1. Chapter 17
Abnormal Psychology

2. Abnormal Behavior versus Psychological Disorders
Abnormal behavior is defined by culture.
Psychological disorders are defined by psychologists and psychiatrists (in Western culture).

3. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
Characterized by inattention, overactivity, and impulsivity
Diagnosed in school-aged children, mostly male
15 percent of school-aged population in the United States have been diagnosed
Increasing numbers of children diagnosed with ADHD may be a reflection of changing social expectations, rather than an increase in the frequency of this neurological condition

4. Prevalence of Mental Disorders
One in every five people living in the United States
If chemical dependencies are included, the figure increases to about 1 out of 3

5. The Medical versus the Psychological Model
Medical model
Disordered thoughts and behavior are the result of a diseased or otherwise malfunctioning brain
Psychological model
An individual's past and present life experiences cause and maintain a psychological disorder

6. Organic versus Functional Disorders
Organic mental disorders
Mental disorders that are caused by brain dysfunction
Example: general paresis
Freud's "psychosis”
Functional mental disorders
The brain appears to be normal
Example: depression
Freud's "neurosis”

7. Standardization of Diagnostic Terms
Psychiatrists and psychologists created the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
Published by the American Psychiatric Association
Revised version DSM-IV published in 1994
Recognizes over 200 different forms of mental disorder
Arranged in 17 categories

8. The Five Axes of the DSM-IV

9. The Frequency of Major Mental Disorders in the United States
As a group, anxiety disorders are the most common form of mental illness in the United States.
Depression is the most common single disorder.

10. Four Types of Anxiety Disorders
Phobic disorder - an anxiety disorder characterized by a persistent, inappropriate fear of an object or situation
Generalized anxiety disorder - a mental disorder that is characterized by a persistent, inappropriate anxiety for which there is no apparent cause
Panic disorder - a disorder characterized by recurring rushes of paralyzing anxiety that may last for several minutes
Obsessive-compulsive disorder - a disorder characterized by obsessions and compulsions

11. The Prevalence of Phobias
The most common simple phobias are a paralyzing fear of snakes, insects, and other small, moving life forms
Many people also have social phobias and agoraphobia

12. The Prevalence of Phobias

13. Common Obsessive Thoughts and Compulsions
OCD is characterized by obsessions (persistent, uncontrollable thoughts) and compulsions (ritualized behaviors)
Individuals with OCD typically have more than one obsession and follow multiple rituals

14. Somatoform Disorders Hypochondriasis Somatization disorders
Conversion disorders

15. Glove Anesthesia

16. Subtypes of Dissociative Disorders
Dissociative fugue
Dissociative amnesia
Depersonalization disorder
Dissociative identity disorder

17. Distinguishing Features of Clinical Depression
There are five ways in which clinical depression differs from lesser forms
Twice as many women as men are diagnosed with this disorder

18. Ten Facts About Suicide

19. The Adaptiveness of Mood Disorders
Some people may be genetically predisposed to mental illness
Sadness and depression may be adaptive in signaling the need for change

20. Symptoms of Schizophrenia
Incoherent thinking
Delusions
Hallucinations
A deterioration of adaptive behavior
Disturbance of affect

21. Types of Schizophrenia
Disorganized type
characterized by incoherent thought patterns
Paranoid type
characterized by thoughts of persecution or grandiose thinking
Catatonic type
characterized by muscular rigidity accompanied by lack of responsiveness

22. Causes of Schizophrenia
Genetic factors
If one identical twin is schizophrenic, the other has a 50 percent chance of developing this disorder
Physiological factors
The dopamine hypothesis is based on the fact that schizophrenic symptoms diminish with drugs that block certain dopamine receptors, and that amphetamine stimulates dopamine receptors, producing schizophrenia-like symptoms
Environmental factors
Certain environmental factors seem to trigger schizophrenic symptoms, as predicted by the diathesis-stress model
EE studies indicate that schizophrenic patients returning home from an institution have higher relapse rates than others when family members express negativity toward them

23. Categories of Personality Disorders