AP PSYCH UNIT ONE

medical model

the concept that diseases, in this case psychological disorders, have physical causes that can be diagnosed, treated, and in most cases cured, often through treatment in a hospital

organic disorders

mental disorders do to a condition

Epigenetics

the study of environmental influences on gene expression that occur without a gene change

Biological Influences

evolution, brain structure and chemistry, and individual genes

Psychological Influences

stress, trauma, learned helplessness, and mood related perceptions and memories

Socioculture Influences

roles, expectations, and definitions of normality and disorder

DSM-5

the American Psychiatric Association’s and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition; a wildly used used for classifying psychological disorders

What defines a psychological disorder

Clinically significant disturbance in an individuals cognition, emotion, regulation, and behavior

signs of a psychological disorder

Disordered thoughts, emotions, or behaviors that are dysfunctional or maladaptive, interfering with normal daily life

what does the medical model assume

that psychological disorders are mental illnesses with physical causes that can be diagnosed, treated, and, in some cases cured

what does the biopsychosocial assume

that three sets of influences-biological, psychological, and social-cultural— interact to produce specific psychological disorders

Culture-specific disorders, the vulnerability stress model, and epigenetics

all provide insight into the ways in which biology and environment interact to make it more or less likely that a psychological disorder will develop

What is the DSM-5

The American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition. It contains diagnostic labels and descriptions that provide a common language and shared concepts for communication and research.

How does the DSM-5 help clinicians

Classification helps psychiatrists and psychologists to predict a disorder's future course, suggest treatment, and prompt research into its causes

Nature

behavior is determined by the genes we inherit

Nurture

our environment, upbringing, and life experiences influence our behavior

Nature and Nurture

our genetic makeup provides a foundation which the environment acts on, both factors are essential for understanding the human cognition

Classifications if a disordered behavior

deviant, distressing, dysfunctional

Diathesis-stress model

Individual characteristics combine w/ environmental stressors to increase or decrease the likelihood of developing a psychological disorder

anxiety

a feeling of unease or worry that something bad is about to happen

anxiety disorders

Psychological disorders characterized by stressing, persistent anxiety, or maladaptive behaviors that reduce anxiety

social anxiety disorder

intense fear and avoidance or social situations, the person many avoid social situations entirely

Generalized anxiety disorder

person is continuously tense, apprehensive, and in a state of automatic nervous system arrousal/excessive and uncontrollable worry

• more common in women

• at least six months or more

Symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder

• Distractible

• Irritable

• Sleep Deprived

• trembling, twitching eyelids, sweating, and fidgeting

• headaches

• Gastrointestinal problems

Panic Disorder

marked by unpredictable minutes long episodes of intense dread in which. a person may experience terror, chest pain, choking, or other frightening sensation; usually followed by another worry-attack

Symptoms of Panic Disorder

• Recurrent, unexpected panic attacks of a month

• persistent concern about having another

Agoraphobia

/

fear or avoidance of a situations such as crowds or wide open spaces, from which escape might be difficult

Phobia

a persistent, irrational fear and avoidance of a specific object, activity, or situation

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

characterized by unreasonable thoughts and fears (obsessions) that lead to compulsive behaviors.

obsessions

thoughts

Compulsions

actions

OCD cycle

obsession (intrusive thought) → anxiety or stress → compulsive ritual → relief

Brain of an OCD patient

high rate of metabolic activity in frontal lobe

Body Dysmorphic Disorder

Preoccupation with an imagined or exaggerated defect in personal appearance

Hoarding Disorder

persistent difficulty parting or discarding possessions because of a perceived need to save them

Trichotillomania

recurrent irresistible urges to pull out hair from your scalp, eyebrows, or other areas of the body

Excoriation Disorder

repeated picking at ones own skin, which results in skin lesions

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

characterized by haunting memories, nightmares, hyper-vigilance, social withdrawal, jump anxiety, numbness, and/or insomnia that lingers for four weeks or more after a traumatic experiences

Post-Traumatic Growth

theory that people who endure psychological struggle following adversity can often see positive growth afterward

Behavioral Perspective of Anxiety

• fears are learned and then reinforced

Biological Perspective of Anxiety

• anxiety disorders run in families

• genes regulate the level of neurotransmitters in our brain

Cognitive Perspective of Anxiety

• what we remember

• whaat we pay attention to

• how we interpret stimuli

Evolutionary Perspective of Anxiety

• fear and anxiety can aid in our survival (sometimes)

• certain fears are harder to extinguish and easier to condition

Major Depressive Disorder

a person experiences (in the absence of drugs or other medical conditions) 2 or more weeks with at least five of the symptoms and at least one of which must be: depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure

Symptoms of Depression

• thinking repeatedly of death or suicide

• problems thinking or concentrating

• feeling worthless

• lack of energy

• Sluggish

• Challenges regulating sleep

• challenges managing appetite and weight

• dramatic reduced interest/enjoyment in most activities, most of the time

• depressed mood most of the time

Persistent Depressive Disorder

milder form of depression that lasts two or more years

Bipolar Disorder

when a person alternates between the hopelessness and lethargy of depression and the overexcited state of mania

Mania

hyperactive, wildly optimistic state in which dangerously poor judgments are common

Hypomania

less severe form of mania

Bipolar I

have to have experienced at least one full manic episode

Bipolar II

Experienced a hypomanic episode, but never a full manic one

Biological Perspective and Depression

• depression involves a genetic predisposition

• Biochemical imbalances → to much or to little of certain neurotransmitters

Biological Perspective and Bipolar Disorder

• runs in families

• diminished brain activity during times of depression

• more brain activity during periods of mania

• altered brain structure

Social-Cognitive Perspective and Depression

• self defeating beliefs → intensely negative assumptions about themselves, their situation, and their future

• negative explanatory style → who or what they blame for their failures

• rumination → compulsive fretting and overthinking problems and their causes

• comparisons → “comparisons are the thief of joy”

Suicide

• Urges arise when people feel disconnected from society

• when they see themselves as a burden to others

• when they feel trapped in an inescapable situation

Nonsuicidal Self Injury

• self harm

• in place of suicide → not intending to end their life

• pain distracts from the intense negative thoughts

Psychosis

a severe mental condition in which thoughts and emotions are so affected that contact is lost with external reality

Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorder

characterized by delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, and diminished inappropriate emotional expressions

“Positive” symptoms of schizophrenia

• Hallucinations & delusions

• speak in disorganized deluded ways

• Exhibit inappropriate laughter, tears, or rage

“negative” symptoms of schizophrenia

• Absence of emotion in their voices

• Expressionist faces

• unmoving (mute and rigid) bodies

Hallucinations

seeing, feeling, tasting, or smelling things that only exist in their minds→false perceptions

delusions

disorganized, fragmented thinking, often distorted by false beliefs

Disorganized Speech

thoughts spill out in no logical order

Paranoid

• Mainly positive symptoms

• blur the line between what is real and not real

• hard to live a normal life

Catatonic

• striking moter behavior

• Significant reductions in voluntary movement or hyperactivity and agitation

Chronic Schizophrenia

• slow developing process

• recovery is unlikely

Acute Schizophrenia

• typical in well adjusted people

• develops rapidly after particular life stressors

• recovery is more likely

Brain Abnormalities w/ Schizophrenia

• chemical imbalance

• over production of dopamine

• abnormal brain activity and brain structure

Prenatal Environment and Risk for Schizophrenia

• low birth weight

• maternal diabetes

• older parental age

• oxygen deprivation during delivery

• mid-pregnancy viral infection could effect brain fetal development

genetic factors of schizophrenia

• 10% chance if a sibling or parent have it

• 50% chance if a twin has it

• groups of disorders influenced by certain genes

Environmental triggers of schizophrenia

• family and social factors alone can’t influence

• social withdrawal before other abnormal behavior before the onset of the disorder

• birth complications

• separation from parents

• short attention span

• poor muscle coordination

• emotional unpredictability

• poor social skills

• childhood abuse

Somatic Symptom Disorder

psychological disorder in which the symptoms take on a bodily function form with out an apparent physical cause

Conversion Disorder

a person experiences very specific physical symptoms that are not compatible/recognized medical or neurological conditions

Illness Anxiety Disorder

a person interperates normal physical sensations as symptoms of a disease

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)

rare disorder in which a person exhibits two or more distinct and altering personalities

Disassociation

defense mechanism in which

• impulses are kept apart

• Threatening ideas and feelings are separate from the rest of the psyche

A Fuge State

rare mood disorder

• wild fluctuations from mania to depression

Personality Disorders

• long standing, inflexible personality traits that impair social functioning

• more like “styles of life” rather than severe mental disorders

anxiety-prone personality disorders

• fearful sensitivity to rejection

• avoidant personality disorder

eccentric/odd personality disorders

• emotionless disengagement

• schizotypical personality disorder

dramatic/impulsive personality disorders

• borderline personality disorder

• narcissistic personality disorder

• antisocial personality disorder

Antisocial Personality Disorder

• lack of consciousness for wrongdoings, even towards friends and family members

• may be aggressive and ruthless

• sometimes clever con artists

• usually men

anorexia nervosa

• maintains a starvation diet

• significantly underweight

• sometimes accompanied by excessive exercise

• usually adolescent girls

bulimia nervosa

• when a person’s eating (usually high calorie food) is followed up by inappropriate weight loss behavior

  • fasting

  • vomiting

  • taking a laxative

  • excessive exercise

binge-eating disorders

• significant binge-eating episodes followed by distress, disgust, or guilt

  • without the compensatory behavior that marks bulimia

Sociocultural influences of eating disorders

• high achieving & competitive families → anorexia

• How society and culture perceive weight

Psychotherapy

• Psychological techniques

• between trained therapists and a patient seeking to overcome psychological difficulties or achieve personal growth

• may explore a clients early relationships

Biomedical Therapy

Prescribed treatments or medications that acts directly on the person’s physiology

Eclectic approach

a blend of therapies

reepression

• basic defense mechanism

• keeps us fro saying anxiety arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories

free association

• allows clients to speak for themselves

• allows therapists to figure out a client’s unconscious motives & desires

Resistance

hint that anxiety lurks and you are defending against sensitive material

interpretation

may illuminate underlying wishes, feelings, and conflicts you are avoiding

transference

exposing such feelings may lead to insight in current relationships

Psychodynamic Therapy Today

helps people understand their symptoms by focusing on important relationships

Client-Centered Therapy/Person-Centered Therapy

• active listening

• genuine, accepting, empathetic environment

  • facilitate personal growth

active listening

empathetic listening in which the listener, echos. restates, and clarifies

Unconditional Positive Regard

caring, non-judgmental attitude supposed to help with clients developing self-awareness and self-acceptance

Behavioral Therapy

applies the learning principals to the ellimintation of unwanted behaviors