psych 102 mt 4

Abnormal psychology

Study of psychological disorders

Early interventions

Demonic possession, witchcraft common explanations

• treatments = burning, drowning, tranquilising chair

Four features of abnormal psychology

Deviance

• differs from societal norm

Distress

• causes distress/unhappiness

Dysfunction

• Interferes with daily functioning

Danger

• poses threat to oneself or others

Dysfunction/danger exception

Tibetan man set fire to himself to protest china

• although self-harming, context does not mean psychological disorder

ADHD symptoms

1. Fidgeting

2. Inability to sit still

3. Away on the go

4. Being loud

5. Interrupting

International classification of diseases (ICD-11)

System used by most countries to classify psychological disorders

• published by WHO

Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders

Used to diagnose mental disorders in Canada and US

• list of symptoms for over 200 psych disorders

• Current version is DSM-5-TR

Importance of clear diagnostic criteria and standards

• helps standardize diagnosis and treatment

• Ensures ppl get appropriate treatment

• Ensures that we don’t diagnose ppl from afar

ADHD diagnostic criteria example

• inattention - must be present 6 months

• Hyperactivity - must be present 6 months

• Symptoms must be present before 12 yrs old

• Present at several settings, and interferes w/ it

• Not better explained by any other mental disorder

Diagnosis

Clinicians determination that a person’s cluster of symptoms represents a particular disorder

• not all clinicians same standards tho!!

Comorbidity

Condition where person’s symptoms qualify for more than one diagnoses

• vital for proper treatment

Neurodevelopmental disorders

Onset before grade school

Neurocognitive disorders

Primary deficit is cognitive disorders

Substance related/addictive disorders

Related to reward pathways activated by substance use or activities like gambling

Schizophrenia-spectrum and other psychotic disorders

Delusions disordered thoughts/behaviour

• lack of motivation

Depressive disorders

Sad mood

• physical/cognitive changes

Bipolar + related disorders

Alternating intense positive/negative affect

Anxiety disorders

Excessive fear/anxiety

Obsessive-compulsive and related disorders

Repetitive thoughts and behavioural rituals

Trauma and stressor related disorders

Exposure to highly distressing events

Somatic symptoms and related disorders

Prominent somatic symptoms

Dissociative disorder

Disruption in integration of psychological functioning

Feeding and eating disorders

Eating related dysfunction

Sexual dysfunction

Related to ability to experience sexual pleasure

Gender dysphoria

Related to discrepancy between assigned and experienced gender

Paraphilic disorders

Deviant sexual interests

Sleep-wake disorders

Related to quality/timing of sleep

Disruptive/impulse control, and conduct disorders

Uncontrolled behaviours that impact others in a negative way

Personality disorders

Inflexible, deviant behavioural patters

Neuroscience approach to abnormality

Structural/biochemical malfunctions in brain

• genetic inheritance

• Too many/few neurotransmitters

• Viral infection - effects brain development

• Hormones - stress, cortisol, depression

• Brain structure abnormalities

Does not consider environment!!

• easy to over-rely bc says “not ur fault”

Biopsychosocial perspective approaches to abnormality

Unconscious conflicts rooted in childhood

• Biological factors alone not enough to understand psych disorders

• 4 D’s - deviance, distress, dysfunction, danger

• Must consider individual differences and social/cultural differences

Cognitive-behavioural acquiring methods

1. conditioning - learned

2. modelling - learn bad behaviour thru ppl around us

3. cognitive principles - distorted thinking like confirmation bias and stereotyping

• Problematic learned behaviours and dysfunctional cognitive processes

Cognitive-behavioural approach to abnormality

Acknowledge emotions and bio factors interact with behaviour and cognition

• behaviour and thinking interact + influence each other

The cognitive perspective

Selective perception, magnification, overgeneralisation

Selective perception

Seeing only the negative features of event

Magnification

Exaggerating bad events are more important/bad than they actually are

Overgeneralisation

Drawing broad negative conclusions on basis of single insignificant event

Psychodynamic model

Abnormal behaviours due to unconscious attempts to resolve conflicts and lessen pain of inner turmoil

• rooted in Freudian theory

• Fixation - trapped at early stage of development

Humanistic and existential approaches to abnormality

Socio-cultural approaches to abnormality

Caused by societal stressors

• widespread social change

• Socio-economic class membership

• Cultural background

• Social networks

• Family systems

Plays big role in 4 D’s

Developmental psychopathy approach to abnormality

Early risk factors combined with poor resilience affecting person at later life stages

• equifinality, multifinality, resilience

Risk factors

Biological and environmental factors that contribute to problem outcomes

Equifinality

Diff children can start at diff points and end up at same outcome

Multifinality

Children start at same point and end up at diff outcomes

Resilience

Ability to recover from/avoid serious effects of bad circumstances

Depression

Low/sad state ppl get overwhelmed by

• most ppl w mood disorder only suffer from depression

Major depressive disorder

characterised by depressed mood thats significantly disabling and not caused by drugs or medical condition

mania

euphoria and frenzied energy

• ppl with cyclothymic disorder also experience mania

bipolar disorder

periods of mania alternate with periods of depression

major depressive disorder symptoms

• emotional = depressed mood

• motivational = loss of desire to do usual stuff, lack of drive

• behavioural = less active/productive, may move/speak slowly or seem physically agitated

• cognitive = bad self esteem, self blame, pessimism, guilt, indecisiveness, difficulty concentrating, suicidal

• physical = headaches, indigestion, constipation, dizzy spells, pain, sleep, eating disturbance, fatigue

neuroscientists explaining major depressive disorder

genetic predisposition

• low norepinephrine/serotonin

• high cortisol

socio-cultural theorists explaining major depressive disorder

lack of social support

• stressors

cognitive-behavioural theorists explaining major depressive disorder

learned helplessness

• attribution-helplessness theory

• negative thinking/dysfunctional attitudes

• illogical thinking processes

• automatic thoughts

• cognitive triad

cognitive triad of depression

1. bad thoughts abt oneself

2. bad tbihoughts about own experiences

3. bad thoughts about future

symptoms of mania in 5 areas of functioning

• emotional = powerful highs/lows

• motivational = seeks excitement and companionship

• behavioural = may move/speak quickly

• cognitive = poor judgement, planning, optimism, grandiosity

• physical = energetic, require little sleep

neuroscientists explaining bipolar disorder

gene abnormalities

• ion dysregulation, reduced sodium pump activity

• stress + biological predisposition

• life events - striving, failures

anxiety disorders

disabling levels of fear that are frequent, severe, persistent, or easily triggered

• most ppl with one anxiety disorder experience another one as well

generalised anxiety disorder

anxiety disorder where ppl feel excessive anxiety and worry under most circumstances

• restlessness

• keyed up behaviour

• fatigue

• difficulty concentrating

• muscle tension

• sleep problems

neuroscientists explaining generalised anxiety disorder

malfunctioning GABA feedback system

• malfunctioning emotional brain circuit

cognitive-behavioural theorists explaining generalised anxiety disorder

assumption that one is in danger

• intolerance of uncertainty theory

• unwilling to accept negative events

social anxiety disorder

an anxiety disorder where ppl feel severe, persistent, and irrational fears of social/performance situations in which embarrassment may occur

• affects women more than men

• affects poor more than wealthy

• 7.1% of western pop.

cognitive-behavioural theorists explaining social anxiety disorder

unrealistically high social standards

• views oneself as socially unattractive

• views oneself as socially unskilled and inadequate

belief that one is in danger for behaving incompetently

• expect bad consequences for clumsy behaviour

• believes no control over anxious feelings in social situations

phobias

persistent, unreasonable fear of a specific object, activity, or situation

phobia explanations

classically conditioned fear

• avoidance behaviours reinforced thru operant conditioning

• modelling of fearful behaviour

10 most common phobias

1. Spiders - Arachnophobia

2. Heights - Acrophobia

3. Public, social places - Agoraphobia

4. Social situations - Social phobia

5. Flying - Aerophobia

6. Enclosed spaces - Claustrophobia

7. Thunder - Brontophobia

8. Germs - Mysophobia

9. Cancer - Carcinophobia

10. Death - Necrophobia

panic attacks

periodic sudden bouts of panic

panic disorder

anxiety disorder characterised by recurrent and unpredictable panic attacks that occur without apparent provocation

• may misinterpret panic as medical emergency

• often accompanied w agoraphobia (fear of public)

panic disorder explanations

malfunctioning brain circuit = excess norepinephrine

• misinterpretation of bodily sensations

• approx 4% canadians have suffered

obsessions

persistent thoughts, ideas, impulses, or images that invade ppls consciousness

compulsions

irrational repetitive/rigid behaviours or mental acts to prevent/reduce anxiety

obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD

mental disorder associated with repeated, abnormal, anxiety-provoking thoughts and/or repeated rigid behaviours

cognitive-behavioural theorists explaining OCD

accidental associations

• learning that compulsive behaviour relieves anxiety

neuroscientists explaining OCD

low serotonin activity

• overactive orbitofrontal cortex and caudate nuclei

• cingulate cortex and hypothalamus activate OCD impulses

• amygdala drives fear + anxiety components of OCD response

acute stress disorder

anxiety disorder where fear + related symptoms are experienced soon after traumatic event

• last less than a month

post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

anxiety disorder where fear + related symptoms continue to be experienced long after traumatic event

symptoms of acute + PTSD

• high levels of ongoing anxiety + depression

• hyper-alertness

• easily startled

• trouble concentrating + remembering

• sleep problems

• guilt

• recurring thoughts, memories, dreams, nightmares

• detached

explanations for PTSD

• biological + genetic factors

  • abnormal levels of cortisol/norepinephrine

  • damaged hippocampus + amygdala

• personality, attitudes, coping styles

• childhood experiences

• weak social + family support

schizophrenia

mental disorder characterised by disorganised thoughts, lack of contact w reality, sometimes hallucinations

• experience psychosis, hallucinations, delusions

psychosis

loss of contact w reality

schizophrenia diagnosis

if minimum 2 symptoms appear continuously for 1 month and last for 6 months or more

• symptoms grouped into 3 categories: positive, negative, cognitive

positive symptoms of schizophrenia

represents pathological excesses in behaviour

• delusions

• disorganised thinking/speech

• hallucinations

• inappropriate affect

delusions

false beliefs that are firmly held despite evidence of contrary

loose associations/derailment

common thought disorder of schizophrenia

• rapid shifts from one topic to another

hallucinations

imagined sights, sounds, or other senses experienced as if real

inappropriate affect

emotions unsuited to situation

negative symptoms of schizophrenia

reflects pathological deficits

• poverty of speech - short/one word answers

• flat affect - no emotional expression

• loss of volition - cant initiate stuff

• social withdrawal

cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia

cognitive impairment

• memory

• executive function

• attention

• working memory

• intelligence

catatonia

extreme psychomotor symptoms of schizophrenia

• catatonic stupor - immobile/cant talk, no rxn to stimuli

• catatonic rigidity - muscle stiffness/immobility

• catatonic posturing - voluntarily hold uncomfy positions for long periods

neuroscientists explaining schizophrenia

genetic predisposition

• diathesis-stress model - biological predisposition + negative event

• excessive dopamine activity

• enlarged ventricles

• small temporal/frontal lobes

• structural abnormalities of hippocampus, amygdala and thalamus

somatic symptom and related disorders

excessive thought, feelings, and behaviours related to somatic symptoms

somatic symptom disorder

symptoms cause distress and significant disruption in life

• excessive health-related anxiety

• concerns last over 6 months

illness anxiety disorder (hypochondriasis)

engage in excessive care-seeking for over 6 months

• engage in excessive illness behaviours

conversion disorder

person develops symptoms of neurological damage like paralysis, seizures, blindness, or loss of feeling

• but actual testing shows no damage to body/nervous system

factitious disorder (munchausen syndrome)

ppl deliberately assume physical/psych symptoms to be a patient

• can be applied to others

dissociative disorders

major loss of memory without clear physical cause

Dissociative amnesia

unable to remember important information, usually of an upsetting nature, about their lives

Depersonalization/derealization disorder

person feels detached from their body and/or the self

Dissociative identity disorder

two or more distinct personalities

dissociative disorders explanations

psychodynamic theorists = repression

neuroscientists = smaller hippocampus/amygdala, changes in level of activity in the sensory cortex

personality disorders

inflexible pattern of inner thinking vs. outward behaviour that causes distress or difficulty with daily functioning