Intro to Psych: Mental Disorders Terms

Medical Model

Mental disorders are illnesses caused by biological factors and can be treated and diagnosed like physical diseases.

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)

A classification system that describes the features used to diagnose each recognized mental disorder and indicates how the disorder can be distinguished from other, similar problems

DSM (1952) and DSM-II (1968)

Provided systematic and common language for talking about the disorders

DSM-III (1980) and DSM-IV (1994)

Removed vague descriptions in favor of

Diagnostic criteria – detailed lists of symptoms

DSM-5 TR (2022)

Shift from the purely categorical approach toward incorporating dimensional elements.

Biopsychosocial perspective for the causation of disorders

explains mental disorders as the result of interactions among biological, psychological, and social factors

Biological causation of disorders

Focuses on genetic and epigenetic influences, biochemical imbalances, and abnormalities in brain structure and function

Psychological causation of disorders

Focuses on individual thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, including adaptive learning, coping mechanisms, cognitive biases, and early life experiences

Social causation of disorders

Focuses on socialization, stress from life experiences, and social inequities

Diathesis-stress model

Suggests that a person may be predisposed for a psychological disorder that remains unexpressed until triggered by stressor

• Diathesis is the predisposition

• Stress is the external trigger

Personality Disorder

An enduring pattern of inner experience and behavior that:

1. Deviates markedly from the expectations of the individual’s culture

2. Is pervasive and inflexible

3. Has an onset in adolescence or early adulthood

4. Is stable over time

5. Leads to distress or impairment

DSM-5-TR: Cluster A Personality Disorders

(Odd Thinking and Eccentric Behavior)

• Paranoid personality disorder

• Schizoid personality disorder

• Schizotypal personality disorder

Paranoid personality disorder

“Everyone’s out to get me”

Pervasive distrust and suspicion of others, assuming people have malicious motives even without evidence.

Schizoid personality disorder

“I don’t need anyone”

A pattern of detachment from social relationships and a restricted range of emotional expression.

Schizotypal personality disorder

“I’m different and I know it”

a pattern of eccentric behavior, odd thinking, and discomfort with close relationships, along with unusual perceptual experiences…

DSM-5-TR: Cluster B Personality Disorders

(Dramatic, Emotional, or Erratic Disorders)

• Antisocial personality disorder

• Borderline personality disorder

• Histrionic personality disorder

• Narcissistic personality disorder

Antisocial personality disorder

A pattern of pervasive disregard for and violation of the rights of others, with no remorse or guilt.

Borderline personality disorder

A pattern of instability in relationships, self-image, emotions, and marked impulsivity.

Histrionic personality disorder

A pattern of excessive emotionality and attention seeking.

• Wants to be liked and noticed by everyone

• Uses drama, flirtation, and emotion to get attention

• (Pick me girl)

Narcissistic personality disorder

A pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration, and lack of empathy.

• Wants admiration and power, not just attention

• Believes they are superior or special

DSM-5-TR: Cluster C Personality Disorders

(Anxious and Fearful Disorders)

• Avoidant Personality Disorder

• Dependent personality disorder

• Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder

Avoidant Personality Disorder

A pattern of social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy, and hypersensitivity to negative evaluation.

Dependent personality disorder

A pattern of excessive need to be taken care of, leading to submissive and clinging behavior and fears of separation.

Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder

A pattern of preoccupation with orderliness, perfectionism, and control.

Anxiety Disorder

• The class of mental disorders in which anxiety is the predominant feature

• Often comorbid

Comorbidity

The co-occurrence of two or more disorders in a single individual

• Include phobic disorders, panic disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder

Phobic Disorders

• Disorders characterized by marked, persistent, and excessive fear and avoidance of specific objects, activities, or situations

Must be

• Disproportionate to actual risk

• Impair ability to carry out a normal life

Specific phobia

An irrational fear of a particular object or situation that markedly interferes with an individual’s ability to function

Social phobia (Social Anxiety Disorder)

Intense fear of social situations where the person might be judged, embarrassed, or humiliated.

Panic Disorders

A disorder characterized by the sudden occurrence of multiple psychological and physiological symptoms that contribute to a feeling of stark terror

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

A disorder in which repetitive, intrusive thoughts (obsessions) and ritualistic behaviors (compulsions) designed to fend off those thoughts interfere significantly with an individual’s functioning

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

A disorder characterized by chronic excessive worry accompanied by three or more of the following symptoms:

• Restlessness, fatigue, concentration problems, irritability, muscle tension, and sleep disturbance

Depressive Disorders 

Disorders characterized by persistent feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and a loss of interest or pleasure in activities

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) (or clinical depression)

A disorder characterized by a severely depressed mood and/or inability to experience pleasure that lasts 2 or more weeks and is accompanied by feelings of worthlessness, lethargy, and sleep and appetite disturbance

Persistent Depressive Disorder (Dysthymia)

The same cognitive and bodily problems as in MDD are present, but they are less severe and last longer, persisting for at least 2 years

Bipolar disorder

A condition characterized by cycles of abnormal persistent high mood (mania) and low mood (depression)

Depressive phase

clinically indistinguishable from major depression (as far as we know)

• So while the depressive phase in bipolar can meet all the same criteria as MDD, it's not diagnosed as MDD because the presence of manic episodes changes the whole diagnosis.

Helplessness theory

• The idea that depression can develop when people repeatedly experience situations where they feel they have no control over negative events in their lives.

• Individuals who are prone to depression automatically attribute negative experiences to causes that are internal (i.e., their own fault), stable (i.e., unlikely to change), and global (i.e., widespread)

Dissociative Disorders

Disorders characterized by a disruption of connection between thoughts, memories, feelings, surroundings, behavior, and self-identity.

Dissociative amnesia (DA)

The sudden loss of memory for significant personal information

Dissociative fugue

• Rarest and most extreme form of dissociative amnesia

• Sudden loss of memory for one’s personal history

• Abrupt departure from home and the assumption of a new identity

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)

• Occurrence of two or more distinct identities in the same individual

• Patients with DID often report severe childhood abuse

• 10 of 12 murderers diagnosed with DID show different handwriting