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CHAPTER 13
Psychological Disorders
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
To demonstrate mastery of this chapter, the student should be able to:
1. Present information to indicate the magnitude of mental health problems in this
country and define “psychopathology.”
2. Describe the following ways of viewing normality including the shortcoming(s) of
each:
a. subjective discomfort
b. statistical abnormality
c. social nonconformity
d. situational context
e. cultural relativity
The following objective is related to the material in the “Discovering Psychology”
section of the text.
3. List five exercises that people could do to understand how it felt to be “crazy for a
day” and describe which facet of abnormal behavior the exercises demonstrate.
4. Discuss gender bias in judging abnormality.
5. State conditions under which a person is usually judged to need help; include the term
“maladaptive.”
6. Describe what the DSM-IV is, what it is used for, and define the term “mental
disorder.”
7. Generally describe each of the following categories of mental disorders found in the
DSM IV:
a. psychotic disorders
b. organic mental disorders
c. substance-related disorders
d. mood disorders
e. anxiety disorders
f. somatoform disorders
g. dissociative disorders
h. personality disorders
i. sexual and gender identity disorders
8. List the four general risk factors that may contribute to mental disorders. Describe
the term “neurosis” and list several folk names for mental disorders found in various
cultures.
9. Distinguish the term “insanity” from true mental disorder.
10. Define “personality disorder” and describe ten different types of personality
disorders.
11. Describe the distinctive characteristics, causes, and treatment of the antisocial
personality.
12. Define “anxiety.”
13. Outline the three features of anxiety-related problems.
14. State what is usually meant when the term “nervous breakdown” is used.
15. Differentiate an adjustment disorder from an anxiety disorder.
16. Define the key element of most anxiety disorders.
17. Differentiate generalized anxiety disorders from the two types of panic disorders.
18. Describe the following conditions:
a. agoraphobia
b. specific phobia
c. social phobia
d. obsessive-compulsive disorder
e. stress disorders
i. post-traumatic stress disorder
ii. acute stress disorder
f. dissociative disorders
i. dissociative amnesia
ii. dissociative fugue
iii. dissociative identity disorder
g. somatoform disorders
i. hypochondriasis
ii. somatization pain disorder
iii. conversion disorder
19. Discuss how each of the four major perspectives in psychology views anxiety
disorders.
a. psychodynamic
b. humanistic-existential (include the concepts of self-image and existential anxiety)
c. behavioral (include the terms “self-defeating,” “paradox,” “avoidance learning,”
and “anxiety reduction hypothesis”)
d. cognitive
20. Define what is meant by the term “psychosis.”
21. Define “delusion.”
22. Define “hallucination” and name the most common type.
23. Describe the emotion, communication, and personality changes that may occur in
someone with a psychosis. Include an explanation of the frequency of occurrence for
these changes.
24. Differentiate an organic from a functional psychosis.
25. Describe “dementia.”
26. Describe Alzheimer’s disease, including its incidence, symptoms, and neurological
concomitants.
27. Describe the characteristics of delusional disorders, including each of the five
delusional types.
28. Describe a paranoid psychosis. Explain why treatment of this condition is difficult.
29. Generally describe schizophrenia.
30. List and describe the four major types of schizophrenia.
31. Explain how paranoid delusional disorder and paranoid schizophrenia differ.
32. Describe the general relationship between violence and mental illness.
33. Describe the roles of the following three areas as causes of schizophrenia:
a. Environment
i. prenatal problems and birth complications
ii. psychological trauma
iii. disturbed family environment
iv. deviant communication patterns
b. Heredity
c. Brain chemistry
i. dopamine
ii. CT, MRI, PET scans
34. Discuss the stress-vulnerability model of psychosis
35. Describe the characteristics of depressive disorders. Include a description of
dysthymia and cyclothymia.
36. List and describe the three major mood disorders.
37. Explain the difference between major mood disorders and dysthymia and
cyclothymia.
38. Generally describe the likely causes of mood disorders, including biological causes
(brain chemicals and genetic) and psychological explanations (psychoanalytical,
behavioral, cognitive, and social and environmental).
39. Define and briefly discuss the symptoms of maternity blues and postpartum
depression.
40. Define “seasonal affective disorder (SAD),” list five major symptoms, and briefly
describe the treatment of SAD.
41. Explain the dangers of social stigma when using psychiatric labels.
42. Discuss how each of the following factors affects suicide rates: season, sex, age,
income, and marital status.
43. List the nine major risk factors that typically precede suicide. Discuss why people try
to kill themselves.
44. Briefly list the twelve warning signals to potential suicide.
45. List four common characteristics of suicidal thoughts and feelings.
46. Explain how you can help prevent suicide.