Chapter 12: Psychological Disorders

Paraphilias

or psychosexual disorders are marked by the sexual attraction to an object, a person, or an activity not usually seen as sexual.

Psychoanalytic theorists

believe that dissociative disorders result when an extremely traumatic event has been so thoroughly repressed that a split in consciousness results.

David Rosenhan

In 1978, conducted a study in which he and a number of associates sought admission to a number of mental hospitals.

Substance

- related and addictive disorders is a diagnosis made when the use of such or behaviors like gambling regularly negatively affects a persons life.

parental support

Children with autism spectrum disorder seek out less social and emotional contact than do other children and are less likely to seek out when distressed.

Hallucinations

are perceptions in the absence of any sensory stimulation.

Psychoanalysts

commonly view depression as the product of anger directed inward, loss during the early psychosexual stages, or an overly punitive superego.

DSM

The , as its name suggests, provides a way for psychologists to diagnose their patients.

SAD

is often treated with light therapy.

Aaron Beck

, a cognitive theorist, believed that depression results from unreasonably negative ideas that people have about themselves, their world, and their futures.

Positive symptoms

refer to excesses in behavior, thought, or mood such as neologisms and hallucinations, whereas negative symptoms correspond to deficits such as flat affect or catatonia.

mood

Someone with a(n) or affective disorder experiences extreme or inappropriate emotions.

Schizophrenia

is probably the most severe and debilitating of the psychological disorders.

Agoraphobia

is a fear of open, public spaces.

Personality disorders

are well- established, maladaptive ways of behaving that negatively affect peoples ability to function.

DSM

The contains the symptoms of everything currently considered to be a psychological disorder.

Learned helplessness is when ones prior experiences have caused that person to view him

or herself as unable to control aspects of the future that are controllable

insane

often used by laypeople to describe psychological disorders in general, is not a medical term.

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)

provides a way for psychologists to diagnose their patients.

Anxiety Disorders

share a common symptom of anxiety.

specific phobia

is an intense unwarranted fear of a situation or an object such as claustrophobia (fear of enclosed spaces) or arachnophobia (fear of spiders).

generalized anxiety disorder

often referred to as GAD, experiences constant, low-level anxiety.

Somatic symptom disorders

occur when a person manifests a psychological problem through a physiological symptom.

Dissociative Disorders

involve a disruption in conscious processes.

Dissociative amnesia

is when a person cannot remember things and no physiological basis for the disruption in memory can be identified.

organic amnesia

Biologically induced amnesia is called

Dissociative identity disorder

formerly known as multiple personality disorder, is when a person has several personalities rather than one integrated personality.

Major depressive disorder

also known as unipolar depression, is the most common mood disorder and is often referred to as the common cold of all psychological disorders.

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD)

is the resulting diagnosis.

Aaron Beck

a cognitive theorist, believed that depression results from unreasonably negative ideas that people have about themselves, their world, and their futures.

Learned helplessness

is when one’s prior experiences have caused that person to view him- or herself as unable to control aspects of the future that are controllable.

Schizophrenia

is probably the most severe and debilitating of the psychological disorders.

Delusions

are beliefs that have no basis in reality.

Delusions of persecution

the belief that people are out to get you.

Delusions of grandeur

the belief that you enjoy greater power and influence than you do, that you are the president of the United States or a Nobel Prize–winning author.

Hallucinations

are perceptions in the absence of any sensory stimulation.

neolo­gisms

make up their own words

clang associations

string together a series of nonsense words that rhyme

catatonia

a motor problem.

waxy flexibility

When motionless, catatonic schizophrenics usually evidence

Positive symptoms

refer to excesses in behavior, thought, or mood such as neologisms and hallucinations

negative symptoms

correspond to deficits such as flat affect or catatonia.

dopamine hypothesis

One of the most popular ideas about the cause of schizophrenia is biological and is called the

Personality disorders

are well-established, maladaptive ways of behaving that negatively affect people’s ability to function.

antisocial personality disorder

The most important personality disorder with which you should be familiar is

dependent personality ­disorder

people with ___ rely too much on the attention and help of others

narcissistic personality disorder

involves seeing oneself as the center of the universe (narcissism means “self-love”)

histrionic personality disorder

connotes overly dramatic behavior (histrionics).

obsessive-compulsive personality disorder

may be overly concerned with certain thoughts and performing certain behaviors, but they will not be debilitated to the same extent that someone with obsessive-compulsive disorder would.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder

known as OCD, is when persistent, unwanted thoughts (obsessions) cause someone to feel the need (compulsion) to engage in a particular action.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

usually involves flashbacks or nightmares following a person’s involvement in or observation of an extremely troubling event such as a war or natural disaster.

Paraphilias or psychosexual disorders

are marked by the sexual attraction to an object, a person, or an activity not usually seen as sexual.

pedophilia

attraction to children

zoophilia

attraction to animals

fetishism

attraction to objects, such as shoes

voyeur

Someone who becomes sexually aroused by watching others engage in some kind of sexual behavior is a

masochist

someone who is aroused by having pain inflicted upon him or her is a

sadist

someone who is aroused by inflicting pain on someone else is a

Substance-related and addictive disorders

is a diagnosis made when the use of such substances or behaviors like gambling regularly negatively affects a person’s life.

autism spectrum disorder

seek out less social and emotional contact than do other children and are less likely to seek out parental support when distressed.

David Rosenhan

conducted a study in which he and a number of associates sought admission to a number of mental hospitals.