Abnormal Behavior Exam #1

abnormal psychology

the scientific study of abnormal behavior in an effort to describe, predict, explain, and change dysfunctional patterns of behavior

the four Ds

deviance, distress, dysfunction, danger

deviance

behavior that is unexpected and violates social norms

distress

experiencing discomfort, stress, worry, bothering a person

dysfunction

when a person’s thoughts, emotions, or behaviors will interfere with their daily functioning

problems and solutions

should be understood in relation to each other

how we define problems

the US uses the DSM-5, and internationally the ICD-10 is used

DSM-5

\-diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders

\-first classification system developed in 1883

\-includes descriptions of what research has shown regarding a range of factors

ICD-10

classification of mental and behavioral disorders, that also includes physical disorders that physicians use, this book is used internationally

1 in 5 adults and children

in need of clinical treatment

over 50% of people

will have a diagnosable mental illness over their lifetime

biopsychosocial model

abnormality results from the interaction of genetic, biological, developmental, emotional, behavioral, cognitive, social, and societal influences

stigma

societies beliefs project onto the people in the society, if a society believes that mental illness is the fault of the person, then they would not believe in investing in helping you

clinical assessment

collecting relevant information in an effort to determine how and why a person is behaving abnormally in order to inform how that person may be helped

information/intake form

filled out by the client before even meeting with a professional, a chance for clients to fill out in their own words what they are dealing with, lets the professional know what their intentions and goals are

clinical interviews

first face-to-face contact with a client, used to collect detailed information, they have both structured and unstructured questions

structured questions

specific prepared questions with set answers, ex: who lives in your house?

unstructured questions

open-ended questions, ex: what are the relationships in your house like?

paper forms

clients can be more guarded in their answers

answering questions in person

clients tend to be more candid

provisional diagnosis

what you think a diagnosis is at that point, can come after a client had their clinical assessment, fills out an intake form, and or has a clinical interview

clinical observations

systematic observations of behavior, trying to see if clients act the same way as they say they do

5 major categories of clinical tests

intelligence, projective, personality, response inventory, and neuropsychological

intelligence tests

looks at different types of intelligence, most commonly used ones are westernized and language and quantitative-based, gives you two subscores and those combined contribute to your overall IQ, ex: IQ test

projective tests

a psychological test in which words, images, or situations are presented to a person and the responses are analyzed for the unconscious expression of elements of personality, open-ended, ex: inkblot test

personality tests

all questions that are usually statements and seeing if they are true of you, also have questions built in to assess if you are lying, questions built in to subtly catch on to things, give you some overarching sense of your personality, ex: Meyers-Briggs test

response inventory tests

very obvious and not meant to trick you in any way, questions asking about specific symptoms of different illnesses, ex: Beck depression inventory

neuropsychological tests

tests done if you have reason to believe that there could be a neuropsychological issue going on, the basic ones are usually screenings, ex: Bender-Gestalt test

psychological battery

the combination of a person’s different clinical tests, conclusions about a person’s psychological functioning are not based on one test alone

diagnosis

a classification based on the determination that a person’s problems constitute a particular disorder

why do we classify and diagnose disorders?

\-so we have a history of previous diagnoses

\-help people understand themselves

\-convey information to doctors for treatment plans

hesitations behind diagnosing someone

\-negative stigmas behind certain mental illnesses

\-difficult for people to accept their diagnosis

\-fear of getting it wrong

biological theory

an illness is brought on by malfunctioning of brain anatomy or brain chemistry, we experience mental illness because of problems in our brain

brain anatomy

groups of neurons form distinct brain regions and structures, there are connections between certain psychological disorders and problems in specific brain areas

brain chemistry

information is communicated throughout the brain by electrical impulses that travel from neuron to neuron, abnormal activity in certain neurotransmitters can lead to psychological disorders

endocrine system

controls vital functions, abnormal secretion of hormones are linked to psychological disorders

neurotransmitters

chemical messengers that travel across the synapse to receptors on neighboring neurons, some NTs tell receiving neurons to act, other NTs tell receiving neurons to stop acting

how do brain structures or chemicals become abnormal?

genetics, viruses, evolutionary reasons

genetics

genes are pieces of DNA that control characteristics and traits that a person inherits, inheritance plays a part in some disorders, genes that contribute to mental illness could be a mutation or could reflect a trait that was beneficial in our evolutionary history

viruses

can rewrite genetic information

if areas of the brain aren’t being used

they will change and adapt, ex: synaptic pruning, neural death, brain injury

biological treatments

medicine, brain stimulation procedures, neurosurgery

psychotropics

medications that mainly affect emotions and thought processes, most commonly used treatment, works on brain chemistry

four major groups of medications

antidepressants, anti-anxiety meds, mood stabilizers, antipsychotic meds

antidepressants

most commonly prescribed, help regulate chemical imbalances everyday, often prescribed for worry-based anxiety

anti-anxiety medication

deals with fear-based anxiety, brings you down from the intensity, not usually an everyday medication and you take them as needed, also called anxiolytics

mood stabilizers

stabilize your mood, primarily prescribed for bipolar disorder

antipsychotic medications

what you would use to treat thought disorders, helps to tamp down unusual perceptions and allow you to function in less deviant ways in society

brain stimulation

non-invasive vs. invasive procedures, actively ongoing and being developed

non-invasive procedures

used primarily for treatment-resistant depression when drugs and other therapy have failed, success in about 60% of patients, ex: electroconvulsive therapy, transcranial magnetic stimulation

invasive procedures

deep brain stimulation, used for treatment-resistant depression, OCD, and movement disorders, less common for stigma reasons and it involves expensive equipment

neurosurgery

surgeon cuts connections between brain regions, used rarely and only in extreme cases of disorders that have not responded to any other form of treatment, actually cutting neural pathways in the brain surgically, risks that come along with the surgery as you lose some brain functions

shortcomings of the biological theory

focuses solely on factors out of our control, can have significant undesirable side effects

how do psychodynamic theories explain abnormal behavior?

as results of underlying psychological forces that are in conflict, that the client is not aware of, if the conflict is resolved→ personal growth, if it is not resolved→ abnormality

id

wants what it wants, is not thinking ahead of future consequences

superego

always considering other possibilities and critiquing, always telling you how you could have done it better

ego

the “executive” part of the personality, that according to Freud, mediates among the demands of the id, superego, and reality, operates on the reality principle and prioritizes balance

defense mechanism

help ego contain control, patches and not permanent solutions

repression

keeping distressing thoughts and feelings buried in the unconscious

denial

inconsistencies with how you say you feel vs. your actions

projection

people disguise their own threatening impulses by attributing them to others

rationalization

attempting to make excuses or formulate logical reasons to justify unacceptable feelings or behaivors

reaction formation

preventing unacceptable thoughts or behaviors from being expressed by exaggerating opposite thoughts or types of behaviors

intellectualization

person analyzes a situation from an emotionally detached viewpoint, using numbers or statistics

displacement

taking angry and unconscious feelings out on someone else

regression

not acting your age, childhood ways of dealing with something

sublimation

person expresses sexual and aggressive energy in ways that are acceptable to society, only good defense mechanism

psychodynamic therapies

seek and uncover and resolve past damaging experiences and the areas of inner conflicts that have results from then, so that they can resume personal growth

free association

a method of exploring the unconscious in which the person relaxes and says whatever comes to mind, no matter how trivial or embarrassing, freudian slips

catharsis

the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions, the more you do something that is hard for you, the easier it gets

dream analysis

the therapist interprets the symbolic meaning of the client’s dreams, helps make it make sense why you were dreaming that

shortcomings of psychodynamic theories

\-not actual physical parts of the brain, no way to research them

\-impossible to prove existence or track change in aspects that are not in conscious awareness

\-evidence is indirect

humanistic theory

basic need for unconditional positive regard

\-if it is met, it leads to unconditional self regard and then self-actualization

\-if it is not met, it leads to chasing validation all of the time

unconditional positive regard

a belief that you are a good person

how do humanistic and existentialist theorists explain abnormal behavior?

as being overwhelmed by and unable to cope with the complexities of human nature

humanists

believe people are inherently driven to self-actualization, not the same for everyone

existentialists

believe life is inherently meaningless and we are responsible for assigning meanings

therapy for humanistic/existentialist theories

focus on the therapist-client relationship

humanistic therapy

client-centered therapy, “here and now”, “I” language

client-centered therapy

therapist creates a supportive climate to allow clients to look at themselves honestly and with acceptance, leads to freeing of obstacles that were preventing work towards self-actualization

existential theories and therapy

clients are encouraged to accept personal responsibility for their problems and solutions, helps clients to recognize the freedom of choice

shortcomings of existential theory

\-subjective experiences cannot be measured objectively

\-have not been strongly supported by research as an independent treatment

how do behavioral theorists explain abnormal behavior?

as the result of learning from maladaptive experiences, we become abnormal because that is what we learn

operant conditioning

we behave in certain ways as a result of receiving rewards or avoiding punishment for certain behaviors, the events are inherently related

modeling

we learn responses by observing and repeating behavior

classical conditioning

Pavlov, in order to extinguish the response, you have to repeatedly expose the client to the thing they are trying to avoid, the CS, and show them that bad things do not happen when you do it

temporal association

when two events that otherwise wouldn’t be inherently related repeatedly occur close together in time, they become related in a person’s mind and the person responds the same way to both events

behavioral therapies

identify behaviors that are causing problems and replace them with more appropriate ones, using classical conditioning, operant conditioning, or modeling

therapist is teacher and models a new kind of behavior and shows them how to behave in a certain way

systematic desensitization

step-by-step procedure to learn relaxation skills/coping skills, construct a fear hierarchy, from least to most feared events, then confront feared situations either in imagination or real life, until you can confront all fears on hierarchy

shortcomings of behavioral therapy

\-behavioral change in therapy does not always carry over to other settings

\-behavioral change does not always last without continued therapy

\-doesn’t pay enough attention to beliefs and emotions and perceptions

how do cognitive theorists explain abnormal behavior?

as the result of cognitive distortions and faulty thinking

overgeneralization

it didn’t happen once, so it will never happen again

black and white thinking

there is a right and a wrong, no appreciation for a gray area, not enough margin of error

magnifying and minimizing

when you closely examine everything that went wrong for your or when you don’t make a big deal over the good stuff that happened to you

catastrophizing

bad events will only become worse events, ex: bad test grade will result in not having a job in the future

cognitive therapies

helps clients recognize negative thoughts, challenge dysfunctional thoughts, try out new interpretations, apply new ways of thinking in daily life

shortcomings of cognitive therapy

\-the thought seen in those with mental illness could be a result rather than the cause of their disorder

\-overemphasis on the present vs. impacts of the past

\-simple formula that doesn’t work for everyone

how do sociocultural theorists explain abnormal behavior?

social surroundings influence behavior, clients’ role in the society and in their own smaller units, and how others react to them

culture

biological sex, gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, religion, SES, region of the country/world, family values/structures

Rosenhan 1973 study

\-examined if stigmas relating to mental illnesses could impact how someone was treated

\-emergency room study, all 8 cases were admitted into inpatient psychiatric treatment

\-with a certain label, it is all anyone wants to know about you