disorder
Hypochondriasis
Dissociative Disorders:
Disorders in which conscious awareness becomes separated from previous memories and thoughts
Dissociative Identity Disorder - formerly known as Multiple Personality Disorder
Understanding Dissociative Identity Disorder.

14. Upstate Mood Disorders 1. Major depressive disorder
2. Bipolar disorder
Major depressive disorder -
a person experiences two or more weeks of depressed moods for no apparent reason.

15. Upstate Symptoms feelings of worthlessness loss of interest
appetite, sleep, energy level, sexuality
thinking affected: thoughts slowed, person expects negative outcomes,
things will not get better, suicidal ideas, difficulty making decisions

16. Some Further Information
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Some Further Information
Depression widespread - called common cold of mental disorders
About 6% of population experiences major depression
Depression increasing, only 1% for those born before 1905
Major depression - usually lasts six months or less.

17. Upstate Women are twice as vulnerable to major depression
Stressful events related to work, marriage, and close relationships often precede depression.

18. Genetic and Biological Causes
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Genetic and Biological Causes
If one identical twin develops major depression, the chances are about 1 in 2 that the other twin will also
Searching for the genes that put people at risk
Norepinephrine, a neurotransmitter, is over abundant during mania and scarce during depression
Serotonin is scarce during depression.

19. Upstate Bipolar disorder - formerly known as manic depressive disorder
The person alternates between depression and the overexcited state of mania
Manic symptoms and other information:
overtalkative, overactive, elated
has little need for sleep
fewer sexual inhibitions
grandiose optimism and self-esteem.

20. Upstate Case of Nancy. can fuel creativity
the elated mood returns to normal or plunges into a depression
less common than major depression, occurs in about 1% of the population
afflicts as many men as women
If one identical twin develops bipolar, the chances are 7 in 10 that the other twin will also
Case of Nancy.

21. Upstate Schizophrenia Severe disorder – adolescence or young adult
Characterized by disorganized and delusional thinking,
disturbed perceptions,
and inappropriate emotions and actions
Symptoms and other information:
delusions: false beliefs, often of persecution or grandeur
hallucinations: false perceptions (sensory experiences without sensory stimulation) which
are usually auditory (hearing voices).

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inappropriate emotions: laughing, crying, and exhibiting anger at inappropriate times
Nonsensical communication
inappropriate actions: such as, continually rocking or remaining motionless for hours
afflicts about 1% of population
can develop gradually (called chronic) and recovery is doubtful
can develop suddenly (called acute) and recovery is more likely
Onset in adolescence or young adulthood.

23. Causes of Schizophrenia:
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Causes of Schizophrenia:
Recent studies link this disorder with brain abnormalities and genetic predispositions
Dopamine overreactivity - excess of receptors for dopamine
Brain anatomy - shrinking of limbic system areas
Problems during prenatal period
Genetic factors - if one identical twin develops this disorder, chances are one in two the other will also
The Cases of Bob and Missy.

24. Personality Disorders:
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Personality Disorders:
Antisocial Personality Disorder - formerly called a sociopath or a psychopath
typically male, developing before 15
exhibits lack of conscience and often unrestrained sexual behavior
express little regret and guilt over violating other’s rights
unconcerned with social rewards and low in anxiety even as children.