Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD)

• A condition is a condition characterized by persistent disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others that begins in childhood or early adolescence and continues into adulthood.

  • Deceit and manipulation are central features of this disorder.

• A mental condition in which a person has a long-term pattern of manipulating, exploiting, or violating the rights of others. This behaviour is often criminal.

  • People with APD tend to antagonize, manipulate or treat others harshly or with callous indifference. They don’t feel guilt or remorse for their actions/behaviour

Diagnostic & Risk

Diagnostic

• For this diagnosis to be given, the individual must:

  • Be at least 18

  • Must have had some symptoms of conduct disorder before age 15 (i.e. delinquency)

• This order is only diagnostic behaviours become persistent and very disabling or distressing

• Individuals with this disorder have an increased risk of dying prematurely by violent means:

  • Suicide

  • Accidents

  • Homicide

• Common with this disorder:

  • Prolonged unemployment

  • Interrupted education

  • Broken marriages

  • Irresponsible parenting, homelessness

  • Frequent incarceration

Types of Personality disorders

• Borderline Personality Disorder:

  • Lack of one’s own identity, with rapid changes in mood, intense unstable interpersonal relationships, marked impulsively, instability in affect in self image

• Paranoid Personality Disorder:

  • Marked distrust of others, including the belief, without reason, that others are exploiting, harming, or trying to deceive him or her.

  • Lack of trust; belief of others’ betrayal; belief in hidden meanings; unforgiving and grudge holding.

• Histrionic:

  • Exaggerated and often inappropriate displays of emotional reactions, approaching theatricality in everyday behaviour. Sudden and rapidly shifting emotion expressions.

    • Self centered

• Narcissistic:

  • Behaviour or a fantasy of grandiosity, a lack of empathy, a need to be admired by others, an inability to to see the viewpoints of others, and hypersensitive to the opinions of others

ANGER

• Most personality disordered people are prone to be angry

• Their anger is always sudden, raging, frightening and without an apparent provocation by an outside agent. It would seem that people suffering from personality disorders are in a CONSTANT state of anger, which is effectively suppressed most of the time.

• It manifests itself only when the person’s defences are down, incapacitated, affected by circumstances, inner or external

Healthy people experience anger differently (a transitory state)

This is what sets the personality disordered apart: their anger is always acute, permanently present, often suppressed or repressed.

Healthy anger has an external inducing agent (a reason). It is directed at this agent (coherence).

Movie: Manic 2001

3 categories psychologists classify mental disorder

Neuroses - Suffers experience high levels of anxiety or tension in managing their daily lives (i.e. panic attacks, phobias)

Psychoses - patient has lost touch with reality (real world), may have delusions or hallucinations (paranoia, schizophrenia)

Antisocial Personality Disorder - a habitual pattern, rulebreaking and harming others

• Pathological lying, absense of empathy, lack of guilt

Behaviour Modification

Social scientist have spent much time attempting to determine the methods that can successfully change or modify human behaviour. (ex.Criminal behaviour)

These are just two methods:

• Negative Reinforcement - involves punishment or removing privileges

• Positive Reinforcement - rewards good behaviour

Studies have concluded that positive reinforcement is more effective.

How do we begin Behavioural Modification?

cognitive consistency - we want to avoid attitudes that conflict with each other (within ourselves).

Cognitive Dissonance Theory - When there is inconsistency between attitudes or behaviours something must change to eliminate the disharmony. This is the most favoured theory of attitude change.

• I.e., If you smoke, but also believe smoking causes cancers, you are experienceing dissonance. What you do is conflicting with what you think. You will try to avoid conflict (you may not smoke in front of friends that oppose smoking, avoid article on smoking/health)

To avoud this inner conflict:

• You could change your behaviour to be consistent with your attitude

• You could try to reinforce your attitude. i.e., your grandmother smoked, lived to 90+, therefore you could try to convince yourself that it is okay - looks for benefits of smoking. (to look more grown up, maintain weight, relaxed you)

The study of psychology also identifies modern social conditions that contribute to indiv psychological and physical conditions

Work related stress & anxiety

There are 4 primary types of symptoms of STRESS

GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER (G.A.D)

• Generalized Anxiety Disorder is a condition whereby you experience chronic and debilitating anxiety and/or worry.

  • Some of the signs and symptoms to watch for include:

    • Feeling restless or keyed up

    • Difficulty concentrating

    • Being easily fatigued

    • Feeling irritable

    • Experiencing muscle tension

    • Having sleep difficulties

    • Gastrointestinal discomfort including nausea and diarrhea

    • Sweating

There are 4 primary types of symptoms of STRESS: physical, emotional, cognitive and behavioral.

Depending on the individual and the cause of the stress, the number of symptoms from each category can vary.

Physical Symptoms Cognitive Symptoms Emotional Symptoms

Social Anxiety Disorder

• Also known as social phobia; everyday interactions cause significant anxiety, self consciousness and embarrassment because you fear being scrutinized or judged negatively by others.

• In social Anxiety disorder:

  • Fear and anxiety lead to avoidance that can disrupt your life

  • Severe stress can affect your relationship

  • Daily routines, work, school or other activities

• This disorder can be a chronic mental health condition. However, learning coping mechanisms in psychotherapy and taking medication can help you gain confidence and improve your ability to interact with others.

Symptoms & Signs

• Fear of situations in which you may be judged negatively

• Feat that others will notice that you look anxious

• Avoidance of doing thighs or speaking to people out of fear or embarrassment

• Avoidance of situations where you might be the center of attention

• Intense fear or anxiety during social situation

• etc.

Coping with Anxiety Ex.