AP Psych U5b

Clinical Psychology

The branch of psychology that assesses, diagnoses, treats, and prevents mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders, utilizing various therapeutic methods and interventions to improve individuals' mental health and well-being.

Psychology Student Syndrome/Student’s Disease

Psychology students studying abnormal behavior can also become convinced that they have some mental disorder.

Psychological Disorder

A syndrome marked by a clinically significant disturbance in an individual’s cognition, emotion, regulation, or behavior.

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-5-TR)

Comprehensive classification system used by mental health professionals to diagnose and categorize mental disorders, providing standardized criteria and descriptions for consistent use across clinical settings.

• Developed by APA

• Classification systems are updated regularly to be responsive to new research and practice advances

International Classification of Mental Disorders (ICD) (11th edition)

Global standard for reporting and categorizing diseases, including mental and behavioral disorders, used by healthcare professionals to diagnose conditions and track health trends worldwide.

• Developed by WHO

Deviant

Abnormal behavior, thoughts, and emotions that differ markedly from society’s ideas about proper functioning.

Distressing

Experiencing pain and discomfort associated with the emotions, thoughts, or behaviors.

Dysfunctional

Interfering with ability to conduct daily activities constructively.

What would be some possible positive and negative effects of a person receiving a diagnosis?

(+) Diagnostic labels help health care professionals when communicating about establishing therapy and causes.

(-) David Rosenhan: Labels can shape how professionals perceive people, but can also become self-fulfilling prophecies.

Stigma

The negative stereotypes and social disapproval directed at individuals with mental disorders, often leading to discrimination and barriers to seeking or receiving mental health care.

Discrimination

Unfair treatment directed at individuals with mental health conditions, leading to social exclusion and reduced opportunities.

Biological Perspective

Mental disorders are caused by physiological and genetic factors, focusing on how brain function, neurochemistry, and genetics contribute to psychological conditions.

Cognitive Perspective

Proposes that mental disorders are caused by maladaptive thought patterns, including dysfunctional beliefs, attitudes, and emotional responses, which negatively affect behavior and emotional well-being.

Sociocultural Perspective

Mental disorders stem from maladaptive social and cultural relationships and dynamics, emphasizing the influence of societal norms and interactions on mental health.

Behavioral Perspective

Suggests that mental disorders arise from maladaptive learned behaviors and associations, focusing on how inappropriate conditioning and reinforcement of behaviors contribute to psychological issues.

Psychodynamic Perspective

Mental disorders stem from unresolved unconscious conflicts and impulses, often originating in childhood, that influence current behavior and emotional states.

Humanistic Perspective

Mental disorders arise when individuals' innate potential for self-fulfillment and personal growth is blocked, often due to failures in achieving self-acceptance and meaningful personal goals.

Evolutionary Perspective

Suggests that mental disorders can arise from behaviors and mental processes that are maladaptive, reducing an individual's chances of survival and reproduction in a given environment.

Eclectic Approach

Combining techniques and theories from multiple therapeutic orientations to tailor treatment to the unique needs of individual clients, enhancing flexibility and effectiveness in therapy.

Biopsychosocial Model

Psychological disorders result from a complex interaction of biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors, emphasizing the comprehensive and interconnected nature of influences on mental health.

Diathesis-Stress Model

Psychological disorders arise from a predisposing genetic vulnerability (diathesis) combined with stressful environmental factors (stress), triggering the onset of mental health issues

Anxiety Disorders

Characterized by excessive fear and anxiety with related disturbances in behavior.

Specific Phobia

A psychological disorder characterized by an intense and irrational fear of a specific object or situation, leading to significant distress and avoidance behavior that disrupts daily functioning.

Agoraphobia

Psychological disorder characterized by an excessive, irrational fear of being in open or unfamiliar places, resulting in the avoidance of public situations from which escape may be difficult, such as standing in line or being in a crowd.

Panic Disorder

Recurrent and unexpected panic attacks—unanticipated and overwhelming biological, cognitive, and emotional experiences of fear/anxiety—and ongoing concern about having additional attacks or their consequences.

Ataque de nervios “Attack of Nerves”

Episodes of intense emotional distress, dramatic expressions of emotion, such as screaming or crying, and sometimes uncontrollable physical symptoms like shaking or feeling as if one is suffocating.

Social Anxiety Disorder

Significant and persistent fear of social situations where embarrassment or scrutiny may occur, leading to avoidance behaviors and severe anxiety about performing or interacting in certain social contexts.

Taijin Kyofusho

Predominantly observed in Japan, characterized by an intense fear others are judging their bodies as undesirable, offensive, or unpleasing, leading to significant social anxiety and avoidance behaviors.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Persistent and excessive worry about various aspects of daily life, accompanied by physical symptoms such as restlessness, fatigue, and difficulty concentrating, which are not tied to any specific cause or event.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Recurrent, intrusive thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors or mental acts (compulsions) that an individual feels driven to perform in response to an obsession, typically aimed at reducing anxiety but causing significant distress and interference in daily functioning.

Hoarding Disorder

Persistent difficulty discarding or parting with possessions, regardless of their actual value, due to a perceived need to save them, resulting in excessive accumulation that compromises the use of living areas and significantly impairs daily functioning.

Trauma and Stressor-Related Disorders

Involve psychological distress following exposure to a traumatic or stressful event, characterized by symptoms such as hypervigilance, severe anxiety, flashbacks, insomnia, emotional detachment, and hostility, which impair daily functioning.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Persistent mental and emotional stress following exposure to a traumatic event, featuring symptoms such as intrusive memories (flashbacks), avoidance of reminders of the trauma, heightened reactivity (e.g., exaggerated startle response), and emotional numbness.

Understanding Anxiety, OCD, PTSD: Behavioral

Classically conditioned fear responses, stimulus generalization, reinforcement

Understanding Anxiety, OCD, PTSD: Cognitive

May learn fear by observation

Hypervigilance - attend more to threatening stimuli and interpret unclear stimuli as threatening

Understanding Anxiety, OCD, PTSD: Biological:

Genetic/epigenetic components

People with anxiety tend to have:

Decreased GABA and serotonin activity

Increased glutamate activity (triggers alarm centers)

Heightened brain activity associated with detecting danger

Overactive fear circuits

Depressive Disorders

Characterized by a persistent sad, empty, or irritable mood accompanied by physical and cognitive changes, significantly impairing a person's ability to function in daily activities

Major Depressive Disorder

A disorder characterized by having five or more of the following symptoms (at the right), at least including either depressed mood or loss of interest/pleasure, for at least 2 weeks.

Persistent Depressive Disorder

Chronic, depressed mood lasting for at least two years, with symptoms that are less severe but longer-lasting than those of major depression, affecting daily functioning.

Bipolar Disorders

Characterized by alternating periods of mania and depression, with bipolar cycling involving shifts between these mood states that can vary in duration and intensity.

Bipolar Cycling

Shifts between these mood states that can vary in duration and intensity.

Mania Symptoms

• Elevated, expansive, or irritable mood

• Increased energy and activity levels

• Decreased need for sleep (e.g., feeling rested after only 3 hours of sleep)

• More talkative than usual or pressure to keep talking

• Racing thoughts or flight of ideas

• Increased goal-directed activity or physical restlessness

• Excessive involvement in risky activities (e.g., spending sprees, sexual indiscretions)

• Inflated self-esteem or grandiosity

• More outgoing, increased sociability

Depression Symptoms

• Persistent sad or empty mood

• Fatigue or loss of energy

• Insomnia or excessive sleeping

• Difficulty concentrating or making decisions

• Feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt

• Diminished interest or pleasure in almost all activities

• Suicidal thoughts or behaviors

• Feelings of hopelessness

• Withdrawal from friends and activities

Bipolar II Disorder

Characterized by fluctuating between major depressive and hypomanic episodes, without having a full manic episode.

Hypomanic Episode

A period of persistently elevated, expansive, or irritable mood and increased activity or energy, which is less severe than a manic episode and has a shorter duration.

Bipolar I Disorder

Characterized by fluctuating between major depressive and hypomanic or manic episodes, with at least one manic episode.

Understanding Mood Disorders: Biological

• Many genes seem to influence depression

• Bipolar disorder high heritability

• Depression: Low serotonin, low norepinephrine

• Mania: Abundance of norepinephrine

Understanding Mood Disorders: Social-cognitive

• Views depression as ongoing cycle of stressful experiences interpreted through negative beliefs and explanatory style, leading to negative moods/actions

• One study suggests genes + significant life stressor = depression

Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Group of disorders that begin in the developmental period, characterized by symptoms that affect behavior, learning, and development appropriate for the person's age or maturity level.

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Characterized by persistent patterns of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that interfere with functioning or development, leading to difficulties in maintaining focus, controlling behavior, and staying organized.

Understanding (ADHD): Biological

• May have genetic influences

• Associated with atypical brain structure and brain activity patterns

Understanding (ADHD): Social-cultural:

Do children’s environments lead to an overdiagnosis of ADHD?

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Characterized by persistent challenges in social communication and interaction, along with restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities, varying widely in severity and impact on daily functioning.

Understanding ASD: Biological

• Altered prenatal environment (hormones, substances) may play a role

• High heritability; seems influenced by many genes

• Random genetic mutations in sperm

• Brain structure: underconnectivity in the brain

Feeding and Eating Disorders

Characterized by altered consumption or absorption of food, leading to significant impairment in health or psychological functioning.

Anorexia Nervosa

Psychological disorder characterized by restricted food intake, an intense fear of gaining weight, and a distorted body image, leading to significant weight loss and health complications.

Bulimia Nervosa

Characterized by recurrent episodes of binge eating followed by inappropriate compensatory behaviors, such as vomiting or excessive exercise, to prevent weight gain, causing significant physical and psychological distress.

Understanding Eating Disorders

• May come from competitive, high-achieving families

• Often have low self-evaluations, high perfectionist standards

• Genetic components

• Social-cultural influences: culture, media, messaging about body image, peer influences

Schizophrenic Spectrum Disorders

Characterized by delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thinking or speech, disorganized motor behavior, and negative symptoms, and can be experienced as either acute or chronic conditions.

Psychosis

A mental state characterized by a disconnection from reality

Schizophrenia

Psychological disorder characterized by persistent delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thinking or speech, disorganized motor behavior, and negative symptoms, significantly impairing daily functioning and lasting for at least six months.

Schizophrenia Positive (+) Symptoms

Additional behaviors or experiences not present in healthy individuals

• Delusions: Strongly held false beliefs not based in reality (e.g., believing one has special powers).

• Hallucinations: Sensory experiences without external stimuli (e.g., hearing voices).

• Disorganized Thinking/Speech: Incoherent or nonsensical speech (e.g., jumping between unrelated topics).

• Disorganized Motor Behavior: Unusual or excessive movements (e.g., agitation, catatonia).

Schizophrenia Negative (-) Symptoms

Deficits in normal emotional and behavioral functions

• Affective Flattening: Reduced expression of emotions (e.g., lack of facial expressions).

• Alogia: Reduced speech output (e.g., brief, uncommunicative replies).

• Anhedonia: Inability to experience pleasure (e.g., loss of interest in previously enjoyable activities).

• Avolition: Lack of motivation to initiate and perform self-directed purposeful activities (e.g., neglecting personal hygiene).

Delusions

False beliefs strongly held despite clear evidence to the contrary.

Delusions of persecution

involve the false belief that one is being targeted or harassed.

Delusions of grandeur

involve the false belief in one's exceptional abilities, wealth, or fame.

Hallucinations

False sensory experiences without external stimuli, most commonly involving hearing voices that others do not hear.

Disorganized Thinking or Speech

Incoherent or nonsensical speech patterns, such as jumping between unrelated topics or using words inappropriately, reflecting disordered thought processes.

"Word salad"

jumble of words and phrases that are incoherent and lack logical connection, making the speech nearly impossible to understand.

Disorganized Motor Behavior

Abnormal or erratic movements, such as excessive agitation, bizarre postures, significantly impacting daily functioning.

Catatonia in schizophrenia Excitement (positive symptom)

Excessive, purposeless motor activity, such as agitation or repetitive movements.

Catatonia in schizophrenia Stupor (negative symptom)

Lack of movement or response, including unresponsiveness to the environment and immobility.

Flat Affect

Severe reduction in emotional expressiveness, where the individual shows little or no facial expression, voice tone, or emotional reaction.

Understanding Schizophrenia: Prenatal Environment

Increased risk linked to:

• Viral exposure in womb

• Conception during famine

• Issues in pregnancy/delivery

Understanding Schizophrenia: Genetics

• Strong genetic link to family members

• Polygenetic

Understanding Schizophrenia: Nervous/endocrine systems

• Low frontal lobe activity

• During hallucinations, heightened activity in thalamus and amygdala

• Enlarged, fluid filled ventricles

• Smaller-than-normal cortex, hippocampus, corpus callosum

• Dopamine overactivity

Dopamine Hypothesis

Suggests that the disorder is linked to an imbalance of dopamine activity in the brain, with excessive dopamine activity contributing to symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations.

Dissociative Disorders

Characterized by disruptions or discontinuities in consciousness, memory, identity, or perception, leading to significant impairment in daily functioning.

Dissociative Amnesia

Involves an inability to recall important autobiographical information, usually of a traumatic or stressful nature.

Dissociative Identity Disorder

Characterized by the presence of two or more distinct personality states or identities, each with its own pattern of perceiving and interacting with the world, resulting in gaps in memory and a disrupted sense of self.

Understanding Dissociative Disorders

• Possible causes of dissociative disorders include the experience of trauma or stress

• These are rare and controversial disorders

Personality Disorders

Enduring patterns of internal experience and behavior that deviate markedly from cultural expectations, are pervasive and inflexible, begin in adolescence or early adulthood, are stable over time, and lead to significant personal distress or impairment.

• Influenced by genes, atypical brain activity, social/cultural influences, etc.

Cluster A Personality Disorders

characterized by odd or eccentric behaviors and thinking.

Schizoid Personality Disorder

Characterized by a pervasive pattern of detachment from social relationships and a restricted range of emotional expression, leading to a preference for solitary activities and limited interest in forming close relationships.

Schizotypal Personality Disorder

Characterized by acute discomfort in close relationships, cognitive or perceptual distortions, and eccentric behaviors, often leading to significant social and interpersonal difficulties.

Paranoid Personality Disorder

Characterized by pervasive distrust and suspicion of others, interpreting their motives as malevolent, leading to significant interpersonal difficulties and isolation.

Cluster B Personality Disorders

Characterized by dramatic, emotional, or erratic behaviors.

Antisocial Personality Disorder

Characterized by a pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others, often involving deceitful, manipulative, and unlawful behaviors, and a lack of remorse for these actions.

Histrionic Personality Disorder

Characterized by excessive emotionality and attention-seeking behavior, including a need for approval and inappropriate seductiveness, often leading to difficulties in maintaining deep and meaningful relationships.

Narcissistic Personality Disorder

Characterized by a pervasive pattern of grandiosity, a need for admiration, and a lack of empathy for others, often resulting in exploitative behavior and difficulties in maintaining healthy relationships.

Borderline Personality Disorder

Characterized by instability in interpersonal relationships, self-image, and emotions, along with impulsive behaviors and intense fear of abandonment, often leading to significant distress and difficulties in daily functioning.

Cluster C Personality Disorders

Characterized by anxious and fearful behaviors.

Avoidant Personality Disorder

Pervasive pattern of social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy, and hypersensitivity to negative evaluation, leading to avoidance of social interactions and a reluctance to engage in new activities.

Dependent Personality Disorder

Characterized by an excessive need to be taken care of, leading to submissive and clinging behavior, and fears of separation, resulting in difficulty making decisions without reassurance from others.

Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder

Characterized by a pervasive pattern of preoccupation with orderliness, perfectionism, and control, at the expense of flexibility, openness, and efficiency, leading to significant distress or impairment in functioning.