Chapter 15: Defining Psychological Disorders

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psycho-pathology

Back 1

patterns of thought, emotion, & behavior that result in personal distress or a significant impairment in a person's social or occupational functioning

Front 2

How do we determine what is abnormal?

Back 2

*Infrequency (statistical infrequency = unusual)...if normality is defined as what most people do

*Norm violation: when people behave in ways that are bizarre, unusual, or disturbing enough to violate social norms, they may be described as abnormal. From this perspective, identifying psycho-pathology & deciding who "has it" depends in part on how society defines normal & abnormal

*Personal suffering

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What 3 causes to researchers in Western cultures attribute psycho-pathology to?

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Biological factors, psychological processes, & contexts sociocultural

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Describe the biophysical model

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a view of mental disorders as caused by a combo of interacting biological, psychological, & sociocultural factors

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Describe the neurobiological model

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explains psychological disorders in terms of particular disturbances in the anatomy & chemistry of the brain & in other biological processes, including genetic influences

*see problematic symptoms stemming primarily from an underlying neurological disturbance that can be diagnosed, treated, & cured

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What do the psychological factors thought to contribute to mental disorders include?

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our wants, needs & emotions, our learning experiences, our attachment history, our way of looking at the world

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object-relations theory
(a recent psychodynamic explanation)

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focus less on unconscious urges & more on the role of attachment & other interpersonal relationships

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Describe what the humanist approach to personality suggests about disorders

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they appear when a person's natural tendency toward healthy growth is blocked, usually by a failure to be aware of, and to express, true feelings

*When this happens, the person's perceptions of reality become distorted
*They also focus on the meanings that people attach to events & how those meanings an lead to adaptive or maladaptive reactions

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Describe the sociocultural model of disorder

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we cannto fully explain all forms of psychopathology w/o also looking outside the individual--especially at the social & cultural factors that form the background of abnormal behavior

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Describe the diathesis-stress approach

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viewing psychological disorders as arising when a predisposition for a disorder combines w/ sufficient amounts of stress to trigger symptoms

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neurosis

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refers to conditions in which some form of anxiety is the major characteristic

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psychosis

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refers to conditions involving severe thought disorders that leave people "out of touch w/ reality" or unable to function on a daily basis

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4 types of anxiety disorders

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*Phobia
*Generalized anxiety disorder
*Panic disorder
*OCD
(PTSD)

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Social phobias

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anxiety about being criticized by others or acting in a way that is embarrassing or humiliating

ex. fear of public speaking or performance, fear of eating in front of others, using public restrooms

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agoraphobia

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anxiety disorder involving strong fear of being alone or away from the security of home or from a familiar person
*typically avoid social situations, refuse to shop, drive, or use public transportation

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Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)

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a condition that involves relatively mild but long-lasting anxiety that is not focused on any particular object or situation

*free floating anxiety
*anxious, worried, jumpy, irritable, fatigue, inability to concentrate, physiological signs of anxiety

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panic disorder

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recurrent, terrifying panic attacks that seem to come w/o warning or obvious cause

*intense heart palpitations, pressure or pain in the chest, dizziness or unsteadiness, sweating, feeling faint
*can lead to agoraphobia
*Victims worry about future attacks

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Describe OCD

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*people have persistent, upsetting, & unwanted thoughts--called obsessions--that often center on the possibility of infection, contamination, or doing harm to themselves or others
*They don't carry out harmful acts but the obseessive thoughts motivate ritualistic, repetitive behaviors--called compulsions--that are performed in an effort to avoid some dreaded outcome or to reduce feelings of anxiety associated w/ the obsessions
*Recognize that their thoughts are irrational, experience anxiety if they try to interrupt

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somatoform disorders

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psychological problems in which there are symptoms of a physical disorder w/o a physical cause

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Describe conversion disorders & how they differ from physical disabilities

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*condition in which people appear to be, but are not, blind/deaf/paralyzed/insensitive to pain in various parts of the body

1. tend to appear when a person is under severe stress
2. often reduce that stress by allowing the person to avoid unpleasant or threatening situations
3. the person may show remarkably little concern about what is apparently a rather serious problem
4. symptoms may be neurologically impossible or improbable

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somatization disorder

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characterized by dramatic, but vague, reports about a multitude of physical problems rather than any specific illness

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Pain disorder

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marked by complaints of severe, often constant pain (chest/neck/back) w/ no physical cause

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Dissociative disorders

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rare conditions that involve sudden & usually temporary disruptions in a person's memory, consciousness, or identity

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dissociative fugue

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characterized by sudden loss of personal memory & adoption of a new identity in a new locale

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dissociative amensia

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all personal ID info may be forgotten, but the person doesn't leave home or create a new identity

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dissociative identity disorder (DID)

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multiple personality disorder (MDP)
*more than one identity speaks/acts/writes in different ways

Can form b/c of massive repression of unwanted impulses/memories--creates new person who acts out otherwise unacceptable impulses or recalls otherwise unbearable memories (psychodynamic)

*Social cognitive theorists: everyone is capable of behaving in different ways, depending on circumstances...can become so extreme that an individual feels like a different person

*May be strengthened by reward--nice to get away from stressful situation