Abnormal Psychology (Chapter 18)

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Abnormal Psychology (Chapter 18)

• Third Lecture Outline
• Schizophrenia
• Personality Disorders
• Childhood disorders

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Someone with schizophrenia
Sometimes the voices are friendly however, most
often they are cruel and taunting. Hearing
voices for the first time was very scary to me. I
call my voices "superiors" they are of demonic
nature and continuously telling me "I'm evil and
worthless". They often command me to hurt myself.
I do as they say because they threaten to kill me
or bury me alive their terror controls my
behavior. I also have visual
hallucinations in which I see things that
apparently no one else sees. I
look at people's faces and they suddenly
disintegrate or are so distorted that they appear
in horrifying form, wicked,and I see the evilness
of the devil locked within their eyes. I may look
at you and project someone's else's picture on
your face everything becomes confusing and quite
frustrating.

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Schizophrenia

• Negative symptoms Behavior deficits
• blunting of emotions
• language deficits
• apathy and social avoidance
• Positive symptoms Behaviors present
• delusions disordered thinking
• hallucination unusual sensory experience
• other bizarre behavior

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Diagnositic criteria

• Adaptive functioning impaired
• Two or more of the following
• delusions
• hallucinations
• disorganized or incoherent speech
• grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior
• negative symptoms of anhedonia
• Six months of symptoms
• Rule out other disorders and drugs

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Types of Schizophrenia

• Paranoid Delusions are grandiose or
  persecutory not disorganized or catatonic,
  e.g., tin foil in attic
• Disorganized Speech, behavior, and/or affect is
  inappropriate, not catatonic
• e.g., roams the streets mumbling
• Catatonic Motor disturbance such as catalepsy
  (waxy flexibility) or frozen
• Videotape 98 Cases

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Biological basis of schizophrenia

• Schizophrenia runs in families
• General population rate 1 to 2
• twin studies monozygotic twins (100 genes),
  44 concordant
• dizygotic twins (50 genes) are 15 concordant
• consaguinity studies other relatives 5-10
• adoption studies twins adopted away still have
  higher concordance than base rate

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Other biological features

• Reduced blood flow in frontal lobe during
  reasoning task http//www.nimh.nih.gov/research/sc
  6a.htm
• Dopamine hypothesis supported by drug effects
• Amphetamine psychosis from too much dopamine
• Parkinsonian tremors from too little
  chlorapromazine side effect

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Personality Disorders

• Stable extreme personality features that affect
  happiness or adjustment
• Examples
• Paranoid suspicious of others
• Schizoid Cant form/sustain relationships
• Schizotypal Bizarre or magical behavior
• Borderline Mood and self-image unstable
• Narcissistic Self-centred, no empathy
• Histrionic Dramatic, manipulative, shallow

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Examples of childhood disorders

• Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder
• Innattention, impulsivity, hyperactivity
• Conduct disorders
• stealing, truancy, fighting, swearing,
  destructive behavior
• Pervasive Developmental Disorder (Autism)
• communication deficts, perserveration, echolalia,
  memory