Unit 8 Psychopathology and Mental Disorders

Psychopathology

scientific study of psychological disorders

Biopsychosocial Approach

Integrates biological, psychological, and socio-cultural factors.

Psychosis

a psychological disorder in which a person loses contact with reality, experiencing irrational ideas and distorted perceptions. Has genetic components and genetic predispostion w/environment.

Deviant

represents a serious departure from social and cultural norms of behavior, not normal.

Distressful

unpleasant feelings or emotions that impact a person's level of functioning.

Dysfunctional

not operating normally or properly; not able to do everyday things

Dangerous

Danger to yourself or people around you

Maladaptive

dysfunctional behavior that interferes with a person's ability to function normally in one or more important areas of life.

Medical model

a way of helping people with abnormal behavior: diagnose, treat, cure.

labeling controversy

Rosenhan (1973) study showed how labels can influence perception.

Benefits: validating, and you can get treatment

Harmful: Placed in boxes/stigmas, and society has pre-conceived ideas about certain disorders.

DSM-5

The book used for classifying psychological disorders by medical professionals.

Neurodevelopmental Disorders

characterized by developmental deficits that produce impairments of personal, social, academic or occupational functioning.

Autism Spectrum Disorder

a group of developmental disabilities that can cause significant social, communication and behavioral challenges.

Schizophrenia

characterized by abnormal thinking, perceptions, and losing touch with reality.

Delusions

a bizarre or farfetched belief that continues in spite of competing contradictory evidence.

Delusions of reference

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

Delusions of grandeur

believing you are someone very powerful or important, such as Napoleon.

Delusions of persecution

believing that spies, aliens, the government, or even your neighbors are plotting against you.

Hallucinations

a false or distorted perception that seems vividly real to the person experiencing it.

Positive symptoms

characteristics of schizophrenia that are added to a person's personality, such as hallucinations, delusions, inappropriate emotions, and word salad.

Negative symptoms

characteristics of schizophrenia that are taken away from a person's personality, such as flattening of the emotions and speech, apathy, a general disinterest in life and social withdrawal.

Chronic (process) schizophrenia

characterized by long periods of symptom development and negative symptoms of schizophrenia, such as flat affect.

Acute (reactive) schizophrenia

may occur at any time during life, usually surfaces in response to stress or a major emotional event.

Genetic basis for schizophrenia

the risk of developing schizophrenia increases if there is schizophrenia in the family.

Dopamine hypothesis

over activity of certain dopamine neurons may cause some forms of schizophrenia, especially those that involve hallucinations and delusions.

Diathesis-stress model

people inherit a predisposition or diathesis that increases their risk of schizophrenia; stressful life experiences then trigger schizophrenic episodes.

Bipolar and Related Disorders

includes changes in mood and changes in activity or energy.

Bipolar I

One experiences repeated episodes mania and sometimes depression.

Bipolar II

One never develops severe mania, but instead experiences hypomania (mild to moderate mania) and at least one major depressive episode.

Hypomania

A mild manic state in which the individual seems infectiously merry, extremely talkative, charming, and tireless.

Major depressive disorder

Characterized by a lasting and continuous depressed mood.

Persistent depressive disorder (Dysthymia)

A type of depression in which the symptoms are not as severe as major depression. Characterized by chronic sadness, loss of interest in activities, and low energy.

Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder

A depressive disorder characterized by severe temper outbursts that are out of proportion to the situation.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

Characterized by persistent, uncontrollable, and ongoing apprehension about a wide range of life situations.

Social Anxiety Disorder

Characterized by intense fear or anxiety in social situations.

Separation Anxiety Disorder

Characterized by excessive fear or anxiety concerning separation from home or attachment figures.

Panic Disorder

Characterized by sudden episodes of extreme anxiety and panic attacks.

Specific Phobia

Characterized by a strong, irrational fear of specific objects or situations that are normally considered harmless.

Agoraphobia

Fear of public places and open places where escape might be difficult.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Characterized by persistent, repetitive, and unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and behaviors (compulsions).

Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders

Includes disorders in which people are exposed to a traumatic or stressful event that causes certain behaviors or thoughts.

Reactive attachment disorder

A disorder characterized by a failure to form normal attachments to caregivers, often due to severe neglect or abuse.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Characterized by intense feelings of anxiety, horror, and helplessness after experiencing a traumatic event such as a violent crime, military combat, or natural disaster.

Acute stress disorder

A condition that can occur in the aftermath of a traumatic event, characterized by anxiety and dissociative symptoms that last from three days to one month.

Dissociative disorders

Disorders of consciousness in which a person appears to experience a sudden loss of memory or a change of identity.

Dissociative identity disorder (DID)

Characterized by the presence of two or more distinct personalities in the same individual, each with its own name, unique memories, behaviors, and self-image.

Depersonalization/derealization disorder

Characterized by a person feeling detached from his/her body.

Dissociative amnesia

Characterized by a partial or total inability to recall past experiences and important information, typically in response to a traumatic event or stressful situation.

Internet gaming disorder

persistent engagement and preoccupation with internet and video gaming, with symptoms of tolerance, withdrawal, loss of interest in other activities, and clinically significant impairment or distress.

Somatic symptom disorder

A disorder characterized by an intense focus on physical symptoms that causes significant distress or impairment.

Illness anxiety disorder

An exaggerated concern about health and illness, where a person frequently meets with doctors and constantly reads about health symptoms.

Factitious disorder

A condition in which a person deliberately produces or exaggerates symptoms of illness for attention or sympathy. Gypsy Rose

Personality disorders

An enduring pattern of inner experience and behavior that deviates from the expectations of the individual's culture.

Paranoid personality disorder

Characterized by high levels of suspiciousness of the motives and intentions of others without the outright paranoid delusions associated with paranoid schizophrenia.

Borderline personality disorder

Characterized by being emotionally unstable, impulsive, unpredictable, irritable, and prone to boredom.

Antisocial personality disorder

Characterized by violating other people's rights without guilt or remorse, being manipulative, exploitive, self-indulgent, and irresponsible.

Avoidant personality disorder

Characterized by being excessively sensitive to potential rejection and humiliation.

Dependent personality disorder

Characterized by excessively lacking in self-confidence, subordinating one's own needs, and allowing others to make all decisions.

Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder

Characterized by usually being preoccupied with rules, schedules, and details, being extremely conventional, serious, and emotionally insensitive.

David Rosenhan

Conducted the pseudopatient experiment studying the influence of diagnostic labels. He sent pseudo patients to different hospitals and directed them to say they were hearing voices. They stopped exhibiting symptoms after intake however, they all were diagnosed with schizophrenia.