FCPS AP Psych Unit 8

DSM5

the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition; a widely used system for classifying psychological disorders

Psychological Disorder

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

Dysfunctional

Interfering with the ability to conduct daily activities in a constructive way 

Distressful

The person and others feel pain and discomfort associated with his or her emotions, thoughts, or behaviors

Deviant

goes against the norm of behavior (may be abnormal in one culture, but normal in another)

Dangerous

cause harm to self or others

Medical Model

the concept that diseases, in this case psychological disorders, have physical causes that can be diagnosed, treated, and cured

Insanity Plea

Legal (not psychiatric) determination of whether someone was aware enough of their own actions to be held responsible for their behavior. Mentally ill patients in certain circumstances can plead legally insane

McNaughton Rule

a rule determining insanity, which asks whether the defendant knew what he or she was doing or whether the defendant knew what he or she was doing was wrong

Forensic Psychology

intersections between psychological practice and research and the judicial system

Confidentiality

professionals will not divulge the information they obtain from a client

Evolutionary

Views abnormal behavior and disorders as originating in an individual’s genetics

Cognitive

Focuses on an individual’s dysfunctionalt houghts or beliefs as the cause of the disorder

Sociocultural

Looks at how a person’s gender, nationality, race, ethnicity, sex, or societal status impacts their mental state

Humanistic

Disorders occur when an individual has an incongruent self-concept

Behavioral

Disorders are learned and maintained through conditioning and environmental factors (consequences are key)

Psychodynamic

Disorders are the result of repressed unconscious thoughts

Biological

Disorders are the result of abnormalities that occur in an individual’s nervous system or brain

Biopsychosocial

Looks at genetic factors, structures of the body, psychological influences such as stress, and cultural expectations put on an individual to see why the disorder is occurring

Positives of diagnostic labels

Treatment for the disorders and research

Negatives of diagnostic labels

self-fulfilling prophecies and causing others around them to treat and perceive them based on stereotypical beliefs

The Rosenhan Study

a famous 1973 experiment that analyzed labeling by sending mentally healthy subjects to psychiatric hospitals by feigning hallucinations. They faked the disorder to get into the hospitals, but once they were in, they acted normal.

Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Groups of disabilities in the functioning of the brain that emerge at birth or during very early childhood & affect the individual’s behavior, memory, concentration and/or ability to learn

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

is characterized by atypical behaviors, speech, interests, thought patterns, & interpersonal interactions.

Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Disorder marked by the inability to focus attention, or overactive and impulsive behavior, or both

Intellectual disability (ID)

is characterized by below-average intelligence or mental ability and a lack of skills necessary for day-to-day living. Low IQ score of 70 or below. Have limitations in learning,  solving problems, communicating, and lack many skills needed for everyday life.

Neurocognitive Disorders

Group of disorders in which the primary problem is in cognitive function, impairments in cognitive abilities such as memory, problem solving, and perception

Alzheimer’s Disease

A fatal generative disease that destroys memory and other important mental functions. Symptoms include short-term memory loss, headaches, difficulty walking and driving, and an inability to focus

Delirium

A rapidly developing, acute disturbance in attention, and orientation that makes it very difficult to concentrate and think in a clear and organized manner

Schizophrenia

Psychotic disorder in which personal, social, and occupational functioning deteriorate as a result of unusual perceptions, odd thoughts, disturbed emotions, and motor abnormality.

Psychosis

a syndrome of neurocognitive symptoms that impairs cognitive capacity leading to deficits of perception, functioning, and social relatedness.

Positive Symptoms

involve behavioral access or peculiarities like hallucinations, delusions, disorganized  thought and nonsensical speech, and bizarre behaviors

Negative Symptoms

involve absence of health behaviors like flat affect, social withdrawal, alogia, cataonia, and avolition

Hallucination

Perceiving a sensory stimuli that no one else is able to perceive, vividly real to the person experiencing it, content is usually negative (hearing voices, tasting, seeing, feeling, or smelling things that are not there)

Delusion

fixed false beliefs that are not amenable to change in light of conflicting evidence.

Delusions of reference

Believing that hidden messages are being sent to you via newspaper, TV, radio, or magazines

Delusion of persecution

When you're convinced that someone is mistreating, conspiring against, or planning to harm you or your loved one.

Disorganized Speech/Thinking

might quickly jump from one unrelated topic to another, engage in incoherent “word salad,” repeat things another person says back to them, or appear to be speaking with nonexistent entities

Catatonia

A pattern of extreme psychomotor symptoms which may include rigidity, posturing

Flat Affect

emotionless state (unchanging facial expression, decreased spontaneous movements, a lack of expressive gestures, poor eye contact, lack of vocal inflections, and slowed speech)

Avolition

Apathy and an inability to start or complete a course of action 

Alogia

involves a disruption in the thought process that leads to a lack of speech and issues with verbal fluency

Diathesis-Stress Model

People inherit a predisposition or diathesis that increases their risk of schizophrenia; exposure to stress may put one at higher risk of developing schizophrenia

Mood disorders

are characterized by unusual and disruptive changes in mood, manifesting in depression, mania, or both

Major Depressive Disorder

Involves intense depressed mood, reduced interest or pleasure in activities, loss of energy, and problems in making decisions for a minimum of 2 weeks (symptoms include loss of appetite, sleeping problems, low energy and self-esteem, loss of focus, and hopelessness)

Seasonal Affectiveness Disorder (SAD)

A mood disorder characterized by depression that occurs at the same time every year.

Bipolar Disorder

Mood swings alternating between periods of major depression and mania. Rapid cycling is usually short periods 

Mania

euphoric, giddy, easily irritated, with: exaggerated optimism, hypersociality and sexuality, delight in everything, impulsivity and overactivity, racing thoughts; the mind won’t settle down, and little desire for sleep

Rumination

overthinking about our problems and their causes, learned helplessness, and depressive explanatory style

Anxiety Disorders

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

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

Experience excessive anxiety under most circumstances and worry about practically anything 

Panic Disorder

Experience of terror and physical symptoms (chest pains, choking) in unpredictable situations. Attacks of intense anxiety along with severe chest pain, tightness of muscles, choking, sweating, other acute symptoms during 

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Characterized by pattern of persistent, unwanted thoughts and behaviors

Phobic Disorder

Occurs when a phobia - an irrational fear of an object or situation - becomes so disruptive that it interferes with normal functioning. Most people have some form of phobia, but it does not interfere with their lives to a large degree. There can be phobias of animals, heights, bugs, storms, enclosed space, or the outdoors.

Social Anxiety Disorder

intense fear of social situations, leading to avoidance of such. Fear of being visibly nervous in front of others .Extreme anticipatory anxiety about social interactions and performance situations, such as speaking to a group.  Fear of eating in public

Agoraphobia

Afraid to be in public situations from which escape might be difficult or help unavailable if panic-like or embarrassing symptoms were to occur

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

A disorder characterized by haunting memories, nightmares, social withdrawal, jumpy anxiety, numbness of feeling, and/or insomnia that lingers for four weeks or more after a traumatic experience. Victims re-experience the traumatic event in nightmares about the event, or flashbacks in which they relieve the event

Posttraumatic growth

Positive psychological changes as a result of struggling with extremely challenging circumstances and life crises

Dissociative Disorder

is defined as a disruption causing inconsistencies in consciousness. A person may have memory loss or a complete change in identity.

Dissociative Identity Disorder

A rare dissociative disorder in which a person exhibits two or more distinct and alternating personalities. Formerly called multiple personality disorder.

Dissociative Amnesia

Loss of memory for a traumatic event or period of time that is too painful for an individual to remember

Dissociative Fugue

a psychological state in which a person loses awareness of their identity or other important autobiographical information and also engages in some form of unexpected travel

Somatic Symptom Disorder

A psychological disorder in which the symptoms take a somatic (bodily) form without apparent physical cause.

Conversion Disorder

A disorder in which a person experiences very specific genuine physical symptoms for which no physiological basis can be found (example: unexplained paralysis and blindness

Illness Anxiety Disorder

A disorder in which a person interprets normal physical sensations as symptoms of a disease.

Anorexia Nervosa

An eating disorder in which a person (usually an adolescent female) maintains a starvation diet despite being significantly (15 percent or more) underweight.

Body dysmorphia

increasing cognitive misperception of being overweight despite evidence to the contrary 

Bulimia Nervosa

An eating disorder in which a person alternates binge eating (usually of high-calorie foods) with purging (by vomiting or laxative use) or fasting.

Binge-eating disorder

Significant binge-eating episodes, followed by distress, disgust, or guilt, but without the compensatory purging or fasting that marks bulimia nervosa. 

Personality Disorders

Psychological disorders characterized by inflexible and enduring behavior patterns that impair social functioning.

Cluster A

the "odd, eccentric" cluster

Cluster B

the "dramatic, emotional, erratic" cluster

Cluster C

the "anxious, fearful" cluster

Psychotherapy

treatment involving psychological techniques; consists of interactions between a trained therapist and someone seeking to overcome psychological difficulties or achieve personal growth

Biomedical Therapy

prescribed medications or procedures that act directly on the person's physiology

Eclectic Therapy

an approach to psychotherapy, that depending on the client's problems, uses techniques from various forms of therapy

Psychologist

can’t prescribe meds, supports people through psychotherapy

Psychiatrist

can prescribe meds, identify disorders, generally works inside hospitals

Aaron Beck

known for youth inventory, anxiety inventory, Beck Scales-depression inventory, the hopelessness scale, and cognitive therapy. He sought to change a patient's beliefs about themselves and their lives 

Albert Ellis

known for Rational-Emotive Therapy and he believed that problems come from irrational thinking.

Sigmund Freud

known for his subfield of psychoanalysis and research in consciousness, defense mechanisms, repression, and negotiation through id/ego/superego. He tries to bring unconscious thoughts into awareness during therapy, point out resistance in the mind, and transfer your feelings.

Mary Cover Jones

came up with an exposure therapy called systematic desensitization. She is a behavioral psychologist and aimed to treat phobias by exposing the stimuli in a present context. She introduced the idea of systematic desensitization.

Carl Rogers

is a humanistic psychologist and he believed in client-centered therapy The therapist would use an unconditional positive regard and provide an accepting, genuine, and an empathic environment for the patient to express their feelings and overcome disorders.

B.F. Skinner

known for operant conditioning, reinforcement schedules, and the Skinner box. He believed in behavior modification therapy which uses learning principles to eliminate unwanted thoughts and fears.

Psychoanalysis

Sigmund Freud's therapeutic technique. Believed the patient's free associations, resistances, dreams, and transferences - and the therapist's interpretations of them - released previously repressed feelings, allowing the patient to gain self insight

Resistance

in psychoanalysis, the blocking from consciousness of anxiety-laden material

Interpretation

in psychoanalysis, the analyst's noting supposed dream meanings, resistances, and other significant behaviors and events in order to promote insight

Transference

in psychoanalysis, the patient's transfer to the analyst of emotions linked with other relationships

Insight Therapies

a variety of therapies that aim to improve psychological functioning by increasing a person's awareness of underlying motives and defenses

Person-Centered Therapy

a humanistic therapy, developed by Carl Rogers, in which the therapist uses techniques such as active listening within a genuine, accepting, empathic environment to facilitate clients' growth. Nondirective therapy, the therapist listens, without judging or interpreting, and seeks to refrain from directing the client toward certain insights

Active Listening

empathic listening in which the listener echoes, restates, and clarifies.

Unconditional Positive Regard

a caring, accepting, nonjudgmental attitude

Behavior Therapy

therapy that applies learning principles to the elimination of unwanted behaviors

Counterconditioning

behavior therapy procedures that use classical conditioning to evoke new responses to stimuli that are triggering unwanted behaviors

Exposure Therapies

behavioral techniques that treat anxieties by exposing people to the things they fear or avoid

Systematic Desensitization

a type of exposure therapy that associates a pleasant, relaxed state with gradually increasing anxiety-triggering stimuli. Commonly used to treat phobias (see chart to the right)

Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy

and anxiety treatment that progressively exposes people to electronic simulations of their greatest fears, such as airplane flying, spiders, or public speaking

Aversion Conditioning

a type of counterconditioning that associates an unpleasant state with an unwanted behavior

Token Economy

an operant conditioning procedure in which people earn a token of some sort for exhibiting a desired behavior and can later exchange the tokens for various privileges or treats

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy

a popular integrative therapy that combines cognitive therapy with behavior therapy. Based on the idea that how we think (cognition), how we feel (emotion) and how we act (behavior) all interact together (picture to the left)