Final Psychology Section

Why Learn about Psych Disorders?

personal familiarity, helping someone who has a mental illness, our mind’s understanding improves

Psychological Disorder

significant disfunction in one’s cognition, emotions, or behaviors

Disorders

diagnosed when there’s dysfunction, behaviors considered maladaptive b/c they interfere with daily life. A collection of symptoms

Reasons to Diagnose

diagnosing lets us make decisions on how to treat the problem properly

Outdated Illness Treatments

exorcising evil spirits, beatings, caging/restraints, etc.

Philippe Pinel’s New Approach

proposed mental disorders weren’t caused by demons but stress & inhumane conditions

Syphilis and Mental Symptoms

discovery of this suggested a medical model for mental illness

Psychological Disorders

psychopathology, an illness of the mind

Medical Model

psych disorders, plain disorders, people being treated for disorders

Culture-bound symptoms

disorders that seem to only exist in certain cultures; they demonstrate how culture can play a role in causing and defining a disorder.

Cultural Disorders

Bulimia Nervosa= purging in the US, Running amok= violent outbursts, Malaysia, Hikikamori= social withdrawal, Japan

Diagnosis Benefits

verbal shorthand for referring to list of associated symptoms, let us statistically study similar cases, guide treatment choices

DSM

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, consistent w/diagnoses worldwide, allows us to have clearer disorder definitions

Critiques of DSM

1. calls too many people disordered

2. border between abnormal/normal seems arbitrary

3. decisions on what a disorder is seems to have value judgments

4. diagnostic labels direct how we view & interpret the world

Stigmas and Stereotypes

some think a diagnostic label makes them tainted, weak, or weird. Many negative stigmas come from pop culture, not DSM

Schizophrenia

not linked to violent tendencies, though some assume they are. Schizophrenics= more likely subjected to violence rather than being violent themselves.

Anxiety Disorders

our self-protective, risk-reduction instincts in overdrive

Types of Anxiety Disorders

1. Generalized Anxiety= painful worrying

2. Panic Disorder= fear of the next attack

3. phobias= don’t even show me a picture

4. OCD= I know it doesn’t make sense, but I can’t help it

5. PTSD= stuck re-experiencing trauma

Causes of Anxiety Disorders

fear conditioning, observational learning, genetic/evolutionary predispositions, brain involvement

Poverty

increases risk of disorders. Disorders are less likely when poverty is lifted

Ages of Vulnerability

1. vulnerability= starts in young adulthood (depression, anxiety, etc.)

2. Phobias= earlier signs, starting around age 10 (median)

3. Major depression= can arise later than 20

Mood Disorders

depressive/bipolar disorders

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

emotional-cognitive symptoms including worrying, anxious feelings, “free-floating” anxiety, anxious anticipation

Physical symptoms of GAD

autonomic arousal, trembling, sweating, fidgeting

Panic Disorder

consists of panic attacks, not just anxiety. several min of terror, chest pain/choking and numbness, feeling the need to escape.

Specific Phobia

more than a strong fear/dislike of something, uncontrollable/intense desire to avoid the same object or situation. Even images trigger them

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

distraction from underlying anxiety, compulsions worsen through cycle of negative-reinforcement

Obsessions

intense, unwanted worries, ideas and images that repeatedly pop up in the mind.

Compulsion

repeatedly strong feeling of needing to carry out an action, even if it doesn’t make sense

Distress

deeply frustrated w/not being able to control the behaviors

Dysfunction

when the time and mental energy spent on these thoughts & behaviors interfere w/everyday life

Common OCD Behavior

REchecking if you’ve locked the door, even when you know you have

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

those experiencing trauma (10-35%) have burned in memories (4 weeks-a lifetime) & intense recall, repeated nightmares, social withdrawl, etc.

Cognition and Anxiety

worried thoughts, interpretations, appraisal, beliefs, and ruminations.

Classical Conditioning and Anxiety

Little Albert experiment, baby associated rabbit w/scary noises, developed phobia. Sometimes, conditioned responses = overgeneralized

Operant Conditioning and Anxiety

in an anxious situation, we may choose to leave. Make us feel better, anxious avoidance is reinforced

Biology and Anxiety

identical twins develop similar phobias, some seem to have inborn high-string temperament, others = easygoing

Genes and Neurotransmitters

genes regulate neurotransmitter levels. People w/anxiety have problems with a gene tied to serotonin, triggers glutamate

Mood Disorders

Major Depressive Disorder= more than just feeling down. Bipolar= more than mood swings

Mania

state of heightened euphoria, part of Bipolar

Depression

6% men, 9% women. Not comparable to a common cold, symptoms of depression are less visible.

Bipolar Disorder

once called manic-depressive disorder. Consists of depression and mania.

DSM V Bipolar in Children

renamed to disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD)

Biology of Depression in Genetics

1. DNA linkage analysis reveals depressed gene regions

2. twin/adoption heritability studies

Heritability with Depression at 80%

80% heritability does NOT mean genes = 80% responsible for schizophrenia, means 80% of the variation among people is caused by genes

Biology of Depression in the Brain

• Brain activity= diminished in depression, increased in mania

• Brain structure= smaller frontal lobes w/depression, fewer axons in bipolar

• more norepinephrine (arousal) in mania, less in depression

• reduced serotonin in depression

Depression is Associated With:

• low self-esteem: thinking the worst about oneself, situation, and future

• learned helplessness: feeling like one is unable to cope/achieve

• rumination: stuck focusing on what’s bad

Depressive-Explanatory Style

how we analyze and react to bad news predicts our mood. Could lead to depression or successful coping

Schizophrenia

• mind is split from reality (split from own thoughts, they appear as hallucinations)

• Psychosis: mental split from reality and rationality

• Problems = disorganized/delusional thoughts, disturbed perceptions, inappropriate emotions and actions

Positive vs Negative Schizophrenia Symptoms

• Positive: hallucinations, delusions, disorganized thoughts, bizarre behaviors

• Negative: flat affect, lower social interaction, anhedonia (no joy), avolition (less motivation), alogia (speaking less)

Onset and Development of Schizophrenia

• Onset: typically, symptoms appear at late adolescence/early adulthood. Later for women (avg)

• Prevalence: ~1 in 100 people have it

• Development: acute/chronic