Abnormal Psychology

1
Abnormal Psychology

• Modules 27-29

2
Definition of Psychological Disorder

• Harmful dysfunction in which behaviors are
  maladaptive unjustifiable disturbing and
  atypical

3
Each term in the definition is explained as
follows

• Maladaptive- destructive to oneself or others
• Unjustifiable- without a rational basis
• Disturbing- troublesome to other people
• Atypical- so different that they violate a norm
  (what is acceptable in their culture)

4
Philippe Pinel

• French physician
• First to reform treatment for mental patients
• Believed humane treatment was better than other
  methods such as chaining them to the wall or
  locked up like zoo animals

5
Classifying Disorders

• DSM-IV-TR which stands for Diagnostic and
  Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Vol. 4
• Published by the APA
• Has been revised 4 times changed some things
  overtime
• Vol. 3 stopped listing homosexuality as a
  disorder
• Vol. 4 changes term from manic depressive to
  bipolar disorder.

6
Danger of labeling people with psychological
disorders---

• Most patients diagnosed with disorders are fully
  functioning members of society
• Media such as TV shows can greatly influence
  peoples perception of psychological disorders
• Recent research into psychological disorders has
  taken the mystery out of these disorders and
  fostered more understanding.

7
Psychology students disease-(this is a real
classification)

• Dont overreact as you begin to study symptoms of
  these disorders
• Remember the definition states that degree is
  the key to distinguishing between quirks in
  personality with real psychological problems

8
The 5 categories of disorders

• Anxiety
• Mood
• Dissociative
• Schizophrenia
• Personality

9
Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety- defined as a vague feeling of
apprehension or nervousness
10
Anxiety Disorders

• Generalized Anxiety Disorder
• Panic Disorder
• Phobias
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

11
Causes of Anxiety Disorders

• Biological factors- heredity, brain function,
  evolution
• Learning factors- conditioning, observational
  learning, reinforcement

12
Mood Disorders

• Major Depressive Disorder
• Bipolar Disorder (formerly called Manic
  Depression)

13
Dissociative Disorders

• Dissociative Amnesia
• Dissociative Fugue
• Dissociative Identity Disorder
• (formerly called multiple personalities)

14
Schizophrenia

• A group of severe disorders characterized by
  disorganized and delusional thinking, disturbed
  perceptions and inappropriate emotions and actions

15
Symptoms of Schizophrenia

• Delusions
• Hallucinations
• Inappropriate emotions
• Inappropriate behaviors

16
Types of Schizophrenia

• Paranoid
• Catatonic
• Disorganized
• Undifferentiated

17
Personality Disorders

• Related to anxiety
• With odd or eccentric behaviors
• With Dramatic or Impulsive Behaviors
• Antisocial (also called psychopathic or
  sociopathic personality disorder)

18
Symptoms of Anti-social personality disorder

• Cant be diagnosed until 18 years of age
• Repeatedly breaking the law
• Deceitful including lying using aliases, conning
  others for profit
• Impulsive, aggressive, consistent
  irresponsibility
• Reckless disregard for safety of oneself or
  others
• Lack of remorse

19
Borderline Personality Disorder

• Very emotionsl and unstable relationships with
  others (I love you, I hate you)
• Extreme short term mood swings,intense anger or
  dificulty controlling anger
• Unstable self image or sense of self

20
Avoidance Personality disorder

• Long standing and complex feelings of inadequacy
• Extreme sensitivity to what others think or say
  about them
• Social inhibitions( unwilling to get involved
  with others unless certain of being likes)
• Belief that they are unappealing or inferior to
  others