Transcript Chapter 14-Psychological Disorders

PSYC2301
INTRO TO PSYC
Chapter 14—Psychological Disorders
Introduction
• Psychopathology-the scientific study of the
origins, symptoms, and development of
psychological disorders
• Psychological disorder-a pattern of
behavioral and psychological symptoms
that causes significant personal distress,
impairs the ability to function in one more
more important areas of daily life, or both
DSM IV
• Currently DSM IV (TR) Text Revision
• Provides mental health professionals with:
– A common language to label mental disorders
– Comprehensive guidelines to diagnose mental
disorders
Prevalence of Psychological Disorders
• 1994, findings provided by the National
Comorbidity Survey (NCS)
– The prevalence of psychological disorders was
much higher than expected (48%)
– The great majority (80%) of those with the
symptoms of psychological disorder had not
sought any type of treatment
Anxiety Disorders
• Anxiety-an unpleasant emotional state
characterized by physical arousal and
feelings of tension, apprehension, and worry
• Pathological anxiety
– irrational
– uncontrollable
– disruptive
Anxiety Disorders
• Generalized anxiety disorder is
characterized by chronic, excessive, global,
and persistent symptoms of anxiety; also
called free-floating anxiety
• Panic disorder is an anxiety disorder in
which the person experiences frequent and
unexpected panic attacks
Phobia
• Phobia-an irrational fear triggered by a
specific object or situation
– Specific phobia
– Agoraphobia
– Social phobia
Explaining Phobias
• Learning theories
– Classical conditioning
– Operant conditioning
– Observational learning
• Evolution
PTSD
• PTSD-an anxiety disorder in which chronic
and persistent symptoms of anxiety develop
in response to an extreme physical or
psychological trauma
– frequent recall of the event
– avoidance of stimuli or situations that tend to
trigger memories of the experience and a
general numbing of emotional responsiveness
– increased physical arousal associated with
anxiety
Obsessive-compulsive disorder
• An anxiety disorder in which the symptoms
of anxiety are triggered by intrusive,
repetitive thoughts (obsessions) and urges to
perform certain actions or behaviors
(compulsions)
• Compulsions
– Overt physical behaviors
– Covert mental behaviors
Obsessive-compulsive disorder
• Biological factors
– A deficiency in the neurotransmitter serotonin
– Dysfunction in specific brain areas, such as the
frontal lobes and the caudate nucleus, which is
involved in regulating movements
Mood Disorders
• A category of mental disorders in which
significant and chronic disruption in mood
is the predominant symptom, causing
impaired cognitive, behavioral, and physical
functioning.
Major Depression
• Symptoms (2 weeks or longer)
– Emotionally, the person feels an overwhelming
sadness
– Behaviorally, the depressed person’s feelings
are reflected in dejected and spiritless facial
expressions; crying spells may occur for no
reason
Major Depression
• Symptoms (2 weeks or longer)
– Cognitively, memory is often impaired; thought
processes feel dull and sluggish; person may
have problems concentrating
– Physically, there is a general loss of mental and
physical energy, along with vague physical
aches and pains
Dysthmic disorder
• A mood disorder involving chronic, low
grade feelings of depression that produce
subjective discomfort but do not seriously
impair the ability to function
Prevalence and Course of Major Depression
• “The common cold” of psychological
disorder
• Women are twice as likely to be diagnosed
• Most at risk: 15-24 and 35-44
• Left untreated, depression may recur and
become progressively more severe
Bipolar Disorder
• A mood disorder involving periods of
incapacitating depression alternating with
periods of extreme euphoria and excitement
• Formerly called manic depression
Characteristics
• Self-esteem is wildly inflated; grandiose
ideas, which may represent delusional
beliefs
• Frenzied, goal-directed behavior abounds
• Attention is easily distracted by virtually
anything, triggering a flight of ideas
Cyclothymic Disorder
• A chronic mood disorder characterized by
moderate but frequent mood swings that are
not severe enough to qualify as bipolar
disorder
Prevalence and Course of Bipolar Disorder
• Onset typically occurs in early 20s
• Affects about 2 million Americans annually
• No gender differences in the rate of
occurrence. Lifetime risk is about 1 percent
• It is a recurring mental disorder
• often recurs when a person stops taking
lithium
Explaining Mood Disorders
• Multiple factors appear to be involved in the
development of the mood disorders. Three
key factors have been implicated
– Genetics
– Neurotransmitters
– Stress
Personality Disorders
• Someone with a personality disorder
exhibits inflexible and maladaptive patterns
of thoughts, emotions, behavior, and
interpersonal functioning that are stable
over time and across situations, and deviate
from the expectations on the individuals’
culture
Personality Disorders
• DSM-IV--10 personality disorders, grouped
in 3 basic clusters
– The odd, eccentric includes paranoid, schizoid,
and schizotypal personality disorders
– The dramatic, emotional, or erratic cluster
consists of antisocial, borderline, histrionic, and
narcissistic personality disorders
– The anxious, fearful cluster includes people
who display an avoidant, dependent, or
obsessive-compulsive personality disorder
Personality Disorders
• Paranoid-characterized by a pervasive
distrust and suspiciousness of the motives
of others without sufficient basis
• Antisocial-characterized by a pervasive
pattern of disregarding and violating the
rights of others
• Borderline-characterized by instability of
interpersonal relationships, self-image, and
emotions, and marked impulsivity
The Dissociative Disorders
• Dissociative experience-a break or
disruption in consciousness during which
awareness, memory, and personal identity
become separated or divided.
– Dissociative amnesia
– Dissociative fugue
Dissociative Identity Disorder
• Formerly known as multiple personality
disorder, DID involves extensive memory
disruptions for personal information along
with the presence of two or more distinct
identities or “personalities.”
DID
• Symptoms of amnesia memory problems
are present in virtually all cases
• “loses time” and is unable to recall her
behavior or whereabouts during specific
time periods
• Typically have numerous psychiatric and
physical symptoms and chaotic personal
history
Explaining DID
• DID represents an extreme form of
dissociative coping brought on by trauma,
often extreme physical or sexual abuse in
childhood
Skepticism
• DID patients are consciously or
unconsciously “faking” the symptoms,
responding to a therapist’s suggestions, or
mimicking the symptoms of sensational
DID case portrayed in the media
Schizophrenia
• A psychological disorder in which the
ability to function is impaired by severely
distorted beliefs, perceptions, and thought
processes
• Schizophrenia is diagnosed when two or
more symptoms are present for a month or
longer
Symptoms of Schizophrenia
• Positive symptoms
– reflect excesses or distortions of normal
functioning and include delusions,
hallucinations, and severely disorganized
thought processes, speech, and behavior
• Negative symptoms
– reflect a restriction or reduction of normal
functions, such as greatly reduced motivation,
emotional expressiveness, or speech
Delusions: False Beliefs
• A falsely held belief that persists in spite of
contradictory evidence or appeals to reason
– Delusions of reference
– Delusions of grandeur
– Delusions of persecution
Hallucinations: False
Perceptions
• False or distorted perceptions that seem
vividly real
• Can involve any of the senses
• Most common auditory, followed by visual
Negative Symptoms
• Deficits in behavior, emotion, and
motivation
– Flat affect, or affective flattening
– Alogia
– Avolition
Types of Schizophrenia
• Paranoid-characterized by the presence of
delusions, hallucinations, or both
• Catatonic-marked by highly disturbed
movements or actions; symptoms may
include waxy flexibility
Types of Schizophrenia
• Disorganized-exhibits extremely
disorganized behavior, disorganized speech,
and flat affect.
• Undifferentiated-displays some combination
of positive and negative symptoms that does
not clearly fit the criteria for the paranoid,
catatonic, or disorganized types
Prevalence and Course of Schizophrenia
• Onset typically occurs during young
adulthood
• Approximately 1 million Americans are
treated annually
• About 1/4 of those who experience an
episode recover completely; another 1/4
experience recurrent episodes, but often
with only minimal impairment of
functioning
Prevalence and Course of Schizophrenia
• One half, schizophrenia becomes a chronic
mental illness, and the ability to function
normally in society may be severely
impaired
Explaining Schizophrenia
• Genetic
– Schizophrenia tends to cluster in certain
families
– The more closely related a person is to someone
who has schizophrenia, the greater the risk that
she will be diagnosed with schizophrenia at
some point in her lifetime
– If either biological parent of an adopted
individual has schizophrenia, the adopted
individual is at greater risk to develop
schizophrenia
Explaining Schizophrenia
• Abnormal brain chemistry: the dopamine
hypothesis
• Abnormal brain structure and functioning:
enlargement of the fluid-filled cavities
called ventricles, located deep within the
brain
• Environmental factors: the viral infection
theory
• Psychological factors: unhealthy families