AP Psych Unit 5 | Understanding Psychosis

Schizophrenic Spectrum Disorders

• characterized by:

  • delusions

  • hallucinations

  • disorganized thinking or speech

  • disorganized motor behavior

  • negative symptoms

• can be experienced as either acute or chronic conditions

• includes schizophrenia and other disorders

Schizophrenia

• psychological disorder characterized by:

  • persistent delusions

  • hallucinations

  • disorganized thinking or speech

  • disorganized motor behavior

  • other negative symptoms

• significantly impairs daily functioning

• lasts at least 6 months

Positive (+) Symptoms

additional behaviors or experiences not present in healthy individuals

• delusions - strongly held false beliefs not based in reality

• hallucinations - sensory experiences without external stimuli

• disorganized thinking/speech - incoherent or nonsensical speech

• disorganized motor behavior - unusual or excessive movements

Negative (-) Symptoms

deficits in normal emotional and behavioral functions

• affective flattening - reduced expression of emotions

• alogia - reduced speech output

• anhedonia - inability to experience pleasure

• avolition - lack of motivation to initiate and perform self-directed purposeful activities

Delusions

strongly held false beliefs not true to reality despite clear evidence to the contrary

• delusions of persecution - false belief that one is being targeted/harassed

• delusions of persecution - false belief in one’s exceptional abilities, wealth, or fame

Hallucinations

false sensory experiences without external stimuli

Disorganized Thinking/Speech

incoherent or nonsensical speech patterns, such as jumping between unrelated topics or using words inappropriately

Disorganized Motor Behavior

unusual or excessive movements, such as excessive agitation, bizarre postures, etc.

• significantly impacts daily functioning

• catatonia

  • excitement (+) - excessive, purposeless motor activity

  • stupor (-) - lack of movement or response

Flat Affect

severe reduction in emotional expressiveness where the individual shows little or no facial expression, voice tone, or emotional reaction

Dopamine Hypothesis

suggests that the disorder is linked to an imbalance of dopamine activity in the brain

• excessive dopamine activity contributes to symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations

Dissociative Disorders

characterized by:

• disruptions or discontinuities in:

  • consciousness

  • memory

  • identity

  • perception

• leads to significant impairment in daily functioning

• includes:

  • DID

  • Dissociative Amnesia

  • + others

Fugue

suddenly being away from one’s usual environment with an inability to recall one’s past and confusion about personal identity

Dissociative Amnesia

an inability to recall important autobiographical information, usually of a traumatic or stressful nature

• can be accompanied by fugue

Dissociative Identity Disorder

characterized by the presence of two or more distinct personality states or identities, each with their own pattern of perceiving and interacting with the world

• results in gaps in memory and a disrupted sense of self