PSYC 1010 - Abnormal Psychology

Psychopathology

The study of abnormal behavior and psychological dysfunction

Medical Model

psychological disorders are diagnosed according to various symptoms and have an etiology (origin), course, and prognosis

Situational context

the social or environmental setting of a person’s behavior

Maladaptive

anything that does not allow a person to function within or adapt to the stresses and everyday demands of life

Psychological disorder

Any pattern of behavior or psychological functioning that causes people significant distress, causes them to harm themselves or others, or harms their ability to function in daily life

Insanity defense

when a mentally ill person who has committed a crime should not be held responsible for his/her actions because that person was unable to understand the difference between right and wrong at the time of the offense

Psychodynamic view

Explains disordered thinking and behavior as the result of repressing one’s threatening thoughts, memories, and concerns in the unconscious mind

Behaviorism

Explains that disordered behavior is learned just like normal behavior

Cognitive psychologists

Psychologists who study the way people think, remember, and mentally organize information

Sociocultural perspective

Abnormal thinking or behavior is shaped within the context of social interactions, family influences, the social group to which one belongs, and the culture within which the family and social group exist

Cultural relativity

The need to consider the unique characteristics of the culture in which the behavior takes place

Biopsychosocial model

Perspective in which abnormal thinking/behavior is seen as the result of combined and interacting forces of biological, psychological, social, and cultural influences

Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5)

Includes changes in the organization of disorders, modification in the terminology used to describe disorders and their symptoms, and a discussion of the possibility of dimensional assessments for some disorders in future versions of the manual

Research Domain Criteria (RDoC)

Potential new system of classifying disorders using advances in neuroimaging, genetics, and cognitive science

Affect

a term used to mean emotion/mood

Mood disorders

disorders in which mood is severely disturbed

Major depressive disorder

Severe depression that comes suddenly and has no external cause or is too severe for certain circumstances, also known as unipolar disorder

Seasonal affective disorder

Mood changes due to low levels of light present in winter months

Manic

excessive excitement, energy, and joy or irritability

Bipolar disorders

Periods of mood that range from normal to manic

Bipolar I disorder

may or may not experience episodes of depression

Bipolar II disorder

spans of normal mood are mixed with episodes of major depression and episodes of hypomania

Hypomania

mood that is less severe than full mania

Anxiety

anticipation of some future threat, often associated with worry, vigilance, and muscle tension

Anxiety disorders

class of disorders in which the primary symptom is excessive or unrealistic anxiety

Free-floating anxiety

anxiety that is unrelated to any specific and known cause

Phobia

an irrational, persistent fear of an object, situation, or social activity

Social anxiety disorder

fear of interacting with others or being in a social situation that might lead to a negative evaluation

Specific phobia

fear of objects or specific events/situations

Agoraphobia

fear of being in a situation where escape is difficult or impossible if something goes wrong

Panic attack

sudden onset of extreme panic with various physical symptoms of stress, often with feelings that one is dying (racing heart, rapid breathing, dulled hearing, and vision, etc.)

Panic disorder

disorder in which panic attacks occur more than once and cause persistent worry or changes in behavior

Generalized anxiety disorder

Disorder in which a person has feelings of dread and impending doom along with physical signs of stress, lasting 6 months or more

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

 Disorder in which intruding, reoccurring thoughts or obsessions create anxiety that is relieved by performing a repetitive, ritualistic behavior or disorder in which a person has feelings of dread and impending doom along with physical signs of stress, lasting 6 months or mental act (compulsion)

Acute stress disorder

A disorder resulting from exposure to a major stressor, with symptoms of anxiety, disassociation, reoccurring nightmares, etc., reliving the event in dreams and flashbacks for as long as 1 month following the event

Posttraumatic stress disorder

A disorder resulting from exposure to a major stressor with symptoms associated with ASD lasting more than 1 month

Dissociative disorders

a break or disassociation in consciousness, memory, or a person’s sense of identity, or some combination

Dissociative amnesia

when an individual cannot remember personal information such as one’s own name or specific personal events

Dissociative fugue

when a person suddenly travels away from home and afterward cannot remember the trip or even personal information such as identity

Dissociative identity disorder (DID)

When a person seems to have two or more distinct personalities within one body

Anorexia nervosa

a condition in which a person reduces eating to the point that their body weight is significantly low or less than minimally expected

Bulimia nervosa

a condition in which a person develops a cycle of binging or overeating large amounts of food at one sitting and then using inappropriate methods to avoid weight gain

Binge-eating disorder

uncontrolled binge eating but does not use inappropriate methods for avoiding weight gain

Sexual dysfunction

problem with sexual functioning, or with the actual physical workings of the sex act

Organic factors for sexual dysfunctions

physical problems such as illnesses, side effects from medication, the effects of surgeries, physical disabilities, and usage of illegal drugs

Sociocultural influences for sexual dysfunction

Instruction from parents (direct/indirect) has influenced individuals to form negative attitudes towards sex and sexual activities

Psychological stressors for sexual dysfunction

psychological problems such as low self-esteem, anxiety over the sex act, depression, etc.

Personality disorder

a person adopts a persistent, rigid, and maladaptive pattern of behavior that interferes with normal social interactions

Paranoid personality disorder

people believe everyone is out to get them, widespread distrust and suspiciousness of others

Antisocial personality

When a person uses other people without worrying about their feelings, often behaving in a reckless impulsive behavior without regard for the consequences of that behavior

Borderline personality disorder

maladaptive personality disorder in which a person is moody, unstable, and has intense and relatively unstable relationships

Dependent personality disorder

clingy, submissive, fearful of separation, and has others assuming responsibility for most of their life

Schizophrenia

severe disorder in which the person suffers from disordered thinking, bizarre behavior, hallucinations, and inability to distinguish between fantasy and reality

Psychotic

an individual’s inability to separate what is real and what is fantasy

Delusions

False beliefs held by a person who refuses to accept evidence of their falseness

Delusions of persecution

people believe that others are trying to hurt them in some way

Delusions of reference

people believe that other people, television characters, and even books are talking to them

Delusions of influence

people believe external forces, such as the devil are controlling them

Delusions of grandeur

people are convinced they are powerful people who can save the world or have a special mission

Hallucinations

hear voices or see things that are not really

Flat affect

a condition in which a person shows little or no emotion

Catatonia

Disturbed behavior ranging from statue-like immobility to bursts of energetic moving and talking

Positive symptoms

excess or distortion of normal functions such as hallucinations and delusions

Negative symptoms

decrease in normal functions such as poor attention or lack of affect

Stress-vulnerability model

 explanation of a disorder that assumes biological sensitivity, or vulnerability, to a certain disorder will result in the development of that disorder under the right conditions of environmental/emotional stress