Intro Psychological Disorderssssssss.ppt

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1. Psychological Disorders
Psychological Disorder a “harmful
dysfunction” in which behavior is
judged to be (text discussion):
Atypical
not enough in itself
Disturbing
varies with time and culture
Maladaptive
harmful
Unjustifiable
By what standard?

2. Defined as Function
Individual is not functioning adequately based on
either his/her standards or according to significant
others in the person’s life.
Almost all the disorders we discuss have symptoms
that everyone experiences. Diagnosis of disorder
depends of intensity, length of time and how much
it’s impacting on the person.
Depression
Anxiety
Psychosis?

3. Psychological Disorders
Medical Model
concept that diseases have physical causes
can be diagnosed, treated, and in most
cases, cured
assumes that these “mental” illnesses can
be diagnosed on the basis of their
symptoms and cured through therapy,
which may include treatment in a
psychiatric hospital

4. Problems with medical model
Effects of labeling person, especially if based
on limited number of symptoms
May limit true understanding of behavior in favor
of “listed” symptoms and assumptions about
outcome
Confirmation bias: future information interpreted
in a biased way based on label
Similar problems can exist with diagnosis
physical ailments

5. Psychological Disorders
Bio-Psycho-Social Perspective
assumes that biological,
sociocultural, and psychological
factors combine and interact to
produce psychological disorders

6. Bio-Psycho-Social Approach

7. Bio-Psycho-Social Approach
These factors change over time. Hence, it’s
harmful to place a constant label on a person
“Normal” behavior changes over cultures,
sub-cultures and time.
E.g., is gang behavior or violence “abnormal”?
It’s more important to understand behavior
(and symptoms) then worry about labels.

8. Classifying Psychological Disorders
(medical approach dominates)
DSM-IV
American Psychiatric Association’s
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorders(Fourth Edition)
a widely used system for classifying
psychological disorders
presently distributed as DSM-IV-TR (text
revision)

9. Classifying Psychological
Disorders
Neurotic Disorderusually distressing but
that allows one to think rationally and
function socially
Psychotic Disorder
person loses contact with reality
experiences irrational ideas and distorted
perceptions

10. Rates of Psychological
Disorders

11. Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety Disorders
distressing, persistent anxiety or
maladaptive behaviors that reduce anxiety
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
person is tense, apprehensive, and in a state
of autonomic nervous system arousal
Persistence (out of control)
Problem in identifying source

12. Anxiety Disorders
Panic Disorder
marked by a minutes-long episode of
intense dread in which a person
experiences terror and accompanying chest
pain, choking, or other frightening
sensation
Person comes to fear the panic attack itself
and start to avoid any situations or places
that might provoke an attack

13. Anxiety Disorders
Phobia
persistent, irrational fear of a specific object or
situation
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
unwanted repetitive thoughts (obsessions) and/or
actions (compulsions)

15. Anxiety Disorders
Common and uncommon fears

16. Anxiety Disorders

17. Causes: Learning Perspective
Fears are learned thought classical
conditioning
Stimulus generalization often occurs
Development of behaviors to avoid the anxiety
Perhaps also through observational learning

18. Causes: Biological Influence
Research with identical twins and non-human
primates suggest a genetic aspect

19. Anxiety Disorders
PET Scan of brain of
person with Obsessive/
Compulsive disorder
High metabolic activity
(red) in frontal lobe
areas involved with
directing attention
(impulse control and
executive function)
Effectiveness of drug
therapy

20. Dissociative Disorders
Dissociative Disorders
conscious awareness becomes separated
(dissociated) from previous memories, thoughts,
and feelings
Not uncommon when in a highly traumatic
situation to feel “removed” from the situation.
Problem is when this becomes more then a brief
situation

21. Dissociative Disorder
Dissociative Identity Disorder
rare dissociative disorder in which a person exhibits two or more
distinct and alternating personalities
formerly called multiple personality disorder
At Issue: Is it a real phenomena
Skeptics–Everyone has difference aspects of their personality. These
get exaggerated by person and perhaps encourage by therapist
Believers–Personality differences are dramatic (even handedness
might be effected) and person may have many personalities (e.g., 3
faces of eve–28)
Origins from sever trauma especially in childhood
Both may be right

22. Personality Disorders
Personality Disorders (vs. mood
disorder)
disorders characterized by inflexible and
enduring behavior patterns that impair
social functioning

23. Types of Personality Disorders
Fearful, afraid of rejection, withdrawn
Extreme eccentrics–“The Character”
Narcissistic–Over exaggerates self
importance
Borderline–Unstable identity, emotions,
relationships, etc.

24. Personality Disorders
Antisocial Personality Disorder
disorder in which the person (usually man)
exhibits a lack of conscience for
wrongdoing, even toward friends and
family members
may be aggressive and ruthless or a clever
con artist
Most criminals do not have this–they
show concern for family and friends

25. Personality Disorders
PET scans illustrate reduced activation in a
murderer’s frontal cortex
Normal Murderer

26. Mood Disorders
Mood Disorders
characterized by emotional extremes
Major Depressive Disorder
a mood disorder in which a person, for no
apparent reason, experiences two or more
weeks of depressed moods, feelings of
worthlessness, and diminished interest or
pleasure in most activities

27. Mood Disorders
Manic Episode
a mood disorder marked by a hyperactive,
wildly optimistic state
Bipolar Disorder
a mood disorder in which the person
alternates between the hopelessness and
lethargy of depression and the overexcited
state of mania
formerly called manic-depressive disorder

28. Mood Disorders-Depression
Canadian depression rates

29. Mood Disorders-Suicide

30. Mood Disorders-Bipolar
PET scans show that brain energy consumption rises
and falls with emotional switches
Depressed state Manic state Depressed state

31. Mood Disorders-Depression
Altering any one
component of the
chemistry-
cognition-mood
circuit can alter
the others

32. Mood Disorders-Depression
The vicious
cycle of
depression
can be
broken at
any point

33. Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
literal translation “split mind”
a group of severe disorders characterized
by:
disorganized and delusional thinking
disturbed perceptions
inappropriate emotions and actions

34. Schizophrenia
Delusions
false beliefs, often of persecution or
grandeur, that may accompany psychotic
disorders
Hallucinations
sensory experiences without sensory
stimulation

35. Schizophrenia

36. Causes of Schizophrenia
Evidence of both chemical and anatomical
differences in the brain
There are clear genetic predispositions

37. Schizophrenia

38. Causes of Schizophrenia
Viral infections during pregnancy?
Role of environment is unclear

39. The End
Is Psychology a Science?
Future Courses