Continuing and Distance Education Introductory Psychology 1023 Lecture 6: Abnormal Psychology

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Continuing and Distance EducationIntroductory
Psychology 1023Lecture 6 Abnormal Psychology

• Reading Chapter 14

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Salem witch trial
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Abnormality

• Behavior is
• Statistically unusual
• Maladaptive or harmful behavior
• Labeled abnormal because of a violation of
  cultural standards
• Mental disorder as suffering, personal distress
• Historical examples of abnormal behavior
• psychosis demon possession, syphillis
• mentally retarded individuals midgets were
  court-jesters
• Salem witch trials girls may have ingested
  ergot, LSD derivative

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Diagnosis DSM-IV

• Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 4th Ed. (APA,
  1994)
• Axis I Clinical syndromes/ Mental disorders
• Axis II Personality and Disorders
• Axis III General Medical Conditions
• Axis IV Psychosocial and Environmental Problems
  
• Axis V GAF Scale (1low to 100high)

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Problems with DSM

• Overdiagnosis
• Power of diagnostic labels, e.g., person becomes
  the disorder
• Mental disorder vs. everyday problems, e.g.,
  bad spellers?
• Illusion of objectivity
• But diagnosis leads to treatment, categories lead
  to empirical verification, and there is
  cross-cultural evidence of various mental health
  problems such as psychosis and depression

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Kinds of Disorders
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Specific kinds of anxiety disorders

• Phobias Simple, social, and agoraphobia
• Panic Disorder Bouts of intense and
  uncontrollable anxiety
• Generalized anxiety disorder Chronic
• Stress Disorder PTSD
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
• obsession unwanted impulses or thoughts
• compulsion uncontrolled repetitive act

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Dissociative Disorders

• Dissociative amnesia Memory loss for specific
  events or people
• Fugue Total memory loss after stress,
  relocation and starting a new life
• Dissociative Identity Disorder (MPD)
• two or more identities that coexist
• associated with child trauma such as abuse
• abused children sometimes leave their bodies

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Mood Disorders

• Unipolar depression
• 10-20 depressed at some point in life
• multiple causes
• low self-esteem, loss of motivation, pessimism
• women gt men
• Maladaptive cognitions

• Bipolar disorder
• 1 of population
• genetically mediated
• depressive and manic symptoms
• mania related to high energy and shifts of
  attention

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Schizophrenia

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

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Personality Disorders

• Stable extreme personality features that affect
  happiness or adjustment
• Examples
• Paranoid suspicious of others
• Borderline Mood and self-image unstable
• Narcissistic Self-centred, no empathy
• Histrionic Dramatic, manipulative, shallow
• Antisocial Break law, cheat lie, no concern
  for others, lack empathy, impulsive, brain
  involvement

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Models of abnormality

• Environmental
• Conditioning Reinforcement/Punishment
• Snake bite leads to snake phobia
• Cultural factors
• Cognitive Distorted thinking
• Negative thoughts and depression
• Maladaptive attributions
• Medical Physiological imbalance
• Neurotransmitters, genetics