Psychology 101: unit 12

What are the 3 criteria for symptoms to qualify as a psychological disorder?

Deviant
Maldaptive
Pathogical

Deviant

Unusual behavior
Ex. Screaming in the library, laughing at a funeral.

Pathologically

Harmful Behavior to ones self or others
Ex. Cutting Yourself, starving yourself

Maladaptive

Interferes with life
Behavior that is inappropriate in an environment
Ex. Sleeping in class, not being able to focus

What is the DSM?

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
Manual used to diagnose/classify mental disorders
Ex. A psychologist uses it to diagnose depression

What is comorbidity?

Having 2 disorders at once
Ex. Having depression and anxiety at the same time

Diathesis stress model

Disorders are caused by
Diathesis+Stress= Disorder

Ex. Anxiety

Diathesis: Naturally anxious personality

Stress: Starting college / big life change

👉 Result: develops anxiety disorder

What did we learn from the Rosenhahn study?

The Rosenhan study showed that once a person is labeled with a mental disorder, others interpret their behavior as disordered—even when it’s normal.
Ex. A college student writing notes

👉 Normal

Same behavior in hospital

👉 “Mental illness symptom”

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

6 Months of constant, excessive overthinking
- Affects relationships and health
Ex. Worrying about money when nothing is wrong

What makes generalized anxiety different than normal anxiety

Generalized anxiety is constant, has been happening for 6 months, even when nothing is happening, can’t control it
Normal anxiety happens in certain situations, short-term, can control it

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD

Repetitive and Unwanted thoughts to reduce anxiety
- Interferes with normal life
Ex. washing your hands 20 times to get rid of germs

What is the difference between obsessions & compulsions?

Obsessions: Unwanted thoughts = Cause anxiety
Compulsions: Repeated/Forceful behavior= Reduces anxiety temporarily

What is the difference between normal obsessions & compulsions & disordered
obsessions & compulsions?

Normal Obsessions & Compulsions: Occasionally, controllable
Ex. Checking Door Once

Disordered Obsessions & Compulsions: Constant, interferes with daily life
Ex. Checking Door 20 times

What are the symptoms of Major Depressive Disorder?

Persistent sadness + loss of interest + sleep/appetite changes
Example: Sleeping all day, not enjoying hobbies anymore

What are the symptoms of mania (manic symptoms)

Abnormally elevated mood + high energy + risky/impulsive behavior+ No sleep
Example: Spending thousands of dollars suddenly + no sleep

Bipolar disorder

Slow mood change from depressive and manic symptoms
Ex. Weeks of feeling depressed → then weeks of high energy, little sleep, risky decisions

Difference Between bipolar and Borderline

Bipolar Disorder= involves slow, episodic mood shifts between mania and depression
Ex. Weeks of depression → then weeks of high energy, little sleep, risky behavior

Borderline Personality Disorder= involves rapid, situation-triggered emotional changes and unstable relationships.
Ex. Friend doesn’t text back → suddenly feel rejected, angry, then sad within hours

What is psychosis?

Loss of contact with reality
Ex. Hearing voices that aren’t there

What are the 3 myth with schizophrenia that we discussed in class?

3 things that aren’t true
- Schizophrenia has multiple personalities

- people are violent

- its chronic ( Lifetime)

What is the difference between the positive symptoms & negative symptoms of
schizophrenia?

Positive symptoms: Added Behaviors that aren’t normal
Negative Symptoms: Missing Behaviors that are normal

Be able to recognize the positive & negative symptoms of schizophrenia.

Positive symptoms: Hallucinations, disorganized speech or thinking
Negative Symptoms: No social interactions, no emotions

What is dissociation?

Disconnection from identity/memory
Ex. Feeling like you’re watching yourself from outside your body

Dissociative Identity Disorder.

2 personalities(Atlers)
Ex. One personality is calm, another is aggressive, with different memories

what is an alter

A distinct personality
Affect: Thoughts, Emotions, Behavior, memory
Example:
One alter may be calm and quiet, while another is aggressive and outgoing

How to alter tends to differ from one another.

Alters can differ in:

• Voice and mannerisms

• Age, gender, or personality

• Preferences (food, music, etc.)

• Memories (some may not remember what others do)

Example:
One alter speaks confidently, another is shy and childlike

How does Dissociative identity disorder form

• Forms from trauma or abuse

• A way to cope

Ex. A child experiencing abuse “splits” into different identities to cope

How do we know people are not faking dissociative personality disorder

Alters show consistent, distinct patterns over time

Differences in:

Behavior

Memory

Even biological responses (e.g., stress, allergies in some cases)

Hard to consciously fake long-term

Example:

One alter may have different reactions or knowledge than another

Personality disorders

Chronic/Lifelong behavior patterns ( Maladaptive and affect life function)
Ex. someone who has become attached, then all of a sudden become angry over little things

Antisocial Personality Disorder

Selfish, is harmful to others, doesn’t care about others

Example: Lying, stealing, hurting others without guilt

(This is what a psychopath would be diagnosed with)

Borderline Personality Disorder

- Rapid change in personality
- Unstable emotions
Ex. Can be happy first, then mad about small issues

Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder

Wanting to be perfect

What is the difference between Obsessive compulsions disorder and Obsessive compulsive personality disorder

OCD- anxiety, double/ triple checks everything
Ex. washing hands repeated
OCPD- Perfect and rigid
Ex. Washing hand with a schedule

Autism Spectrum Disorder

• Social difficulties + poor eye contact

• Difficulty understanding others (theory of mind)

• Repetitive behaviors or restricted interests

Ex. Not being able to hold eye contact and struggle to understand emotions

What’s the theory of mind

Understanding others thoughts and feelings

What does the “spectrum” mean?

Symptoms may vary
- might be extreme for some, minor for others

Why has the diagnosis rate of Autism been increasing?

Symptoms have widened, better testing measures, and more awareness

What are some of the potential causes of Autism?

• Genetic and environmental factors
  - Brain development differences

ADHD

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Inattention or hyper activity

What are some symptoms for ADHD

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Can’t sit still, Can’t pay attention

What is the difference between the inattentional symptoms & the hyperactivity
symptoms?

Inattentional Symptoms: Can’t pay attention in class, Forgetting things easily
Hyperactivity: Can’t stop moving, Actions before thinking

What other problems to individuals with ADHD tend to face?

Adicmice issues
sleep
social problems
Family issues

What are the causes of ADHD?

Genetics and the environment
Brain development dfiferences