psychological disorders. medical model applied to abnormal behavior medical model proposes that it...
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PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS
MEDICAL MODEL APPLIED TO ABNORMAL BEHAVIOR
Medical model proposes that it is useful to think of abnormal behavior as a disease
Critics: Thomas Szasz—mind can’t be sick Diagnosis: distinguish one illness from
another Etiology: causation and developmental
history of an illness Prognosis: forecast about probable course of
an illness
CRITERIA OF ABNORMAL BEHAVIOR
Deviance: deviating from society’s norms Maladaptive behavior: struggling to adapt Personal distress: usually depression and/or
anxiety disorders Evolutionary psychs believe mental disorders
should be referred to as evolutionary dysfunctions
STEREOTYPES OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS
1) Psych disorders are incurable 2) People w/psych disorders are often violent
and dangerous 3) People w/psych disorders behave in
bizarre ways and are very different from normal people
PSYCHODIAGNOSIS: CLASSIFICATION OF DISORDERS
1952: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) describes 100 disorders
1980: DSM-III---new classification system Axes I and II diagnose disorders Axes III-V are supplemental info
PREVALENCE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS
Epidemiology: the study of the distribution of mental or physical disorders
Prevalence: percentage of population that exhibits a disorder during a specific time period
DSM criteria: 1/3 of pop. has some psych disorder
ANXIETY DISORDERSA class of disorders marked by feelings of excessive apprehension and anxiety
GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER
DEF: marked by a chronic, high level of anxiety that is not tied to any specific threat
Called “free-floating anxiety” Worry about minor matters Physical symptoms: trembling, muscle
tension, diarrhea, dizziness, faintness, sweating, heart palpitations
PHOBIC DISORDERS
DEF: marked by a persistent and irrational fear of an object or situation that presents no realistic danger
Even imagining the object can trigger anxiety
PANIC DISORDER AND AGORAPHOBIA
Panic disorder: characterized by recurrent attacks of overwhelming anxiety that usually occur suddenly and unexpectedly
Agoraphobia: fear of going out to public places
Majority who suffer from one or both are female
OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER
OCD: marked by persistent, uncontrollable intrusions of unwanted thoughts and urges to engage in senseless rituals
Obsessions are thoughts Compulsions are actions
ETIOLOGY OF ANXIETY DISORDERS
BIOLOGICAL FACTORS
Concordance rate: indicates the percentage of twin pairs or other pairs of relatives that exhibit the same disorders
Anxiety sensitivity Neurotransmitters
CONDITIONING AND LEARNING
Anxiety responses are acquired by classical conditioning
They are maintained by operant conditioning Phobias could be evolutionary Observational learning may also play a part
COGNITIVE FACTORS
Some are more likely to have anxiety b/c they tend to:
1) misinterpret harmless situations as threatening
2) focus excessive attention on perceived threats
3) selectively recall info that seems threatening
PERSONALITY AND STRESS
Certain personality traits appear to be related to likelihood of anxiety
Neuroticism---nervous, jittery, insecure, guilt-prone, gloomy
SOMATOFORM DISORDERSPhysical ailments that cannot be fully explained by organic conditions and are largely due to psychological factors
SOMATIZATION DISORDER
DEF: marked by a history of diverse physical complaints that appear to be psychological in origin
Usually a very diverse array of symptoms
CONVERSION DISORDER
DEF: characterized by a significant loss of physical function (w/no apparent organic basis), usually in a single organ system
HYPOCHONDRIASIS
DEF: characterized by excessive preoccupation w/health concerns and incessant worry about developing physical illnesses
Usually coupled w/ anxiety disorders and depression
ETIOLOGY OF SOMATOFORM DISORDERS
PERSONALITY FACTORS
Histrionic personality most prevalent Self-centered, suggestible, excitable, highly
emotional, overly dramatic Neuroticism also common
THE SICK ROLE
Being sick is a way to avoid life’s challenges Creates an excuse for failure Gets attention from others
DISSOCIATIVE DISORDERSClass of disorders in which people lose contact w/portions of their consciousness or memory, resulting in disruptions in their sense of identity
DISSOCIATIVE AMNESIA AND FUGUE
Dissociative Amnesia: sudden loss of memory for important personal info that is too extensive to be due to normal forgetting
Dissociative Fugue: loss of memory for entire life along with sense of identity
DISSOCIATIVE IDENTITY DISORDER
DID: involves the coexistence in one person of 2 or more largely complete, and usually very different, personalities
Personalities usually unaware of each other Alternate personalities exhibit traits unusual
for original personality
ETIOLOGY OF DISSOCIATIVE DISORDERS
Nicholas Spanos: DID patients are merely role-playing to mask personal failure
Trauma does seem to be the main cause of development of DID
MOOD DISORDERSClass of disorders marked by emotional disturbances of varied kinds that may spill over to disrupt physical, perceptual, social, and thought processes
MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER
DEF: show persistent feelings of sadness and despair and a loss of interest in previous sources of pleasure
Depression can occur at any point in life Dysthynic disorder: chronic depression that is
insufficient in severity to justify diagnosis of a major depressive episode
BIPOLAR DISORDER
DEF: characterized by the experience of one or more manic episodes usually accompanied by periods of depression
Cyclothymic disorder: exhibit chronic but relatively mild symptoms of bipolar disturbance
ETIOLOGY OF MOOD DISORDERS
GENETIC VULNERABILITY
Heredity can create a predisposition Environmental factors may determine if it
becomes an actual disorder
NEUROCHEMICAL FACTORS
Norepinephrine and serotonin thought to be the main NT’s
Recent studies are showing that other NT’s may be involved
COGNITIVE FACTORS
Depression caused by Learned helplessness---a passive “giving up”
People with pessimistic explanatory style are most susceptible to depression
Hopelessness theory: pessimistic style, high stress, low self-esteem, etc… create depression
Basically…negative thoughts and emotions lead to and maintain depression
INTERPERSONAL ROOTS
Behaviorist approach Inadequate social skills lead to depression Depressed people are depressing