Abnormal Psychology

Medical model

Proposes that it is useful to think of abnormal behavior as a disease.

Generalized anxiety disorder

Disorder marked by a chronic high level of anxiety which is not tied to any specific threat.

Specific phobia

Disorder marked by a persistent and irrational fear of an object or situation that presents no realistic danger.

Panic disorder

Disorder that involves recurrent attacks of overwhelming anxiety that usually occur suddenly and unexpectedly.

obsessive-compulsive disorder

Disorder marked by persistent, uncontrollable intrusions of unwanted thoughts and urges to engage in senseless rituals.

agoraphobia

A fear of going out in public places.

somatic symptom disorders

A class of disorders involving physical ailments that have no authentic organic basis and are due to psychological factors. (The symptoms are real.)

Conversion disorder

Disorder that involves a significant loss of physical function (with no apparent organic basis), usually in a single-organ system.

Dissociative Disorders

A class of disorders in which people lose contact with portions of their consciousness or memory, resulting in disruptions in their sense of identity.

Dissociative Amnesia

A sudden loss of memory for important personal information that is too extensive to be due to normal forgetting.

Dissociative Identity Disorder

The new term that replaced multiple-personality disorder in the DSM-IV (and DSM-V).

Mood Disorders

A class of disorders marked by depressed or elevated mood disturbances that may spill over to disrupt physical, perceptual, social, and thought processes.

Depression

A disorder marked by persistent feelings of sadness and despair and a loss of interest in previous sources of pleasure.

Bipolar Disorder

Disorders marked by the experience of both depressive and manic periods.

concordance

Statistic indicating the percentage of twin pairs or other pairs of relatives who exhibit the same disorder.

Schizophrenia

A class of disorders marked by disturbances in thought that spill over to affect perceptual, social, and emotional processes.

delusions

False beliefs that are maintained even though they clearly are out of touch with reality

hallucinations

Sensory perceptions that occur in the absence of a real, external stimulus or gross distortions of perceptual input

Personality disorders

A class of disorders marked by extreme, inflexible personality traits that cause subjective distress or impaired social and occupational functioning

Antisocial personality disorder

Disorder marked by impulsive, callous, manipulative, aggressive, and irresponsible behavior; reflects a failure to accept social norms.

insanity

A legal status indicating that a person cannot be held responsible for his or her actions because of mental illness.

Cyclothymic disorder

Chronic but relatively mild symptoms of bipolar disturbance.

Persistent depressive disorder

Chronic depression that is insufficient in severity to merit diagnosis of a major depressive episode

Antipsychotics/neuroleptics

Class of drugs used to treat schizophrenia; reduce dopamine activity

antidepressants

Class of drugs used to treat depression; affect serotonin, norepinephrine or dopamine levels

etiology

Refers to the apparent causation and developmental history of an illness.

prognosis

A forecast about the possible course of an illness.

positive symptoms

One part of a two-category classification system of schizophrenia that includes behavioral excesses such as hallucinations, delusions, and bizarre behavior.

Somatic symptom disorder

Disorder marked by a history of diverse physical complaints (multiple organ systems) over many years that appear to be psychological in origin.

illness anxiety disorder

Disorder that involves excessive preoccupation with health concerns and incessant worrying about developing physical illnesses.

Negative symptoms

A part of a two-category classification system of schizophrenia that includes behavioral deficits, such as flattened emotions, social withdrawal, and apathy.

Maladaptive behavior and personal distress

The two best ways to define abnormal behavior (based on our discussions)

high expressed emotion

Schizophrenic patients returning to this type of family environment have a higher relapse rate

approx. 50%

Concordance rate for identical twins with schizophrenia

ventricles

Area of the brain enlarged in many patients with schizophrenia

lithium

Used to treat the mania of bipolar disorder

cognitive therapy

Emphasizes recognizing and changing negative thought patterns

social anxiety disorder

fear of performing in social situations

tardive dyskinesia

A side effect of long-term use of traditional antipsychotic drugs causing the person to have uncontrollable facial tics, grimaces, and other involuntary movements of the lips, jaw, and tongue.

observational learning

claims that we can learn phobias by imitating the fears of others

depression

poor social skills, exposure to environmental stress, negative self-image and being evaluated poorly by others are all associated with this disorder

histrionic personality disorder

a personality disorder characterized by excessive emotionality and preoccupation with being the center of attention; emotional shallowness; overly dramatic behavior

borderline personality disorder

a long-term pattern of abnormal behavior characterized by unstable relationships with other people, unstable sense of self, and unstable emotions.

narcissistic personality disorder

characterized by a grandiose sense of self-importance, a preoccupation with fantasies of success or power, and a need for constant attention or admiration

diagnostic labeling effects

stigmas are often attached to the label of psychological disorder