Abnormality & Disorders

• Abnormality: infrequent in population, violates norms, disability, distress

Abnormality & Disorders

• Psychological Disorder: pattern of behavior that:• Causes significant distress• Causes harm to self or others• Interferes with ability to function

Models of Abnormality• Stress-Vulnerability Model: genetic

predisposition to disorder; symptoms brought out during stress

• Biological: neurotransmitter function

• Evolutionary: exaggerated form of adaptive behavior

• Cognitive: faulty thinking

Models of Abnormality

• Learning/Behavioral: inappropriate conditioning or modeling

• Humanistic: blocked personal growth; poor self-concept

• Psychoanalytic/Psychodynamic: unconscious conflict (id, ego, superego)

• Sociocultural: cultural beliefs or values

• Emotion• Memory• Thinking• Conditioning• Neurotransmitters• Nervous system• Behavior??

Control vs. Influence

• 22% of people at any given time• Most can be treated successfully• Long-term prognosis: may see

alternate periods of normal functioning with periods of disorder – or – management with proper treatment

• Recovery?

Living with a disorder

Stress• Psychosomatic disorders: interruption to

proper functioning because of overloaded nervous system

• Prolonged stress creates physical problems

• Stomach pain, asthma, eczema, hives, migraine headaches, rheumatoid arthritis, high blood pressure, colitis, heart disease, sore muscles (neck, back), indigestion, constipation, chronic diarrhea, fatigue, insomnia, sexual dysfunction

• Prolonged stress triggers and/or worsens psychological symptoms

• Related to increased symptoms for mood, anxiety, somatoform, eating, and schizophrenia disorders

• Extreme stress or trauma can trigger initial symptoms, especially PTSD, dissociative disorders, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia

Somatoform Disorders• Belief of physical illness without

actual physical ailment• Hypochondiasis: constant worry about

illness• Somatization Disorder: show of worry

about specific symptoms for medical attention

• Conversion Disorder: unexplained CNS disruption, e.g., paralysis

• Biological Factors: None

• Environmental Factors: anxiety, reinforcement during illness, cognitive magnification of bodily changes

Schizophrenia• Thought disorder: Interruption to normal

thinking / reasoning processes, usually with unexplainable auditory or visual experiences

• The brain tries to fill in the gaps to make sense but the result does not reflect reality

• Positive Symptoms (+): incoherence, loose associations, paranoia, clang associations, hallucinations (esp. auditory), delusions of: grandeur, persecution, reference

• Negative Symptoms (-): loss of normal thought or behavior, catatonia, social withdrawal, inappropriate emotions/affect

Schizophrenia• Biological Factors (DP 14:03-15, 18:18-19:50)

• genetic predisposition (gene combination), disordered brain structures, NT imbalance (too much DA thinking areas, too little DA & glutamate emotion areas)

• Environmental Factors• low support, stress, double-bind parenting,

nutrition, drug use (during critical stages of development)

• Treatment• Anti-psychotics for positive symptoms, stress

management, social support, family therapy, social training (video)

Prognosis• Schizophrenia

• Maintenance drugs or symptoms for life

• Psychotherapy to reduce episodes, severity, manage relationships, life skills

Dissociative Disorders• Dissociative Amnesia

• can't recall information related to a traumatic or highly stressful event (selective to incident)

• Dissociative Fugue State• sudden, unexpected travel from

home, can't recall their past or personal identity

Dissociative Disorders• Dissociative Identity Disorder

• 2 or more distinct personality states where different states recurrently take control of the host

• The host’s memory of events experienced as other personalities is dependent on relationship with alters

Dissociative Disorders

• Biological Factors• Not sure; can easily dissociate

• Environmental Factors• High anxiety or traumatic experience

• Prognosis• Amnesia and Fugue often

spontaneously recover• Dissociative Identity Disorder rarely

recover (integration usually unsuccessful) but can manage symptoms, relationships

Other Disorders

• Impulse control: lacking inhibition of urges

• Seasonal: related to sunlight, environ.

• Comorbidity: presence of more than one disorder