psychological disorders coach vittrup psychology 12/8/14

Psychological Disorders

Coach VittrupPsychology

12/8/14

Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.

Defining and ClassifyingDefining and Classifying

Historical Explanations of Abnormal Behaviors• Demonic possession• Physical diseases• Products of psychological

conflicts• Learned maladaptive behaviors• Distorted perceptions of the

world



Criteria for “abnormality”

• Distress• Dysfunction• Deviance



Distress• Cause for significant

anxiety, sorrow or emotional pain

• Usually comes when disproportionately acute or long-lasting



Dysfunctionality• Inhibits their ability to perform every-

day, typical functions



Deviance• Behavior that departs from cultural

norms



What is Abnormal Behavior?Behavior that is so:

• Personally distressful• Personally dysfunctional• Culturally deviant

that others judge it as inappropriate or maladaptive



DSM-IV• Diagnostic and

Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition

• Most widely used classification system in U.S.


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DSM-IV Axes• Axis I: Primary clinical symptoms• Axis II: Long-standing personality or

developmental disorders

• Axis III: Relevant physical conditions• Axis IV: Intensity of environmental stressors• Axis V: Coping resources as reflected in

recent adaptive functioning



Legal Concepts• Competency

• Defendant’s state of mind at the time of a judicial hearing

• Insanity• Presumed state of

mind of defendant at time crime was committed


Anxiety DisordersAnxiety Disorders

Definition• Frequency and intensity of anxiety

responses are out of proportion to the situations that trigger them

• Anxiety interferes with daily life



Components of Anxiety Responses• Subjective-emotional• Cognitive• Physiological• Behavioral



Phobias• Strong and

irrational fears of certain objects or situations



Agoraphobia: Fear of open and public spaces from which escape would be difficult

Ablutophobia: Fear of bathing

Alektrophobia: Fear of chickens

Consecotalephobia: Fear of chopsticks Ombrophobia: Fear of being rained on Sesquipedalaphobia: Fear of long words



Generalized Anxiety Disorder• Chronic state of diffuse, “free-

floating” anxiety• Anxiety not attached to specific

objects or situations



Panic Disorder• Panic occurs suddenly and

unpredictably• Much more intense than typical

anxiety


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Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder• Obsessions

• Repetitive and unwelcome thoughts, images, or impulses

• Compulsions• Repetitive behavioral responses



Posttraumatic Stress Disorder• Severe anxiety disorder• Can occur in people exposed to

extreme trauma



Symptoms of PTSD• Severe symptoms of anxiety, arousal,

and distress• Reliving of trauma in flashbacks• Numb to world and avoidance of

reminders• Intense “survivor guilt”



Biological Factors in Anxiety• Overreactive autonomic nervous

system• Overreactive neurotransmitter

systems involved in emotional responses

• Overreactive right hemisphere sites involved in emotions



Cognitive Factors• Maladaptive thought patterns and

beliefs• Exaggerated misinterpretations of

stimuli


Dissociative DisordersDissociative Disorders

Breakdown of normal personality integration• Results in alterations to memory or

identity



Psychogenic Amnesia• Response to

stressful event with extensive but selective memory loss



Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)• Formerly called multiple personality

disorder• Two or more separate personalities

coexist in the same person



Causes of DID• Trauma-Dissociation Theory

• Development of personalities is a response to severe stress


Mood (Affective) DisordersMood (Affective) Disorders

Involve depression and mania Most frequently experienced

(with anxiety disorders) psychological disorders



Major Depression• Intense depressed

state• Leaves people

unable to function effectively in their lives



Symptoms of Depression• Negative mood• Cognitive symptoms• Motivational symptoms• Somatic (physical) symptoms


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Bipolar Disorder• Depression

alternates with periods of mania

• Mania = Highly excited mood and behavior



Prevalence of Mood Disorders• 1 in 20 Americans is severely

depressed (Narrow et al., 2002)• 1 in 5 Americans will have a

depressive episode of clinical proportions during lifetime (Hamilton, 1989)



Gender Differences• Women about twice as

likely to suffer from depression



Depressive Cognitive Triad Negative thoughts concerning:

• The world• Oneself• The future


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Learned Helplessness Theory• Depression occurs when people

expect that bad events will occur and they think that they can’t cope with them


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SuicideSuicide

Willful taking of one’s life

Second most frequent cause of death among high school and college students

Women attempt more suicides; men are more likely to kill selves


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SuicideSuicide

Warning Signs of Suicide• Verbal or behavioral threat to kill self• History of previous attempts• Detailed plan that involves a lethal

method


SchizophreniaSchizophrenia

Severe disturbances in:• Thinking• Speech• Perception• Emotion• Behavior



Diagnosis of Schizophrenia • Misinterpretation of reality• Disordered attention, thought,

perception• Withdrawal from social activities



Diagnosis of Schizophrenia cont.• Strange or inappropriate

communication• Neglect of personal grooming• Disorganized behavior



Delusions• False beliefs that are sustained in the

face of contrary evidence normally sufficient to destroy them



Hallucinations

• False perceptions that have a compelling sense of reality

• Can be auditory or visual



Subtypes of Schizophrenia• Paranoid

• Delusions of persecution and grandeur



Subtypes of Schizophrenia• Disorganized

• Confusion and incoherence• Severe deterioration of adaptive

behavior



Subtypes of Schizophrenia• Catatonic

• Motor disturbances from muscular rigidity to random or repetitive movements



Positive Symptoms• Bizarre behaviors such as delusions,

hallucinations, and disordered speech, thinking

Negative Symptoms• Absence of normal reactions• e.g., emotional expression,

motivation, normal speech



Biological Causes• Genetic predisposition• Destruction of neural tissue

(neurodegenerative hypothesis)• Atrophy in brain regions that

influence cognitions, emotions


Personality DisordersPersonality Disorders

Stable, ingrained, inflexible, and maladaptive ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving

Increase likelihood of acquiring, maintaining several Axis I disorders



Three Clusters:

• Dramatic and impulsive behaviors

• Anxiety and fearfulness• Odd and eccentric

behaviors



Antisocial Personality Disorder• Psychopaths or sociopaths• 3:1 male-female ratio• Lack a conscience• Fail to respond to punishment


Childhood DisordersChildhood Disorders

ADHD (Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder)• Attentional difficulties• Hyperactivity-impulsivity• Most common childhood disorder (7-

10% of U.S. children)



Causes of ADHD• Genetic predispositions• Brain scans show no differences with

“normals”• Environmental factors



Other Externalizing Disorders• Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)

• Disobedient, defiant, hostile• Conduct Disorder

• Violate social norms and show disregard for others’ rights


Dementia in Old AgeDementia in Old Age

Alzheimer’s Disease• 60% of senile dementias• Caused by deterioration in frontal

and temporal lobes of brain• Plaques in brain• Destruction of cells that produce

acetylcholine

psychological disorders coach vittrup psychology 12/8/14

Documents

mcgrawhill companies

maladaptive slide

world slide

longlasting slide

daily life slide

anxiety disorders agoraphobi

significant anxiety

developmental disorders