A b n o r m a l P s y c h o l o g y A.K.A. Psychological Disorders

1. AbnormalPsychologyA.K.A. Psychological Disorders Deviant, distressful, dysfunctional patterns of thoughts, feelings or behaviors

2. Early Theories • Abnormal behavior was evil spirits trying to get out. • Led to harsh, ineffective remedial treatments • Trephining, beatings, burnings, etc.

3. History of Mental Disorders • Medical Model (Pinel)– psychological disorders are a biologically based…a “sickness” that needs to be diagnosed and cured • Neglects the importance of social circumstances and psychological factors. .

4. Perspectives and Disorders

5. History of Mental Disorders • Biopsychosocial Model– current approach • Interaction of nature and nurture • Influence of culture

6. DSM IV • Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: • used to identify and diagnose disorders • Diagnoses on observable patterns of behavior • Facilitates reliability • Answer questions from 5 levels • DSM will NOT explain the causes or possible cures. • Criticism: classifys an excessively broad range of human behaviors as psychologically disordered.

8. Classifying Psychological Disorders

9. Two Major Classifications in the DSM Neurotic Disorders Psychotic Disorders Person loses contact with reality, experiences distorted perceptions. • Distressing but one can still function in society and act rationally. John Wayne Gacy

10. The Rosenhan Study • Rosenhan’s associates were Malingering symptoms of hearing voices. • They were ALL admitted for schizophrenia. • None were exposed as imposters. • They all left diagnosed with schizophrenia in remission. • What are some of the questions raised by this study?

11. ADHD • Symptoms: • Inattention/distraction • Hyperactivity • Impulsivity • Causes: • Biological • Normal but delayed thinning of frontal cerebral cortex • Social • Watching lots of TV as a toddler (correlational)

12. ADHD • Assessing: • Eye Tracking device • Gender: • 2-3X more in Boys • Prevalence: • 4% of all children

13. ADHD Treatment • Treatment • Biological – assume problem is organic requires drug treatment therapy • Stimulant drugs – help calm hyperactivity and increase focus • Aderall • Ritalin • Behavioral – assume problem behaviors are the problem and apply operant and classical conditioning principles • Token economy –earn token for exhibiting desired behavior, that can later be exchanged for privileges or treats

14. Anxiety Disorders • Anxiety Disorders - a group of conditions where the primary symptoms are persistent or distressing anxiety or maladaptive defenses against anxiety. • Examples: • Generalized anxiety disorder • Panic disorder • Phobias • Obsessive compulsive disorder • Post-traumatic stress disorder

15. Causes of Anxiety Disorders • Learned Perspective • Conditioned • Classically conditioned by associating stimuli (i.e. a traumatic event) with anxiety. • Stimulus generalization – fear stimuli that are associated with the original CS • Example: Fear all dogs after bitten by Maui • Reinforcement (operant) – helps maintain phobias and compulsions after they arise • Avoiding or escaping stimulus reinforces behavior • Example: After feeling anxious you go inside your house which calms you down • Observational Learning • Observing others’ fears • Example: Monkeys transmit fear of snakes to offspring

16. Causes of Anxiety Disorders • Biological Perspective • Natural Selection/evolutionary perspective • Biological predisposition to fear: spiders, snakes, close spaces, heights, storms and darkness • Compulsive acts exaggerate fears that contribute to survival: • Examples: • Washing up = ritual hand washing • Checking boundaries = checking and rechecking locks • Genes • High strung temperament • Anxiety disorders: high correlation in identical twins • 17 genes expressed with Anxiety • Neurotransmitters • Anxiety gene affects brain levels of serotonin • Too much glutamate: brain’s alarm centers overactive • Brain • Anterior Cingulate Cortex monitors actions and checks for errors – elevated activity in OCD • Amygdala – fear circuits created in traumatic experiences

17. Causes of Anxiety Disorders • Psychoanalytic Perspective • Produced by repressed memories • Example: Afraid to go out on dates because sexually abused by father

18. Generalized Anxiety Disorder • GAD - An anxiety disorder in which a person is continuously tense, apprehensive and in a state of autonomic nervous system arousal. • Fearful most of the time accompanied by heart palpitations, fatigue, dread, difficulty concentrating, sweating, or icy cold hands • Often accompanied by depression • Free Floating – person can’t identify , deal with or avoid cause

19. Panic Disorder • Panic Disorder - An anxiety disorder marked by a minutes-long episode of intense dread that something terrible will happen • Panic attack - chest pain, choking, heart palpitations, trembling, or dizziness

20. Phobias • Phobia - irrational fear causes person to avoid an activity or situation • Animals, insects, heights, blood, closed spaces • Social Phobia – fear of being scrutinized by others…avoid embarrassing social situations • Agoraphobia – fear of open spaces…having a panic attack with no way to escape…may accompany panic disorder • Phobia List

21. Obsessive-compulsive disorder • OCD - Persistent • Obsessions – repetitive thoughts • Compulsions – repetitive actions • Examples – hoarders, checkers, counters, cleaners • Causes • Evolutionary - Exaggerated behaviors of ancestors – checking territorial boundaries • Biological • insufficient serotonin • Anterior cingulated cortex • Learned – anxiety reduction reinforces behavior

22. Post-traumatic Stress Disorder • PTSD – Flashbacks, nightmares, withdrawal, anxiety, insomnia for more than 4 weeks following extremely stressful event. • Greater emotional distress the higher the risk for PTSD • Cause: Sensitive limbic system increases vulnerability by flooding body with stress hormones • Survival resiliency - ability to survive dozens of episodes of trauma • Post-traumatic growth – increased personal growth due to trauma

23. Somatoform Disorders • Somatoform Disorders - psychological problem that presents itself through physical symptoms • Examples • Conversion Disorder • Hypochondrias • Cause: socio-cultural • China report physical symptoms of psych distress • More common in Freud’s day

24. Conversion Disorder • Conversion Disorder – anxiety is converted to a physical symptom with no physiological basis. • Examples: blindness or paralysis. • 12 teenage girls in LeRoy, NY report uncontrollable body movements, tics and verbal outbursts

25. Hypochondriasis • Hypochondriasis – normal sensations are interpreted as a symptoms of a dreaded disease • Patients go from physician to physician seeking medical attention, but fail to find a biological root. • Example: Headache= brain tumor

26. Dissociative Disorders • Dissociative Disorders - involve a disruption to conscious awareness in which a person experiences a sudden loss of memory or change in identity, often in response to a traumatic event • Two types • Dissociative Fugue, Dissociative Identity Disorder • Symptoms in common • Memory loss of time periods, events, people • Distorted perception of people and things • watch self with sense of attachment • Blurred sense of identity

27. Dissociative Fugue • Conscious awareness is separated from painful memories or feelings • Patients find themselves in an unfamiliar environment with no knowledge of past life - create physical distance from real identity • Triggered by stress

28. Dissociative Identity Disorder • Used to be known as Multiple Personality Disorder. • 2 or more distinct personalities control a person’s behavior • Patients commonly have a history of childhood abuse or trauma.

29. DID Controversy AGAINST • Could be extreme version of our capacity to vary the “selves” we present in different situation • Constructive memory – leading questions may lead to constructing false memories of childhood trauma • Role-playing of fantasy-prone patients in response to leading questions • Outside US disorder is much less prevalent FOR • Distinct brain and body states associated with differing personalities • Heightened brain activity in areas associated with control and inhibition of traumatic memories

30. Mood Disorders • Characterized by emotional extremes • 2 typical forms • Major Depressive Disorder • Bi-polar • The Common Cold of Psych Disorders • Inhibits aggression and risk taking, slows us down

31. Causes of Mood Disorders • Biological • Genes • Increased risk if have parent or sibling with disorder • Identical twins • Major Depression = 1 in 2 chance • Bipolar = 7 in 10 chance (2 in 10 for Fraternal) • Linkage analysis – isolating genes across generations • Not one single gene found • Heritablity – 35 to 40% in major depression • Brain • Less activity in brain during depressed states, more activity during mania • Left frontal lobe active during positive emotions is inactive during depression • Hippocampus – vulnerable to stress related damage • Biochemical • Norepinephrine – scarce: depression;abundant: mania • Serotonin – scarce • Drugs used to block reuptake of norepinephrine and seratonin relieve symptoms

32. Causes of Mood Disorders • Social Cognitive • Cognition • increased expectations of negative outcomes • Self defeating beliefs • Learned helplessness • Negative explanatory style - tend to explain events in stable (forever), global (affects everything) and internal (my fault) terms • Women : greater emotional memory to recall negative events, more likely to sense a lack of personal control, and over think in response to stressful situations • Social • Stressful life experiences • Individualistic countries • Psychoanalytical • Internalization of anger

33. Suicide • Risk highest when rebounding from depression • Higher risk if abuse alcohol • Social suggestion may trigger suicide • Talk about suicide

34. Major Depression • Major Depressive Disorder – at least 5 signs of depression and lasts 2 or more weeks • Signs of depression: • lethargy • feelings of worthlessness • loss of interest in family/friends • Loss of interest in activities • With or without therapy, episodes usually end

35. Bipolar Disorder • Bipolar Disorder – alternating between depression and mania. • Mania – euphoric, hyperactive/high energy, over-talkative, overactive, require less sleep, take more risks, and are wildly optimistic state • Formally manic depression.

36. Seasonal Affective Disorder • Seasonal Affective Disorder - Experience depression during the winter months. • Based not on temperature, but on amount of sunlight. • Treated with light therapy.

37. Personality Disorders • Personality Disorders - Well-established, maladaptive ways of behaving that negatively affect people’s ability to function. • 3 clusters • Anxious/fearful • Avoidant personality disorder • Eccentric/Odd • Schizoid personality disorder • Impulsive/erratic • Histrionic personality disorder • Narcissistic personality disorder

38. Antisocial Personality Disorder • Antisocial Personality Disorder – Lack of conscience = antisocial behavior (lying, cheating, stealing, sexual promiscuity • Feel and fear little • May be aggressive and ruthless or a clever con artist • Usually Male • Conduct disorder in children

39. Causes of Antisocial Personality Disorder • Biological • Little or no physical reaction • No autonomic nervous system arousal (low levels of adrenaline)to adverse events • May lead to fearless behaviors • Low levels of stress hormones • Reduced frontal lobe activity and tissue • Genes • Prone to alcohol and drug addiction • Social – poverty and family instability, child abuse

40. Histrionic Personality Disorder • Histrionic Personality Disorder – attention seeking behaviors

41. Narcissistic Personality Disorder • Narcissistic Personality Disorder – self involvement/obsession with self • Thinking that you are the center of the universe.

42. Schizoid Personality Disorder • Schizoid Personality Disorder – lack of interest in social events and relationships

43. Avoidant Personality Disorder • Anxiety personality disorder • Lifelong pattern of feeling very shy, inadequate, and fear social rejection.

44. Schizophrenic Disorders • Schizophrenia – meaning split mind and characterized by • Disorganized thinking. • Disturbed Perceptions • Inappropriate Emotions and Actions • 2 General Types • Reactive (acute) schizophrenia – develops rapidly, but more likely recovery • Chronic(process) schizophrenia– slow to develop and less likely to recover

45. Disorganized Thinking • Thinking that is fragmented, bizarre and distorted with false beliefs. • Speech is fragmented and full of unrelated words = word salad • May be caused by breakdown in selective attention –inability to filter out information.

46. Delusions (false beliefs) • Delusions of Persecution • Example: “The police are trying to get me and take me to prison” • Delusions of Grandeur • Example: “I am Jesus and can walk on water”

47. Disturbed Perceptions • hallucinations- sensory experiences without sensory stimulation. • Example: • Hear voices saying “You are bad and should burn yourself with a cigarette”

48. Inappropriate Emotions and Actions • Laugh at inappropriate times. • Flat Effect – no emotion • Senseless, compulsive acts. • Catatonia- motionless Waxy Flexibility

49. Positive v. Negative Symptoms • Positive Symptoms • Presence of inappropriate symptoms • Hallucinations, disorganized thoughts, delusion, inappropriate emotions • Negative Symptoms • Absence of appropriate ones. • Toneless voices, expressionless faces, mute, rigid bodies

50. Subtypes of Schizophrenia • Disorganized - disorganized speech or behavior, or flat or inappropriate emotion. • Paranoid – preoccupation with delusions or hallucinations, often with themes of persecution or grandiosity • Catatonic – immobility, extreme negativism, parrot-like repeating of speech and movement • Undifferentiated – many and varied symptoms • Residual – Withdrawal after hallucinations and delusions have disappeared.