Core Concept 12-1

1. Core Concept 12-1 • Psychological disorders are seen as diseases by the medical model, while psychology prefers an interaction of nature and nurture.

2. Psychopathology • Pattern of emotions, behaviors, or thoughts inappropriate to the situation and leading to either personal distress or inability to function effectively • Also called: • mental illness • mental disorder • psychological disorder

3. Normal v. Abnormal • Telling the difference not easy. • Abnormality is relative and varies with both historical time and culture. • Severe psychological disorders easier to identify.

4. Hallucinations • False sensory experiences • Example: hearing the voice of God giving commands to behave in bizarre fashion

5. Delusions • Disordered thinking involving persistent false beliefs • Examples: persecution or grandiosity

6. Severe Emotions • Depression • Mania • Lack of all emotions

7. Continuum of Psychopathology |_____________________________| None Mild Moderate Severe

8. Neurosis v. Psychosis • Outdated but useful concepts • Neurosis--unhappy and ineffective but not out of touch with reality or dangerously ill. • Psychosis--profound disturbance in perception, rational thinking, and emotions.

9. History of Mental Illness • Ancient World--mind possessed by demons and spirits. • Hippocrates (400 B.C.) • abnormal behavior due to physical causes • began the medical model of mental illness • Imbalance of four body humors • Middle Ages--devil and witchcraft again • Medical model returns in 18th century

10. Ancient World • Explanation of psychopathology- mind possessed by demons and spirits

11. Hippocrates • Psychopathology due to physical causes • Began the medical model of mental illness • Imbalance of body “humors”

12. Body Humor Theory

13. Middle Ages • Devil and witchcraft again used to explain mental illness • “Cure” was torture--drive out the devil.

15. Ergot • A fungus that infects rye grass • Contains lysergic acid (like LSD) • Hallucinogenic • Salem witches likely affected by ergot

16. Medical Model • Returns in 18th Century • Diseases of mind have medical causes • Led to sweeping reforms in treatment of mental illness

17. Insane Asylums • Humane treatment based on rest, contemplation, and simple work. • Became overcrowded warehouses

18. Problems with Medical Model • “doctor-knows-all” leads to passive patients • over reliance on drug therapy • no increase in coping skills

19. Psychological Models • Behavioral-abnormal behaviors learned • Cognitive-abnormal behaviors influenced by how people think of themselves and others • Social-abnormal behavior occurs in a social contex • Biological-genetic factors and brain dysfunction contribute

20. Indicators of Abnormality • distress • maladaptiveness • irrationality • unpredictable behavior • unconventional behavior

21. Core Concept 12-2 • The DSM-IV, the most widely used system, classifies disorders by their mental and behavioral symptoms.

22. Classification of Disorders • Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) • Classifies disorders by mental and behavioral symptoms • Widely accepted • More than 300 disorders

23. Classes of Disorders • Mood Disorders • Anxiety Disorders • Schizophrenic Disorders • Personality Disorders • Many others

24. Mood Disorders • Abnormal disturbances in emotion or mood, also called affective disorders. • Major Depression • Bipolar Disorder

25. Depression • Lifetime risk of 5.2% of having a depressive episode. • Major Depression--extreme sadness, loss of enjoyment, sleep and appetite problems, loss of energy, difficulty concentrating, thoughts of death. • Dysthymia--mild depression

26. Bipolar Disorder • Alternating periods of mania and depression. • Manic Phase--euphoric, energetic, hyperactive, talkative, and excited. • Usually responds well to medication.

27. Schizophrenia • A psychotic disorder involving distortions in thoughts, perceptions, and emotions. • Incidence of 1% with first episode almost always in late adolescence or early adulthood. • State psychiatric hospitals--40% of patients have schizophrenia.

28. Disorganized Type • Incoherent speech • Hallucinations • Delusions • Bizarre behavior.

29. Paranoid Type • Delusions of persecution or grandiosity • Hallucinations • No incoherence • Withdrawn • Flat affect

30. Personality Disorders • Not a mental disorder • A long-standing personality pattern • Leads to maladpative behavior, disrupted social relationships, poor impulse control. • Very chronic, pervasive, inflexible.

31. Examples • Narcissistic--feels entitled, needs constant attention or admiration. • Borderline--very unstable patterns. • Antisocial--pattern of irresponsible behavior and lack of conscience.

32. Core Concept 12-3 • Ideally, accurate diagnoses lead to proper treatments, but diagnoses may also become labels that depersonalize individuals and ignore the social and cultural contexts in which their problems arise.

33. Labeling People • Ideally,diagnosis may become a label with negative consequences--a stigma. • Rosenhan Study of pseudopatients

34. Insanity Plea • A legal not psychological concept--person found not guilty by reason of insanity is not held responsible for their criminal conduct. • Myths about the insanity plea abound. • In Texas, a severe mental disorder that prevented the person from knowing right from wrong.