1 / 17

Abnormal Psychology

Abnormal Psychology. Overview. Is mental illness different from medical illness? How common is mental illness? How is mental illness diagnosed? Examples of mental disorders. The Mind-Body Problem. Is mental illness distinct from medical illness? Assumes a duality of mind and body

saburo
Download Presentation

Abnormal Psychology

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Abnormal Psychology

  2. Overview • Is mental illness different from medical illness? • How common is mental illness? • How is mental illness diagnosed? • Examples of mental disorders

  3. The Mind-Body Problem • Is mental illness distinct from medical illness? • Assumes a duality of mind and body • Reminder: everything we think and do is related to brain activity

  4. How Common is Mental Illness? • About 50% of the population experiences at least one mental illness. • Almost everyone will either have a mental illness or know somebody who does

  5. Diagnosing Psychological Disorders • Diagnosis has pros and cons • Reliability varies according to diagnostic method and type of disorder • Use of DSM-IV

  6. DSM-IV Axes • 1. Major Clinical Syndromes • 2. Personality Disorders and Mental Retardation • 3. General Medical Conditions • 4. Psychosocial and Environmental Problems • 5. Global Assessment of Functioning

  7. Examples of Axis I Disorders • Mood Disorders • Major Depressive Disorder • Anxiety Disorders • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder • Schizophrenia and Other Psychotic Disorders

  8. Major Depressive Disorder • bad mood • lack of interest or motivation • abnormal eating • abnormal sleeping • difficulty concentrating • feeling worthless • suicidal thoughts

  9. MDD: Possible Causes • Genetic predisposition • Neurotransmitter imbalance, e.g. insufficient serotonin • Stress and related hormonal changes, e.g. increased cortisol level • Learned Helplessness

  10. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder • obsessions: persistent, irrational thoughts • compulsions: impulses to perform repeated behaviors

  11. OCD: Possible Causes • Genetic predisposition • Neurotransmitter problem, e.g., underactive GABA system (inhibitory neurotransmitter) • Brain abnormality, e.g., decreased white matter (axons) • Learned response to reduce anxiety

  12. Schizophrenia • NOT “split personality” • Disordered thinking • Symptoms vary according to subtype

  13. Paranoid Schizophrenia • Delusions • Grandeur • Paranoia • Reference • Hallucinations, esp. auditory

  14. Catatonic Schizophrenia • Disordered movement • Rigidity • Wild movement

  15. Disorganized Schizophrenia • Disorganized speech • Loose associations • Neologisms • Hallucinations • Delusions • Inappropriate Affect

  16. Schizophrenia: Other Subtypes • Undifferentiated: pattern does not fall into any of the other categories • Residual: No current symptoms, but previous episodes of symptoms

  17. Schizophrenia: Possible Causes • Genetic predisposition • Abnormality in brain function/structure, e.g., frontal lobes • Early exposure to viruses • Abnormal dopamine system • Too much: positive symptoms • Too little: negative symptoms

More Related