Download Abnormal Psychology

What is “Abnormal Psychology”?
The study of human
thinking and behaviors that
• deviate significantly from
the norm
• cause distress to the person
or people around him/her
• are pervasive and present
over time
AP psychology:
Mental, behavioral, developmental
&
personality disorders
Categorizing and diagnosing abnormal behaviors:
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
(DSM-V to be released in 2013)
• 5 axes of diagnosing disorders
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–
–
–
evidence of clinical syndrome?
evidence of personality disorder or mental retardation?
evidence of general, non-abnormal medical condition?
evidence of psychosocial or environmental issues for which there is high correlation with
disorders?
– GAF score: How well does person function in daily life? (0 = highly impacted; 100= high
functioning, disorder minimal impact on person’s ability to live “normal” life)
• What does manual NOT cover?
– etiology (causes)
– treatments
• Why not?
– too controversial because of the multiple-perspectives differing
opinions!
Symptoms
Irrational thought
sadness
hallucinations
fear
Dangerous
behaviors
anti-social
“breaks” from reality
Hear voices
Compulsive behaviors
No self-esteem
mood
swings
Unwanted thoughts
Eccentric behaviors
Uncontrolled rage
criminal behavior
Etiology?
Traumatic
experience?
Relationships?
Illness/virus/bacteria
Genetics?
Injury?
Toxins?
Abuse?
Neglect?
Poverty?
The answer depends upon the perspective!
Biopsychologists, psychotherapists, behaviorists, cognitivists and
humanists all take a different approach to explaining causes.
Incidence rates
• Vary by country/culture—highest rates for
many in USA
• Vary by disorder (ranges between 0.1%-16%)
• Vary by gender, socioeconomic status and age
• Hard to know exact numbers because some go
undiagnosed (personality disorders and others
who may not seek treatment) while others
possibly over-diagnosed (ADD, ADHD, conduct
disorders)
Many different kinds of disorders…
 Eating—Bulimia, anorexia, overeating, 6-min orthorexia video clip
 Somatoform—presenting true physical symptoms of illnesses or
neurological disorders without suffering the actual illness/disorder;
having unrealistic perception of one’s own body (body dysmorphia
part 2); hypochondria Clip
 Dissociative—when a person separates his/her conscious self from
his/her body (includes amnesia, “multiple personality”/dissociative
identity disorder, out-of-body experiences) Clip Sybil (start at 3
minutes) 60 Minutes clip DID (3-min) HBO MPD (1-hour video)
Still more types of disorders…
Psychosis—mental break from reality, includes visual and
auditory hallucinations, delusion (irrational beliefs),
(schizophrenia clip 12-min 2 parts), Post-Partum Depression
with psychosis (warning: this clip is disturbing and involves a
mother killing her children)
…and finally the rest!
Mood—extreme sadness or variable moods with no
environmental trigger (e.g. bipolar Sheen interview)
Anxiety—extreme irrational fear (phobias), worries, obsessions,
compulsions, PTSD, panic attacks, OCD video clip, hoarding clip
Impulse control: OCD, trichotillomania clip
Neurosis or psychosis?
• Neurosis: outdated term (taken out of DSM in
1980) used to describe anxiety related
disorders.
• Psychosis: break from reality via delusions,
hallucinations. Considered more severe than
neurosis. Includes schizophrenia and other
delusional disorders (e.g. PPD with psychosis).
Childhood Disorders: A variety of disorders that begin in
childhood
 ADD/ADHD—inability to focus, concentrate, must move
New discoveries in neuroscience (6 minutes –ADHD treatment)
Tourette/OCD—uncontrollable urges to move or speak, repetitive motions,
odd noises, compulsions, unwanted thoughts Tourettes (video clip)
Separation Anxiety Disorder—extreme fear of being away from
mommy/daddy—leads to uncontrollable crying, tantrums
Conduct disorder (naughty kid)
Oppositional Defiant (very naughty kid!)
Autism/Asperger’s (spectrum: highly functioning to non-verbal) Video clip
Personality Disorders: Behaviors or mental processes that deviate
significantly from the norm and impair the person’s life; disorder’s
impact on person’s ability to lead healthy, stable life can vary from
mild to extreme
3 categories:
Odd, dramatic,
anxious
Personality Disorder Category 1:
Odd/eccentric
Paranoid
Fearful, suspicious of others
Schizoid (do not confuse
this with schizophrenia!)
Loner, lack of emotions
Schizotypal
Belief in magic, flying saucers, loner
•Odd personality disorders are GENETIC NOT environmental!
•.5% - 2.5% of American population has 1 of these “odd” personality
disorders
Treatments: Many who suffer from these disorders do not seek treatment;
Social skills therapy, anti-psychotics for schizotypals
Personality Disorder Category 2:
Dramatic/emotional
Anti-social, conduct
disorder (psychopath)
(video Psychopath part 1
part 2 part 3 part 4
part 5
Lack of regard for moral, legal standards; serial
killers, rapists
Borderline
video clip 4 min.
Lack of self-identity, rapid mood changes, impulsive,
unstable relationships
Histrionic
video clip 4 min
“Drama queen”, exaggerates all emotions,
attention seeking, sexual promiscuity
Narcissist
video clip 4 min.
Someone who thinks he’s all that, unable to see
other’s feelings or viewpoints, need for admiration
Personality disorder Category 3: Anxious/fearful
Avoidant
Intensely shy, sensitive <1% population has this
Dependent
Extreme dependence on others, unable to make decisions for
self, fear of being alone approx 2% population has it
OCD
similar characteristics to OCD, but not as severe
Odds-n-ends:
Other interesting disorders
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Locked in syndrome (4 min)
Catatonia (3.5 min)
Top 10 rare/interesting disorders (1.5 min)
Munchausen by proxy syndrome clip
Savants "Piano Man” clip