Psycholgical Disorders pt. 1

Psychological disorder

A syndrome involving clinically significant disturbance in cognition emotion or behavior reflecting dysfunction in psychological biological or developmental processes and causing distress or impairment

Abnormal behavior criteria

Determined by individual variation cultural norms historical context and degree of impairment rather than a strict boundary

Continuum model

Psychological experiences exist on a spectrum rather than discrete categories such as sadness versus depression

DSM-5

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fifth Edition used to classify and diagnose mental disorders based on observable symptoms

Reliability in diagnosis

The extent to which different clinicians using the same system reach the same diagnosis

Validity in diagnosis

The degree to which diagnostic categories are meaningful and predict behavior course and treatment response

DSM-5 symptom criteria

Disorders defined by specific observable behavioral and psychological symptoms

Prevalence rates

Statistical estimates of how common a disorder is in the population

Predisposing factors

Biological psychological or environmental conditions that increase likelihood of developing a disorder

Age of onset

The typical age at which a disorder first appears

Diagnostic interviews

Structured methods used by clinicians to assess symptoms and assign diagnoses

Classification of disorders

Organization of mental disorders into categories such as anxiety mood psychotic and personality disorders

Neurodevelopmental disorders

Disorders that originate in childhood involving brain development such as ADHD and autism

Schizophrenia spectrum disorders

Disorders involving psychosis hallucinations and disorganized thinking

Mood disorders

Disorders involving disturbances in emotional state such as depression and bipolar disorder

Anxiety disorders

Disorders characterized by excessive fear worry and physiological arousal

Obsessive compulsive related disorders

Disorders involving intrusive thoughts and repetitive behaviors aimed at reducing anxiety

Trauma and stressor related disorders

Disorders resulting from exposure to traumatic or stressful events such as PTSD

Dissociative disorders

Disorders involving disruptions in memory identity or consciousness

Somatic symptom disorders

Disorders involving physical symptoms with no clear medical cause linked to psychological distress

Feeding and eating disorders

Disorders involving abnormal eating behaviors such as anorexia and bulimia

Personality disorders

Enduring maladaptive patterns of behavior cognition and inner experience

Confirmation bias

The tendency to seek evidence that confirms existing beliefs while ignoring contradictory information

Schemas in diagnosis

Mental frameworks that influence how clinicians interpret patient behavior and symptoms

Labeling effect

Once a person is labeled with a disorder their behavior is interpreted through that diagnostic lens

Rosenhan study purpose

To test whether clinicians can distinguish between mentally ill and healthy individuals

Pseudo-patients

Healthy individuals who feigned symptoms to gain admission to psychiatric hospitals

Rosenhan study method

Participants reported hearing voices then behaved normally after admission

Rosenhan study findings

Most pseudo-patients were diagnosed with schizophrenia and none were identified by staff

Length of hospitalization Rosenhan

Participants stayed between 7 and 52 days with an average of 19 days

Staff behavior Rosenhan

Staff often ignored patients and interpreted normal behavior as pathological due to labels

Second Rosenhan experiment

Hospitals falsely identified real patients as pseudo-patients when warned of deception

Implication of Rosenhan study

Diagnostic labels and context strongly influence perception and treatment of patients

Anxiety disorder definition

Disorders characterized by excessive fear anxiety and avoidance behaviors

Phobia

An irrational excessive fear that causes significant distress or interferes with daily functioning

Agoraphobia

Fear of open spaces crowds or situations where escape is difficult

Social phobia

Fear of social situations involving possible scrutiny or embarrassment

Specific phobia

Fear of a particular object or situation such as animals heights or flying

Freudian explanation of phobias

Phobias arise from displacement of deeper unconscious fears

Classical conditioning phobias

Fear is learned through association between a neutral stimulus and a traumatic event

Reinforcement in phobias

Avoidance reduces anxiety which strengthens the phobic response

Evolutionary preparedness

Humans are biologically predisposed to fear certain survival relevant stimuli like snakes

Systematic desensitization

Treatment involving gradual exposure to feared stimuli while maintaining relaxation

Panic attack

A sudden episode of intense fear with strong physical symptoms in the absence of real danger

Panic disorder

Recurrent unexpected panic attacks accompanied by fear of future attacks

Panic attack symptoms

Include heart palpitations dizziness trembling shortness of breath sweating nausea and fear of losing control

Stress and panic disorder

Panic attacks often occur after major stressors or life events

Generalized anxiety disorder GAD

Chronic excessive anxiety lasting at least six months without a specific trigger

Characteristics of GAD

Persistent worry about everyday issues sensitivity to criticism and rumination on past mistakes

PTSD

A disorder following trauma involving flashbacks nightmares hyperarousal and emotional numbness

OCD definition

A disorder involving obsessions intrusive thoughts and compulsions repetitive behaviors to reduce anxiety

Obsessions

Persistent uncontrollable thoughts or impulses that cause distress

Compulsions

Repetitive behaviors performed to reduce anxiety caused by obsessions

OCD cycle

Obsessions produce anxiety which leads to compulsions that temporarily reduce anxiety

Dissociative disorder definition

Disorders involving disruption in memory consciousness identity or perception

Dissociative amnesia

Loss of memory for important personal information often following trauma

Fugue state

A form of dissociative amnesia involving travel and adoption of a new identity

Depersonalization

Feeling detached from one’s own body or mental processes

Derealization

Feeling that the external world is unreal distant or foggy

Dissociative identity disorder DID

A disorder characterized by two or more distinct personalities within one individual

Cause of DID

Often associated with severe childhood trauma or abuse as a coping mechanism

Controversy of DID

Debate over whether it is a distinct disorder or influenced by therapist suggestion

Major depressive disorder

A mood disorder involving persistent sadness loss of interest and impaired functioning

Symptoms of depression

Include hopelessness fatigue sleep disturbance guilt poor concentration and suicidal thoughts

Depression demographics

More common in women increases after adolescence peaks in middle age and occurs across cultures

Prevalence of depression

Approximately 19 million Americans experience major depression with higher rates in females

Evolutionary theory of depression

Depression may promote withdrawal from unattainable goals to conserve energy

Biological factors depression

Genetic influences and neurotransmitter imbalances contribute to depression

Learned helplessness

A condition in which repeated failure leads to belief that one cannot control outcomes

Seligman experiment setup

Dogs exposed to unavoidable shocks later failed to escape even when escape was possible

Seligman experiment results

Dogs in no escape condition showed high failure to escape compared to controls

Generalization of helplessness

Learned helplessness can extend to new situations leading to passivity and depression