Introduction to Psychology

Psychological Disorders

The Question of Normality

What does it mean to be “normal”?

Who decides what is “normal”?

Psychopathology

The scientific study of mental, emotional, and behavioral problems

1 out of 100 people will require psychiatric hospitalization during their lifetime

Psychopathology

Subjective discomfort- may or may not be present

Statistical abnormality- deviating from the norm

What makes behavior abnormal?

Core features of abnormality: The behavior is maladaptive

There is a loss of control

Abnormal Behavior:Other Considerations

Violation of social norms

Behavior is abnormal based on situational, societal, and cultural contexts

Social Construction of Mental Illness

Labels: inventions/artifacts of particular cultures

Dominant discourses on mental illness

Rosenhan Study

Participants posed as persons with mental illnesses

Normal behavior was perceived as pathological

Thomas Szaz

“Myth of Mental Illness”

Against the disease model of mental illness

Deviations from the norm

Mental Disorders Diagnosed with the DSM-IV

For communication between professionals

To classify/understand behaviors

For HMOs

The Stigma of Labels

Stigma and discrimination May be denied housing, jobs, may

lose friends, etc.

Self-fulfilling prophesy

Mental Disorders Substance abuse

disorders

Mood disorders

Anxiety disorders

Somatoform disorders

Psychotic disorders

Dissociative disorders

Personality disorders

Sexual/gender identity disorders

Anxiety Disorders

Apprehension, fear, dread

Out of proportion to the situation

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Excessively anxious/worried

Free floating anxiety

Anxiety triggered in many situations

OCD

Obsessive-compulsive disorder

Disturbing, anxiety-provoking thoughts

Compulsive behavior to keep anxiety under control

Panic Disorder

Sudden, intense, unexpected panic attacks

Racing heart, chest pains, fear of dying

Fear of losing control

Specific Phobia

Fear/anxiety toward a specific situation

11% have a phobia during their lifetime

Mood Disorders Depression:

Intense, prolonged sadness

Hopelessness, lack of energy, negative self-image

Dysthymic Disorder

Low grade depression

Fairly consistent for 2 years or more

Bipolar Disorder

Extreme moods

Depression and mania

Mania: elated, hyperactive, filled with energy, lack of sleep, risk taking, grandiosity

Eating Disorders

Anorexia-nervosa: self-starvation; underweight; issues of control

Bulimia: binge-purge cycles; typically normal to overweight

Personality Disorders

Maladaptive personality patterns

Often start in childhood/adolescence; officially diagnosed at age 18

Antisocial Personality Disorder

Lacks conscience

Impulsive/selfish

Aggressive/violent

Lack of remorse

Criminality

Antisocial Personality Disorder

Many were abused/deprived in childhood

Subtle neurological problems Under-arousal when viewing

disturbing material

Difficult to treat

Borderline Personality Disorder Impulsivity/erratic behavior

Instability in relationships

Highly manipulative

Self-mutilating: high risk of suicide

Often co-morbid with mood disorders

Psychotic Disorders

Retreat from reality

Schizophrenia and delusional disorders

Schizophrenia Delusions and hallucinations

(bizarre)

Delusions: deeply held false beliefs Hallucinations: seeing/hearing

something that isn’t present

Disordered thinking Flat or inappropriate affect

Schizophrenia

Process: develops slowly, over the lifespan

Reactive: develops in response to an event

Schizophrenia:Types

Paranoid

Disorganized

Catatonic

Undifferentiated

Schizophrenia:Causes Biological: dopamine hypothesis; brain

abnormalities; genetic link Identical twins: 50%

Exposure to the disease in the womb/complications during birth

Childhood trauma, dysfunctional family environments

Delusional Disorders

Deeply held false beliefs w/o hallucinations (non-bizarre)

Insist these beliefs are true, even in the face of contrary evidence

Risk Factors for Mental Illness Social: poverty, stress, homelessness

Family: disturbed parents, criminality, abuse

Psychological: stress, low IQ, lack of control/mastery

Biological: genetic defects, poor prenatal care, low birth weight, born with addictions