Download Theories of personality

Psychological Disorders
What are psychological disorders?
• Conditions characterized by abnormal(atypical)
thoughts, feelings, and behavior
• Psychopathology: study of psychological disorders;
incl. symptoms, causes (etiology), treatment
• Disordered behavior may involve:
•
•
•
•
distress
self-harm
harm to others
impaired abilities to work and/or get along with others
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorders [DSM]
Classification
system used
in the US
Diagnosis:
appropriately
identifying
and labeling
a set of
symptoms
• United States data from 2007
Comorbidity: co-occurrence of two disorders
International Classification of Diseases (ICD):
used worldwide, sometimes in conjunction
with DSM
Supernatural perspectives of psychological disorders
• “Dancing mania,” attributed to supernatural forces
• The Extraction of the Stone of
Madness, a 15th century painting
by Hieronymus Bosch
Diathesis-stress model
• Diathesis: underlying predisposition for a disorder (e.g.
schizophrenia) or behavior set (e.g. negative cognitive
style)
• Stress: adverse environmental or psychological events
(e.g. maltreatment, trauma, negative life events)
Mood Disorders
“Evaluating Whether You Are Depressed”
chapter 11
Symptoms of depression
Major depression
A prolonged mood disorder involving disturbances in:
•emotion (depressed mood, excessive sadness)
•behavior (reduced interest in one’s usual activities)
•cognition (thoughts of hopelessness, feelings of
worthlessness or guilt, reduced ability to concentrate,
recurrent thoughts of death)
•body function (fatigue, loss of appetite, significant weight
loss or gain, sleeping too much or too little)
Bipolar disorder
A mood disorder in which episodes of depression and mania
(excessive euphoria) occur.
AKA: manic-depressive disorder
Genetic factors in depression
• Studies of adopted children support genetic explanations of
depression.
• 5-HTT is a gene that is present in either a long or short form.
• 17% of individuals with the long form become severely depressed.
• 43% of individuals with 2 copies of the short form become depressed.
• Genetics may also influence levels of serotonin and other
neurotransmitters.
Life experiences and
circumstances
Social explanations
emphasize the stressful
circumstances in people’s
lives.
• Loss of or problems with
important relationships
• Women are less satisfied
with work and family and
more likely to live in
poverty.
•A health psychologist might
emphasize stress reduction
Cognitive habits
• Depressed people believe
their situation is
permanent, uncontrollable.
• Rumination: Brooding
about negative aspects of
one’s life
• Cognitive therapy is often
effective in treating
depression
Anxiety disorders:
Generalized anxiety disorder
Continuous state of
anxiety marked by:
• Worry
• Dread
• Apprehension
• Difficulties
concentrating
• Motor tension
30% chance of having
anxiety disorder
Anxiety disorders:
Panic disorder
An anxiety disorder in
which a person
experiences recurring
panic attacks
Panic attack: a feeling
of impending doom or
death, accompanied by
physiological symptoms
such as rapid breathing
and dizziness
Anxiety disorders:
Fears and phobias
Phobia
An exaggerated, unrealistic fear of a
specific situation, activity, or object
Anxiety disorders:
Agoraphobia
A set of phobias, often
set off by a panic
attack, involving the
basic fear of being
away from a safe place
or person.
Trauma and Stress Related Disorders:
Posttraumatic stress disorder
• Involves a traumatic or life-threatening
event
• Symptoms
• psychic numbing
• reliving the trauma
• increased physiological arousal
• Diagnosed only if symptoms persist for
six months or longer
• May immediately follow event or occur
later
Obsessive-compulsive disorder
A disorder in which a person
feels trapped in repetitive,
persistent thoughts
(obsessions) and repetitive,
ritualized behaviors
(compulsions) designed to
reduce anxiety
Dissociative disorders:
Dissociative amnesia
Involves memory loss caused by extensive
psychological stress (trauma)
Dissociative disorders:
Dissociative identity disorder
A controversial disorder marked by the appearance
within one person of two or more distinct
personalities, each with its own name and traits
Formerly known as Multiple Personality Disorder
The DID controversy
First view
•DID is common but often unrecognized as such.
•Starts in childhood as a means of coping
•Trauma produced a mental splitting.
Second view
•Created through pressure and
suggestion by clinicians
•Handfuls to 10,000 since 1980
Personality disorders
Rigid, maladaptive
patterns that cause
personal distress or an
inability to get along
with others
Narcissistic
personality disorder
Characterized by an
exaggerated sense of
self-importance and
self-absorption
Personality disorders
Antisocial personality disorder
Characterized by a lifelong pattern of
irresponsible, antisocial behavior such as
lawbreaking, violence, and other impulsive,
restless acts
Schizophrenia
• A psychotic disorder marked by these
positive symptoms (atypical behaviors):
Delusions
Hallucinations
Disorganized, incoherent speech
Inappropriate behavior
Impaired cognitive abilities
• Typical onset: adolescence to early adulthood
• Negative symptoms (lack of normal behaviors)
may also be involved
• Video: Simulation of symptoms (6m)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SN1GCoVzxGg
Schizophrenia:
Delusions and hallucinations
Delusions
False beliefs that often
accompany schizophrenia
and other psychotic
disorders
Hallucinations
Sensory experiences that
occur in the absence of
actual stimulation
Schizophrenia:
Genetic vulnerability
The risk of
developing
schizophrenia
increases as the
genetic relatedness
with a diagnosed
schizophrenic
increases.
Schizophrenia:
Structural brain abnormalities
Several abnormalities
exist:
Decreased brain weight
Decreased volume in temporal
lobe or hippocampus
Enlargement of ventricles
About 25% do not have
these observable brain
deficiencies.
Schizophrenia:
Neurotransmitterabnormalities
Many schizophrenics
have high levels of brain
activity in areas served
by dopamine, and
greater numbers of
dopamine receptors.
Abnormalities may also
involve serotonin,
glutamate
Prenatal or birth complications
Damage to the fetal
brain increases
chances of
schizophrenia and
other mental
disorders.
Damage may occur as
a function of:
maternal malnutrition
maternal illness
brain injury
oxygen deprivation at
birth
Childhood Disorders
• Attention
Deficit/Hyperactivity
Disorder
• Problems concentrating
and focusing attention
• Autism Spectrum
Disorder
• Problems with speech,
language, and socializing
• Repetitive behaviors
• Intolerance of changes
in routine