Abnormal Psychology Test #2

Fear and panic

Fear = immediate alarm to real danger

Panic = sudden intense fear with physical symptoms (heart racing, dizziness).

Anxiety

Future-oriented worry or tension about possible threat.

National Comorbidity Survey

About half of people with a phobic disorder also experience depression.

Phobia

Persistent, irrational fear of a specific object or situation causing avoidance.

Specific phobias

Fear of a particular object or situation (e.g., animals, heights, needles).

Subtypes and characteristics of specific phobias

1. Animal

2. Natural environment

3. Blood-injection-injury

4. Situational

5. Other types

Treatment of phobias

Exposure therapy is most effective; gradual exposure reduces fear response.

Social Anxiety Disorder

Intense fear of social or performance situations due to fear of embarrassment.

Most common social fear

public speaking.

Panic Disorder

Recurrent unexpected panic attacks with ongoing worry about future attacks.

With or without Agoraphobia

May include fear of places where escape might be hard (Agoraphobia).

Psychopharmacological Treatment (Tx)

SSRIs, SNRIs, or short-term benzodiazepines for symptom relief.

Psychological Tx

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) with exposure and cognitive restructuring.

Most effective Tx

CBT alone or combined with medication

GAD

Excessive, uncontrollable worry for 6+ months about multiple life areas.

Tx of GAD

CBT, relaxation training, mindfulness, SSRIs or SNRIs.

OCD

Repetitive obsessions (thoughts) and compulsions (behaviors) that reduce anxiety.

Obsessions & compulsions

Obsessions = intrusive thoughts; Compulsions = repetitive acts to relieve anxiety.

Somatic Symptom Disorder

Real physical symptoms with excessive concern about health; not intentionally faked.

Illness Anxiety Disorder

Preoccupation with having a serious illness despite minimal or no symptoms.

Conversion Disorder – once called hysteria

Loss of motor or sensory function with no medical cause; often follows stress or trauma.

Difference between Factitious Disorder & Malingering

Malingering = fake for external gain; Factitious = fake for attention/sympathy.

Malingering

Faking symptoms for external gain (money, avoiding work).

Factitious Disorder by Proxy

Making another person sick to gain attention or sympathy.

Dissociative Disorders

Disruption in memory, identity, or perception often linked to trauma.

Similarity between Dissociative and Somatoform Disorders

Both are stress-related and show psychological distress through physical/mental symptoms.

Dissociative Amnesia (4 types)

Localized, Selective, Generalized, and Systematized memory loss.

Dissociative Fugue

Sudden travel with amnesia for identity or personal history.

Dissociative Identity Disorder – formerly MPD

2 or more distinct personalities or identities alternate within one person.

Average # of alters – 15

DID patients have an average of about 15 alters.

Roles 

protector, morally conscious or seen as good, party – rebel, angry

Gender discrepancy – greater number of female than males, 90–95%

DID occurs mostly in females (about 90–95%).

Depersonalization Disorder

Feeling detached from oneself, like observing your body from outside.

Derealization

Feeling that surroundings are unreal or dreamlike.

Mood disorders

Disorders involving emotional extremes like depression or mania.

2 key moods

Depression and mania.

Most common mood disorder

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD).

Persistent Depressive Disorder

Chronic mild depression lasting 2 or more years.

Adjustment Disorder with depressed mood

Depression after a stressor that resolves when the stressor ends.

Major Depressive Disorder

Depressed mood or loss of interest for 2+ weeks with symptoms like fatigue or guilt.

Subtypes of MDD (e.g., Melancholic)

Melancholic, Atypical, Psychotic, Seasonal subtypes.

Double Depression

MDD episode occurs on top of Persistent Depressive Disorder.

Seasonal Affective Disorder

Depression in winter linked to lack of light; treated with light therapy.

Bipolar I & II Disorder – difference between the two

Bipolar I = full mania; Bipolar II = hypomania with major depression.

Cyclothymia

2+ years of mild mood swings between hypomanic and depressive symptoms.

Rapid cycling

4 or more mood episodes within a year.

Causal factors

Genetic vulnerability, biochemical imbalances, stress, and cognitive patterns.

Family studies, Twin studies, Biochemical

Strong genetic link; low serotonin/norepinephrine linked to depression.

Beck’s Negative Cognitive Triad

Negative thoughts about self, world, and future.

Hopelessness Theory

Depression results from feeling no control and expecting negative outcomes.

Learned Helplessness

Giving up after repeated failure; belief that effort won’t change results.

Treatment (drug therapy, psychotherapy)

Antidepressants, mood stabilizers, CBT, Interpersonal Therapy; best outcomes combine both.

Suicide

Intentional self-inflicted death often linked to depression or hopelessness.

Ambivalence, difference between men & women, increases in adolescents and children

torn between life and death; women attempt more, men complete more; rising rates in youth.