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CHAPTER 11: Personality
What is Personality?
Let's start with defining personality.
According to the American Psychological Association personality is defined as the enduring characteristics and behavior that comprise a person’s unique adjustment to life, including major traits, interest, drives, values, self concept, abilities, and emotional patterns.
There are different personality theories that attempt to explain the similarities and differences between people's patterns of behavior (thinking, feeling, and behavior). Personality theories attempt to explain the person as a whole.
There are 4 theories of personality we will discuss: The psychoanalytic perspective, the humanistic perspective, the social cognitive perspective,
The Psychoanalytic Perspective on Personality
The psychoanalytic perspective highlights the significance of unconscious processes and the influence of early childhood experiences.
Sigmund Freud is a major contributor to the psychoanalytic perspective.
Freud's psychoanalysis emphasizes the influence of unconscious mental processes, the importance of sexual and aggressive instincts, and the impacts of early childhood experiences have on personality.
Freud based his theory on observations of his patients as well as on self analysis.
Freud developed a process called free association, which he based his treatment on. Free association is the expression of thoughts, feelings, and emotions consciously without censorship as a wavy to identify the unconscious process
Influences on Freud's Ideas
A person in therapy is encouraged to verbalize or write all the thoughts that come to mind.
Free association is not a linear thought pattern. The person may jump from one memory, thought, or emotion to another.
The idea is that free association reveals associations and connections that might otherwise go uncovered. People in therapy may reveal repressed memories and emotions. The client is given a word and the person says whatever comes to mind no matter how trivial, illogical it may seem. It is the therapist job to interpret the responses as patterns and the associations are identified.
Client is going through a divorce, client is given words that he may relate with relationships, or marriage. Therapist will say something like wife, the client will respond and say beautiful, the therapist will say wedding, the client will say, contract. Therapist will say love, client will say obedience. Therapist will say the husband, the client will say power.
It is hoped to discover a theme or pattern which is explored in therapy. Free association helps reveal unconscious desires.
Freud’s Dynamic Theory of Personality
Frueds believed that personality and behavior is the result of 3 different levels of awareness: The conscious, the preconscious, and the unconscious.
The thoughts, feelings, and emotions that you are aware of is considered conscious. Consciousness is associated with awareness
The preconscious level thoughts, feelings, and emotions that you are not presently aware of but can access or become aware of those thoughts, feelings, and emotions easily. Examples would be cues that initiate memories.
Then we have the unconscious level. The unconscious level lacks awareness. The thoughts, feelings, and drives operate below a level of awareness.
Freud believed that the unconscious exerts an enormous influence on conscious thoughts and behaviors.
Freud believed that unconscious material often presents itself in a distorted mammer. For example, if a person is sleeping with a lot of people, using drugs and alcohol derogatory language that might be the conscious level but it's a distorted behavior or a disguise for maybe physical trauma, loneliness, fear of rejection, poor boundaries, or unhealthy attachment.
Another technique Frued used to investigate the unconscious level of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors was dream analysis.
Dream analysis is the investigation of repressed feelings that can be expressed in our dreams. Psychoanalytic theory suggests that repressed feelings manifest in our dreams. This happens because our defenses (whatever we do to protect what we are trying to withhold) are lowered when we are asleep. Less guarded when sleeping. Dreams have two levels: Latent content - hidden motives wishes or fears and manifest content - the dream as it appears
In dream analysis, the therapist tried to uncover the latent content. This is usually done by identifying symbolic meaning behind the dream. Free association is used in the process.
How this would look: The therapist will tell the client to write down a dream that she/he had over the week. The client had a dream that he wanted to bury something but could not. No matter how much he tried, he could not bury the tem and he could not tell what the item was. From this, the therapist will do free associations. Therapist will say hole, client responds bury, client says failure and so on and so fourth. The therapist then looks for a pattern. This example the therapist discovered clients feelings of failure and homelessness.
The Ego Defense Mechanism
Anxiety is a key concept of Freud’s personality theory.
When the ego is unable to ward off danger through rational, realistic means, it may resort to one of its defense mechanisms.
A defense mechanisms share two characteristics:
They operate on an unconscious level
They serve to deny or distort reality
The most basic defense mechanism is repression, occurs when the id’s drives and needs are excluded from conscious awareness by painting them in the unconscious
Another defense mechanism is reaction formation, which involves avoiding an anxiety-evoking impulse by expressing its opposite
Projection which occurs when a threatening impulse is attributed to another person or other external source
Psychosexual Stages*
Frued’s personality development theory emphasizes the sexual drives of the id and proposes that an individual’s personality is formed during childhood as the result of certain experiences that occur during five predetermined psychosexual stages of development:
Oral stage (birth-1 year): the id’s sexual needs are gratified primarily by eating, drinking, and other activities involving the mouth.
Anal stage (1-3 years): focus shifts from the mouth to the anus, where children find satisfaction releasing their waste. Toilet training occurs during this stage
Phallic stage (3-6 years): Change in impulses from anus to genitals. Development of the Oedipus and Electra complex
Latency stage (7 to 11 years): the child is relating to the community by adopting values, developing social skills and forming relationships with people outside the immediate family.
Genital stage (adolescence): Focuses on self pleasure, focused on sexual instinct (who you are attracted to) and sexual intercourse
Other Ideas of Personality Development
Archetypes and the Collective unconscious
From the perspective of Carl Jung, personality is the consequence of both conscious and unconscious factors.
He believed the conscious is oriented toward the external word, is governed by the ego, and represents the individual’s thoughts, ideas, feelings, sensory perception, and memories.
The unconscious is made up of the personal unconscious and the collective unconscious.
Included in the unconscious are archetypes, which are primordial images that cause people to experience and understand certain phenomena in a universal way
A key concept in Jung’s personality theory is individuation, which refers to an integration of teh conscious and unconscious aspects of the psyche that leads to the development of a unique identity.
Feelings of Inferiority and Striving for Superiority
Alfred Adler adopted a teleological approach that regards behavior as being largely motivated by a person’s future goals, rather than determined by past events.
Inferiority feelings, striving for superiority, style of life, and social interest are key concepts in personality development according to Adler.
According to Adler, inferiority feelings develop during childhood as the result of real or perceived biological, psychological, or social weakness.
Stringing for superiority is an inherent tendency toward “perfect completion” - looks different for everyone
The specific way a person chooses to compensate for inferiority and achieve superiority is determined by her/his style of life, which unifies the various aspects of the personality
Humanistic Perspective
Carl Rogers person-centered therapy is known as client centered therapy and is based on his belief that all people have an innate “self actualizing tendency” that serves as the major source of motivation and guides them toward positive, healthy growth.
The center concept in Roger’s personality theory is the notion of the self, or the organized conceptual gestalt composed of perception of the characteristics of the I or me, how the I or me compare to other aspects of life.
Rogers believed that each person has the ability to become self actualized but to do so, the self must remain unified.
The self becomes disorganized as the result of incongruence between self and experience, which can occur when the individual experiences conditions of worth
Social Cognitive Perspective on Personality
The social cognitive perspective on personality emphasizes conscious thought processes, self-regulation, and the importance of situational influences.
According to the social cognitive perspective on personality, individuals actively process information from their social experiences, and use the information to influence their goals, expectations, beliefs, and behaviors.
Key factors of the social cognitive perspective are:
The perspective rely on experimental findings
Focuses on conscious and self regulating behaviors
Emphasizes that the sense of self can vary depending on the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of the situation (example: PTSD after loud bang due to previous war environment)
The Theory
Albert Bandura is a major contributor of the social cognitive perspective.
Albert Bandura details human behavior and personality as being caused by the interaction of behavior, cognitive, and environmental factors, reciprocal determinism.
According to this idea, all factors influence one another
Belief of Self Efficacy
Albert Bandura believed that an individual's cognitive ability and attitude is the person’s self system.
The Self system is the function in which people evaluate their experiences.
An important element of the self system is self efficacy, refers to the belief a person has about their ability to handle the situations life gives out.
Assessing Personality
There are several psychological tests used to assess characteristics of an individual's personality.
Psychological test attempt to reach 2 goals:
Accurately and consistently reflect an individual’s characteristic to some extent
Predict a person’s future psychological functioning or behavior
Regarding personality specifically, we will look at two types of psychological testing:
Projective test
Self reporting inventories
Projective Test
Although projective tests differ in terms of content, formats and interpretation, they all share several characteristics.
Their use is based on the assumption that ambiguous and unstructured stimuli can elicit meaningful information about an examinee’s personality and underlying conflicts.
Projective tests are generally less susceptible than structured tests to “faking” and response sets.
Projective tests tend to reveal more unconscious, global aspects.
The Rorschach Inkblot test, developed by Hermann Rorschach believed that the way a person interprets an inkblot reveals something about his or her mental stats.
The test consists of 10 cards, each containing a bilaterally symmetrical inkblot printed on a white background.
Five of the inkblots are black and gray, two contain areas of bright red, and three contain several pastel colors
The test can be administered to people ages 2 and older.
The administration of the Rorschach ordinary involves two phases:
Free association phase: The examiner presents the 10 cards in a prescribed order, ask the examinee to describe what she/he sees, and keeps a verbatim record of the examinee’s responses, remakes, and emotional expressions
Inquiry phase: The examiner actively questions the examinee about the features of the inkblot and determines his/her responses in order to facilitate scoring.
Scoring and interpretation of the Rorschach is complex and involve looking at the following categories:
Location: Where in the inkblot the examinees perception is located
Determinants: what in the inkblot determined the examinee’s response
Form Quality: How similar the examinee’s perception is to the actual shape of the inkblot
Content: The category of the perception falls into
Popularity/Frequency of Occurrence: How often a certain inkblot or portion of an inkblot elicits a particular response
Protective Test
The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) common version of the test consists of 20 cards, 19 containing vague black and white pictures that include one or more human figures and one blank card, with a subset of 8-12 cards.
The examinee is asked to make up a story about each picture and to include information about what is happening in the picture, what led up to that situation, how the people people, and how the story ends.
Studies suggest that the TAT has little utility for assigning specific diagnosis, but useful for diagnosis distinctions.
Self Report Inventories
Self report inventories are done by pencil and paper, in a structured interview to assess personality.
Specifically for personality self report inventories, objective personality tests that present the examinee with multiple choice questions or other unambiguous stimuli are often self report measures.
A popular personality self report test is the Minnesota Multiphase Personality Inventory (MMPI), which was developed as a method for deriving psychiatric diagnosis, and an empirical criterion keying strategy was used to construct the test clinical scales.
The MMPI is for individuals aged 18 and older and, depending on the source, requires at least at 5th, 6th or 8th grade reading level.
There is a MMPIA for individuals ages 14-18, and a tape recorded version for people with limited literacy skills.
CHAPTER 14: Psychological Disorders
Understanding Psychological Disorders
What is a Psychological Disorder?
A psychological disorder is a pattern of behavioral or psychological symptoms that causes significant impairment to ones daily functioning in one or more areas in their life
For example: if a person has an inability to concentrate in class, at work, and task at home this will cause them to maybe fall behind in class, make mistakes at work and have incomplete home tasks. All could result in negative consequences
In order for a therapist to describe such behavioral or psychological symptoms, they use the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM 5) is the current version being used.
The DSM 5 utilizes a categorical approach that divides the mental disorders into types that are defined by a set of diagnostic criteria and requires the clinician to determine whether or not a client meets the minimum criteria for a given diagnosis.
To allow for individual differences, the DSM-5 includes a polythetic criteria set for most disorders that requires a client to present with only a subset of characteristics from a larger list. As a result two clients can have
The DSM-5 contains 19 categories for diagnostics criteria.
When using the DSM5 diagnostic, uncertainty about a client’s diagnosis is indicated by coding one of the following:
Other specific disorder: this is coded when the therapist wanted to indicate the reason why the client’s symptoms do not meet the criteria for a specific disorder
Unspecified disorder: this is coded when the therapist does not want to indicate the reason why the client's symptoms do not meet the criteria for a specific disorder.
Understanding Psychological Disorders
The prevalence of psychological disorders
Ronald C. Kessler and his colleagues (2005) conducted a study to investigate how common are psychological disorders
The 9000 participants aging from 18 years and older were asked if they have experienced psychological symptoms within the past 12 months and at any point in their lives. They were also asked other risk factors questions such as substance use.
The results concluded that psychological disorders are more prevalent than we think. One out of four participants (26 percent) reported experiencing psychological symptoms during the past 12 months. Other reports showed there was a high degree of comorbidity or having more than one disorder at a time.
According to the textbook, the National Comorbidity survey NCS-R found that almost one out of two adults (46%) has experienced psychological symptoms at some point in their life.
Read the median age of onset in years from the book with disorders.
Fear and Trembling
Anxiety Disorders:
The anxiety disorders share features of excessive fear and anxiety and related behavioral disturbances. Included in this category are Separation Anxiety, Specific Phobia, Social Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, Agoraphobia, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder.
Anxiety disorder is associated with higher levels of positive affect and autonomic arousal. In addition, apprehension, tension, trembling, excessive worry, and nightmares are “pure” anxiety symptoms.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): GAD involves excessive anxiety and worry about multiple events or activities that are relatively constant for at least 6 months
The person finds it difficult to control, and causes clinically significant distress or impaired functioning. The anxiety and worry must include at least three of the following symptoms (or at least one symptom for children): restlessness or feeling keyed up or on edge, being easily fatigues, difficulty concentrating, irritability, muscle tension, sleep disturbance
The National Comorbidity Survey found that 90% of individuals with GAD over a long period of time most often are also diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder, or Persistent Depressive Disorder followed by Substance Use Disorder.
The symptoms for GAD are somewhat age related. Children and adolescents with this disorder often worry about performance in school and sports or about earthquakes, tornados and other disasters. In contrast, young adults worry about work, family, finances, and the future, while older adults worry about personal health and minor or routine matters.
Treatment for GAD typically involves cognitive behavioral therapy.
Depending on the severity of the anxiety symptoms cognitive behavioral therapy is paired with psychopharmacology
The medication that has been used for GAD are SSRIs and SNRIs or when the person is nonresponsive to an antidepressant, a benzodiazepine, or the anxiolytic
Panic Attacks and Panic Disorders
Panic disorder is characterized by recurrent unexpected panic attacks with at least one attack being followed by at least one month of persistent consent about having additional attacks or about their consequences and/or significant maladaptive change in behavior related to the attack.
The DSM5 define a panic attack as an abrupt surge of intense fear or intense discomfort that reaches a peak within minutes and involves a minimum of four characteristic symptoms (palpitations or accelerated heart rate, sweating, trembling, feelings of choking, chest pain or discomfort, paresthesias, derealization or depersonalization, fear or losing control. Before this disorder is diagnosed hyperthyroidism, hypoglycemia, cardiac arrhythmia, and other medical conditions are included symptoms of panic disorder must be ruled out.
Females are about twice as likely as males to receive this diagnosis.
The diagnosis of Agoraphobia requires the presence of marketed fear or anxiety about at least two of the following situations: using public transportation, being in open spaces, being in enclosed spaces, standing in line or being a part of a crowd, and being outside the home alone. The individual fears or avoids these situations due to the concern that escape might be difficult or help will be unavailable in case she or he develops panic-like or embarrassing symptoms.
Treatment for Agoraphobia include:
In vivo exposure with response prevention
The Phobias
Specific phobia is characterized by intense fear of or anxiety about a specific object or situation (heights, flying, receiving and injection) with the individual either:
Avoiding the object or situation or enduring it with marked distress.
The fear or anxiety is not proportional to the actual danger posed by the object or situation.
Is persistent (typically lasting for at least six months)
Causes clinically significant distress or impairment in functioning.
Specifiers are provided for the following subtypes: animal, natural environment, blood injection injury, situational, and other.
Social anxiety disorder (social phobia) is intense fear of or anxiety about one or more social situations in which the individual may be exposed to scrutiny by others
The individual fears that she/he will exhibit symptoms in these situations that will be negatively evaluated
She/he avoids the situations or endures them with intense fear or anxiety
His/her heat or anxiety is not proportional to the actual threat posed by the situations.
Fear, anxieties, and avoidance are persistent and cause clinically significant distress or impaired functioning.
Psychological Disorder
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) varies depending on the individual's age.
For adults, adolescents, and children older than six years of age requires the following:
Exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence in at least one of the following ways:
Direct experience of event
Witnessing the event in person as it happened to others
Learning that the event occurred to a close family member or friend
Repeated or extreme exposure to aversion details of the event
Presence of at least one of the following intrusion symptoms:
Recurrent, involuntary distressing memories of the event
or, in children, repetitive play related to the event
Recurrent distressing dreams related to the event
or, in children, distressing dreams without recognizable content
Dissociative reactions in which the person feels or acts as if the event is recurring
or, in children, trauma related reenactment during play
Intense or prolonged psychological distress when exposed to reminders of the event marked by physiological reactions to reminder of event
Persistent avoidance of stimuli associated with the event as evidence by one or both of the following:
Avoidance of distressing memories
Thoughts, or feelings related to the event
Avoidance of external reminders that elicit distressing memories, thoughts, or feelings related to the event
Negative changes in cognition or mood associated with the event as evidence by at least two of the following:
Inability to remember an important aspect of event
Persistent and exaggerated negative beliefs about oneself, others, or the world
Persistent distorted cognitions related to the events' cause or consequences; indicated by diminished interest in significant activities, feelings of detachment from others and inability to experience positive emotions.
Marked change in arousal and reactivity associated with the event as evidence by at least two of the following:
Irritable behavior and angry outburst
Reckless or destructive behavior
Hypervigilance
Exaggerated startle response
Impaired concentration
Sleep disturbance
For children six years old or younger, the diagnosis requires the following:
Exposure to actual threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence in at least one of the following ways:
Direct experience of the event
Witnessing the event in person as it happened to others (especially a primary caregiver)
Learning that the event occurred to a caregiver
Presence of at least one of the following intrusion symptoms: recurrent, involuntary distressing memories of the event that may be expressed during play reenactment
Recurrent distressing dreams in which content and/or affect are related to the event
Dissociative reactions in which the child feels or acts as if the event is recurring and that may occur during play reenactment
Intense or prolonged psychological distress when exposed to internal or external reminders of the event; indicated by physiological reactions to reminders of the event
At least one symptom that represents either persistent avoidance of stimuli related to the event or negative changes in cognitions and mood related to the event
Alterations in arousal and reactivity associated with the event as evidence by at least two of the following:
Irritable behavior and angry outburst
Hypervigilance
Exaggerated startle response
Impaired concentration
Sleep disturbance
Symptoms must have a duration or more than one month and must cause clinically significant distress or impaired functioning
Specifiers are provided for dissociative symptoms (depersonalization and derealization)
For delayed expression when full diagnostic criteria are not met until at least six months after the event
Depressive and Bipolar Disorders
Major Depressive Disorder
Major Depressive Disorder requires the presence of at least five symptoms of major depressive episode every day for at least two weeks, with a t least one symptom being depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure.
The symptoms of major depressive disorder include:
Depressed mood (in children and adolescents, a depressed mood or irritable mood)
Diminished interest or pleasure in most or all activities
Significant weight loss when not dieting, weight gain, or a decrease or increase in appetite
Hypersomina or insomnia
Psychomotor agitation or retardation
Fatigue or loss of energy
Feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt
Decreased ability to think or concentrate
Recurrent thoughts of death
Recurrent suicidal ideation, or suicide attempt
Symptoms caused clinically significant distress or impaired functioning.
Specifiers for the diagnosis include:
Severity (Mild, moderate, severe)
Course (single episode, recurrent episode)
Accompanying features (psychotic feature, atypical features, permpartum onset, seasonal pattern)
Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar 1 Disorder requires:
At least one manic episode (distinct mood person of abnormally and persistently increased goal directed activity or energy, APA, 2013)
The episode must last for at least one week
Be present most of the day nearly every day and include:
Inflated self esteem
Decreased need for sleep
Excessive talkativeness
Flight of ideas
Symptoms must impair the person's daily functioning - can lead to hospitalization
Specifiers include:
Severity (mild, moderate, or severe) based on the number and severity of the symptoms
Type of most recent or current episode (manic, hypomanic, depressed, or unspecified
Treatment for Bipolar 1 include pharmacotherapy
Lithium has been reported to be effective in 60 to 90% of cases of bipolar 1
Cyclothymic Disorder
Cyclothymic Disorder is given when symptoms are characterized by numerous periods of hypomanic symptoms that do not meet criteria for a hypomanic episode and numerous periods with depressive symptoms that do not meet criteria for a major depressive episode.
Symptoms must cause significant distress in a person’s daily functioning
Eating Disorders
Anorexia Nervosa
Eating disorders are characterized by a persistent disturbance of eating or eating related behavior that results in the altered consumption or absorption of food and that significantly impairs physical health or psychosocial functioning (APA, 2013).
Anorexia features include:
A restriction of energy intake that leads to a significantly low body weight for the person’s age, gender, developmental trajectory, and physical health
An intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat or behavior that interferes with weight gain
A disturbance in the way the person experiences his or her body weight or shape or lack of recognition of low body weight
Specifiers include:
Restrictive or being eating/purging
Course (in partial remission or full remission)
Severity (mild, moderate, severe, extreme) based on current body mass index
Treatment include:
Trying to get the person to gain weight in order to avoid medical complications
Cognitive behavioral therapy
Bulimia Nervosa
Bulimia Nervousa: is characterized by:
Recurrent episodes of binge eating that are accompanied by a sense of a lack of control
Inappropriate compensatory behavior to prevent weight gain, such as self induced vomiting, misuse of laxative or diuretics, fasting, or excessive exercise
Self evaluation that is unduly influenced by body shape and weight
For the diagnosis, binge eating and compensatory behaviors must occur, on average, at least once a week for three months.
Specifiers include:
Severity (mild, moderate, severe, extreme) based on average number of episodes of inappropriate compensatory behavior per week
Treatment for Bulimia Nervosa include:
Helping the person gain control over her/his eating
Modify dysfunctional beliefs about eating, shape and weight
Nutritional counseling
Cognitive behavioral techniques
Binge Eating Disorder
Binge Eating Disorder requires
Recurrent episodes of binge eating that involves a sense of lack control over eating
The presence of at least three characteristic symptoms (eating more rapidly than usual, eating until feeling uncomfortable full, eating alone due to feeling embarrassed about the amount of food consumed)
The presence of significant distress about binge eating.
Binges must occur on average at least once a week for three months.
Personality Disorders
The DSM-5 define personality disorders as in “an enduring pattern of inner experiences and behavior that deviates markedly from the expectations of the individual’s culture, is pervasive and inflexible, has an onset in adolescence or early adulthood, is stable over time, and leads to distress or impairment” (APA, 2013)
To assign a personality disorder diagnosis to someone under the age of 18, the features must be present for at least one year. (Anti social disorder can not be assigned to anyone under the age of 18).
Antisocial Personality Disorder
Antisocial personality disorders categorized by:
Pattern of disregard for and violation if the rights of others that has occurred since the age of 15
Involves at least three characteristic symptoms:
Failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behavior
Deceitfulness
Impulsivity
Irritability and aggression
Reckless disregard for the safety of self and others
Consistent irresponsibility
Lack of remorse
To receive the diagnosis the person must be at least 18 years old and have a history of Conduct disorder before the age of 15.
Common symptoms include:
Inflated sense of self
Lack of empathy for others
Superficial charm
Symptoms become less severe as the person ages
Borderline Personality Disorder
Borderline personality disorder requires a pervasive pattern of instability in interpersonal relationships, self image, and affect and identified by impulsivity that began by early adulthood and is apparent in multiple contexts.
At least five characteristic symptoms must be present for the diagnosis:
Frantic efforts to avoid abandonment
Pattern of unstable, intense interpersonal relationships that are marked by fluctuations between idealization and devaluation
Identify disturbances involving a persistent instability in self image or sense of self
Impulsivity in two areas that are potentially self damaging
Recurrent threats of suicide or gestures
Affective instability
Chronic feelings of emptiness
Intense anger or difficulty controlling anger
Dissociative symptoms
Treatment for Borderline personality disorder include:
Dialectical Behavioral therapy (DBT), which combines CBT with Rogerian assumptions that acceptance if the client is necessary for change to occur.
The Dissociative Disorders
The main feature of Dissociative Disorder consists of a “disruption of and/or discontinuity in the normal integration of consciousness, memory, identity, emotion, perception, body representation, motor control, and behavior” (APA, 2013, p. 291).
This categories of disorders include:
Dissociative Identity Disorder
Dissociative Amnesia
Depersonalization/Derealization Disorder
Dissociative Identity Disorder
Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is described by the existence of two or more distinct personality states or the experience of possession with recurrent spaces in the recall of ordinary events, personal information, or traumatic events that is not consistent with regular forgetfulness within one person.
These symptoms cause significant distress or impaired functioning in the person’s daily life.
Dissociative Amnesia
Dissociative Amnesia symptoms include inability to recall important personal information that cannot be attributed to ordinary forgetfulness and that causes clinically significant distress or impaired functioning.
The amnesia may take on one of the following forms:
Localized amnesia: the inability to remember all events related to a circumscribed period of time
Selective amnesia: inability to recall some events related to a circumscribed period
Generalized amnesia: a loss of memory that encompasses the person’s entire life
Continuous amnesia: inability to recall events subsequent to a specific time throughout the present
Systematized amnesia: inability to recall memories related to a certain category of information
Dissociative amnesia may involve a condition called dissociative fugue.
A sudden loss of identity confusion, which involves the person to travel away from home and adopt a new identity
Depersonalization/Derealization
Depersonalization/Derealization disorder: includes persistent or recurrent episodes of depersonalization or derealization that causes clinically significant distress or impaired functioning
Schizophrenia
This disorder requires the presence of at least two active phases for at least one month with a least one symptom being delusions, hallucination, or disorganized speech.
There must also be continuous signs of the disorder for at least six months
Significant impairments to daily functioning of the individual
Common associated features include:
Inappropriate affect (laughing for no reason)
Dysphoria mood
Disturbed sleep pattern
Lack of interest in eating
Some individuals have a lack of insight to their symptoms
The prevalence rate is slightly lower for females than for males
Research suggest that the higher reported rate of schizophrenia for African Americans is the result of misdiagnosis rather than actual differences in the prevalence of the disorder and that misdiagnosis is due to the fact that African Americans are more likely to experience hallucination and delusions as symptoms of depression and other disorders
The onset of Schizophrenia is typically between the late teens and early 30s, with the peak age of onset being the early to mid-20s for males and the late 20s for females.
A better prognosis is associated with:
Good premorbid adjustment
An acute and late onset
Female gender
The presence of a precipitating event
A brief duration of active phases
Insight to illness
A family history of a mood disorder
No family history of Schizophrenia
Some brain abnormalities have been linked to this disorder
Enlarged ventricles is the most common abnormality
Smaller than mortal hippocampus, amygdala, and globus pallidus
In the Northern hemisphere, an abnormally large proportion of people with Schizophrenia were born in the late winter or early spring.
Concordance Rates for Schizophrenia
Biological siblings: 10%
Fraternal twin: 17%
Identical twin: 48%
Child of parents with Schizophrenia: 46%
Treatment
Antipsychotic drugs is considered the most important development in the treatment of this disorder
These drugs are divided into two categories
Traditional antipsychotics: haloperidol and fluphenazine
Atypical antipsychotic: clozapine and risperidone
The medication is most effective when it is paired with:
Individual CBT
Psychoeducation
Social Skills training
Supported employment
Family interventions
CHAPTER 15: Therapy
Psychotherapy and Biomedical Therapy
Psychotherapy
There are two forms of therapy used to treat psychological disorders and personal problems: Psychotherapy and biomedical therapy.
Psychotherapy is the use of psychological techniques to treat emotional, behavioral, and interpersonal problems, according to the textbook.
There are different types of psychotherapy:
Psychoanalytic
Humanistic/Client centered therapy
Behavioral
Cognitive
Group and Family
Brief Therapy
Therapies
Psychoanalytic Therapy
Sigmund Freud was a key contributor to the psychoanalysis.
The goal of psychoanalytic psychotherapy is to reduce or eliminate pathological symptoms by bringing the unconscious into conscious awareness and integrating previously repressed material into the personality.
The primate technique is analysis, and the main targets of analysis are the client’s free associations, dreams, resistances, and transferences
Frued believed, for instance, that slips of the tongue are not meaningless accidents but expression of unconscious motives
The analysis of free associations, dreams, resistances, and transferences consist of a combination of confrontation, clarification, interpretation, and working through.
Confrontation entails making statements that help the client see her or his behavior in a new way
Clarification involves clarifying that client’s feelings and restating her/his remarks in clearer terms
Interpretation goes a step further by more explicitly connecting current behavior to unconscious processes
Working through, the final and longest stage allows the client to gradually assimilate new insight into her or his personality
Transference is: when a client unconsciously projects feelings, attitudes, or desires on a person here and now.
Client/Person Centered Therapy
Carl Rogers person centered therapy as known as client centered and Rogerian therapy, which is based on his belief that all people have an innate “self-actualizing” tendency that serves as the major source of motivation and guides them towards positive healthy growth.
The primary gain of person centered therapy is to help the client achieve congruence between self and experience so that she or he can become a more fully function self actualizing person
Client centered therapy is based on the premise that when the right environment is provided by the therapist, the client will achieve congruence between self and experience and will be carried by her or his own tendency towards self actualization. Person centered therapy the right environment involves providing three facilitative conditions:
Unconditional positive regard
Genuineness
Empathy
Person centered therapists use a number of techniques to express empathy such as nodding, maintaining eye contact, and “reflection of feeling”.
Person centered therapist avoid using directive techniques
Motivational Interviewing
Motivational interviewing was developed for clients who are ambivalent about changing their behavior and was first used as a treatment for alcohol addiction but has since been applied to other problems including cigarette smoking, eating disorders, diabetes, and pain management.
Its basic assumptions and procedures were derived from Rogers’ client-centered therapy and Bandura’s notion of self-efficacy.
With regard to client centered therapy, motivational interviewing stresses therapist empathy, reflective listening, and responding to client resistance in a non confrontational way,
The primary goal of motivational interviewing is to enhance the client;s intrinsic motivation to alter her/his behavior by helping the client examine and resolve her/his ambivalence about changing.
Four general principles guide the selection of the strategies used therapy:
Express empathy
Develop discrepancies between current behavior and personal goals and values
Roll with (rather than oppose) resistance
Support efficacy
The specific techniques of motivational interviewing are summaries with acronym OARS Open ended questions, Affirmations that express empathy and understanding, Reflective listening which build rapport and includes restatements, paraphrasing, and reflection of feeling, and Summaries which are a type of reflective listening and are especially useful for facilitating transitions.
Psychology 101: Introduction to Psychology
Mon./Wed. 2:40p-3:50p
Study Guide
Final Exam
The final exam will be held the week of December 16, 2024 during class time.
The final exam (based on the class vote) will be a multiple-choice exam, containing 50 questions.
The final exam will cover chapters 11, 14 and 15.
According to Sigmund Freud, what are the major ego defenses? Provide an example for each.
The major ego defenses are repression, displacement, sublimation, rationalization, projection, reaction formation, denial, and regression. Repression refers to the removal of anxiety thoughts from the consciousness. An example would be forgetting the specific details of a traumatic event. The next major ego defense mechanism is displacement which is the redirection of emotional feelings to an individual or event not closely related to the initial conflict. An example would be giving punishment to an employee after getting reprimanded by an employer. Sublimation is referred to as the changing of a sexual urge into a nonsexual, useful activity. An example would be working overtime as one’s significant other is away. The next mechanism is rationalization which is when an individual uses social explanations to justify an individual's behavior while ignoring actual motivations. An example would be getting rejected from a job and rationalizing that their current job is better. Projection, on the other hand, is the attribution of an individual’s improper ideas and perception of others. One example of this would be an individual cheating but countering and blaming the other individual. Moving on, reaction formation is the behavior that goes against unacceptable urges. An example would be one feeling attracted to another individual and proceeding to bully the individual. Next is denial which is the inability to acknowledge information that causes anxiety. An example would be procrastinating before a test and blaming the anxiety as a result of those around. The final major ego defense mechanism is regression which is referred to as the withdrawal to a behavior associated with a previous stage of development. One example of regression would be an individual starting a tantrum as an adult as a result of a stressful situation.
Know Sigmund Freud psychosexual stages.
SIgmund Freud’s psychosexual stages are described as being age-associated developments that result in sexual impulses throughout the body. From birth to age 1, the stage is referred to as oral where the mouth is the main part of enjoyable feelings through feeding or exploring with the mouth. The next stage is anal which is from age 1 to 3. This is when the anus becomes the primary center of pleasure through the control of removal from using the toilet. From there, the next stage is phallic that lasts from ages 3 to 6. During this stage, genitals start to be the focus of pleasing sensations as the individuals explore sexual curiosity, attraction, and more to a parent. Latency is the next stage which is from ages 7 to 11 and sexual desires are restricted due to same-sex friendships and focus on school. At the start of adolescence, the genital stage occurs where pleasure shifts to occurring from the genitals as a result of heterosexual relationships.
What were the key ideas of Jung, and Adler on personality development?
Carl Jung’s key ideas of personality development was the idea that people are driven through psychological energy to pursue growth and harmony. The personality would continue to change and grow throughout one’s life. He believed the most intense idea of an individual’s psyche was the collective unconscious which is described as being shared by everyone and reflects humanity’s evolution. He believed it had the entire spirit of human’s evolution. Within the collective unconscious are archetypes which are images of themes. On the other hand, Alfred Adler valued consciousness from social motives and ideas. Through this, Adler believed that the main motive is the idea of striving for superiority or the drive to improve and grow closer to self-perfection. This would result in feelings of inferiority as children are dependent on others. As such, individuals are likely to overemphasize one’s abilities. Overall, Adler believed in the idea that humans were driven to achieve goals with the help of culture and social interactions.
What roles do self-concept, the actualizing tendency, and unconditional positive regard play in Roger’s personality theory?
Within Roger’s personality theory, self-concept allowed for Roger to develop his theory after realizing many were troubled with their own identity. Self-concept is the ideas one has about themselves such as personality, behavior, and actions. Self-concept is then influenced by actualizing tendency as children desire experiences to benefit self. In regards to Roger’s personality theory, actualizing tendency was the most simple motive that improves humans as believed by Rogers. Unconditional positive regard is a child’s idea of being unconditionally loved despite not meeting standards of those around. This would allow actualizing tendency to occur to its highest potential. Rogers believed that unconditional positive regard was more wanted than conditional positive regard as conditional positive regard would lead to incongruence. This is when self-concept would differ from experience, creating inconsistency. WIth unconditional positive regard, this can be avoided. Self-concept, actualizing tendency, and unconditional positive regard are all interconnected to help form the main foundation of Roger’s personality theory.
What is the Social cognitive theory? Who was the major influencer of the theory?
The social cognitive perspective is the idea that an individual’s conscious beliefs regarding different circumstances can influence actions. By interpreting information from social interactions, individuals are affected to change their behavior and beliefs. An example of this is the change in behavior when one is interacting with friends compared to family or teachers. Within this perspective, there is the social cognitive theory that focuses on the origins of beliefs and the ability for self-regulation. A major influencer of this theory is Albert Bandura who states that individuals notice consequences, standards, and rules applied to others. At the same time, personal goals influence actions as environmental factors do. Bandura goes further by emphasizing actions are the result of behavioral, cognitive, and environmental factors as mentioned in the reciprocal determinism process.
What are the symptom criteria for Major Depressive Disorder?
The symptoms criteria for major depressive disorder contain symptoms that can affect an individual’s whole body from emotional, cognitive, behavior, and physical. Common emotional symptoms include but are not limited to feelings of sadness, worthlessness, disconnection, and ignoring others. Some cognitive symptoms are problems thinking, negative ideas, suicidal thoughts, and more. On the other hand, some behavioral symptoms are lowered eyes, less smiles, slow movements, crying, loss of interest, and more. Finally, physical symptoms are related to changes in appetite, insomnia, pain, less energy, anxiety, and more. Beyond these four major categories of symptoms, sleep patterns can be affected as a result of major depressive disorder. In order to be diagnosed, one must show a majority of symptoms for at least two weeks. Additionally, after the death of a loved one, one may be classified as experiencing major depression if symptoms occur for at least two months.
What plays a role on the development of Schizophrenia? Genetics? Environment?
Many roles and factors have an effect on the development of schizophrenia including genetics, the immune system, abnormal brain structures, abnormal brain chemistry, and psychological factors. Starting with genetics, it has been shown that schizophrenia clusters in some families where the closer related one is to someone with schizophrenia, the higher chance they will be diagnosed too. Additionally, this can be applied to adoption as well. Specifically, some genetics have an increased risk of the disorder. Next, the immune system, explicitly the viral infection theory, can lead to schizophrenia. This is when a viral infection occurs during prenatal development or after birth due to the spread from nerves. For example, those exposed to the flu during pregnancy were more likely to have a child with schizophrenia in life. Moving on, abnormal brain structures or the loss of gray matter can influence the development of schizophrenia. Relations to schizophrenia include the increase of size of ventricles, fluid-filled cavities within the brain, loss of gray matter, and loss of overall volume of the brain. Additionally, specific patterns in the brain structures are associated with schizophrenia, especially areas that are for learning, memory, hearing, and more. Abnormal brain chemistry is another idea that contributes to the development of schizophrenia. One hypothesis is the dopamine hypothesis which explains that schizophrenia can result from the overuse of dopamine. Another theory is that regions of the brain have too much dopamine while others have too little. Evidence also brings the theory of glutamate and adenosine being related to schizophrenia. However, the relationship between neurotransmitters and schizophrenia is still unknown. The final factor is psychological factors. This proposes the idea that those genetically inclined to develop schizophrenia are more likely to experience the effects of family environments. It was seen that those who were raised in a home with psychologically disturbed members had a greater chance of developing schizophrenia. As such, a well environment has the ability to counter one’s chance of schizophrenia and the opposite goes for those in an unwell environment. In general, all of these factors play a role in the development of schizophrenia as not a single factor is the main cause.
In your own words, explain a delusion and hallucination.
A delusion is referred to as the incorrect idea that continues in spite of convincing evidence against it. They are often associated with schizophrenia as schizophrenic delusions where ideas are often unusual and unrealistic. Specifically, delusions of reference is the association of other behaviors as related to one’s own actions. On the other hand, delusions of grandeur create ideas of being powerful. Delusions of persecution generate the idea of those around them intending to harm them. Delusions of being controlled are related to the idea that others are attempting to control the individual. All delusional ideas can result in dangerous behaviors and actions. In contrast to delusions, hallucinations are untrue perceptions that appear to be true. Usually, hallucinations are closely related to delusional ideas. At the same time, thinking may become chaotic as difficulty to remember starts to occur.
What are the symptom criteria for bipolar disorder? What is the treatment of choice for bipolar disorder?
Previously called manic depression, bipolar disorder includes unusual moods across the emotional spectrum. Within bipolar disorder are manic episodes which is when depression alternates with times of happiness. Typically, these manic episodes are often after major depressive disorder. Manic episodes, specifically, start instantly as symptoms of excitement and elation increase. Despite lower quality of sleep, many remain energetic as self-esteem and confidence increase. This can result in the creation of delusions. Additionally, words can be slurred and attention is quickly switched from different topics. Due to all of these symptoms, daily functioning can be damaged, leading to hospitalization for the protection of the individual and others. Individuals may also be involved with disappearance or illegal actions. Another form of bipolar disorder is cyclothymic disorder that includes mild mood swings for multiple years. It is not considered bipolar or major depressive disorder because the changes in mood and behavior are not as extreme. General treatment of bipolar disorder includes taking lithium which can help control bipolar disorder. Without the use of lithium, the disorder may appear every few years. Lithium works due to its ability to regulate and control glutamate, an excitatory neurotransmitter.
What are the dissociative disorders? What are the differences between the dissociative disorders? What are the suggest causes of the dissociative disorder?
The dissociative disorders are psychological disorders that result in severe changes in awareness ability, memory, and identity that conflict with daily functioning. They are much more extreme than dissociative experiences that happen to most people. This is because awareness may be completely blocked, as well as memories and identity. Within dissociative disorders, there are dissociative amnesia and dissociative identity disorder. Dissociative amnesia can occur in the presence of dissociative fugue as well as without it. It is the inability to remember crucial information like personal events unrelated to medical state. Dissociative amnesia can be the result of stress or troubling circumstances. Dissociative fugue may also be involved in dissociative amnesia where the individual seems normal but is internally questioning identity. During fugue, many would wander around away from home. Dissociative fugue is considered to be closely related to stressful situations and events; however there is not a clear cause behind it. At the same time, once out of the state, one may recall their history but forget what happened during the fugue state. In contrast, dissociative identity disorder, or multiple personality disorder, includes memory disturbances of private information that lead to two or more different identities in one individual. Each identity or personality, referred to as alter egos, has distinct names and history and differ in ages and genders. Alter egos have their own ideas and beliefs not acknowledged by the individual. Symptoms of dissociative identity disorder include amnesia, memory gaps, disorganized past, and other symptoms common in psychological disorders. A suggested cause of dissociative identity disorder is trauma as many create different personalities to cope with the trauma. Usually, the act of dissociating is a defense created by the individual. While this is a proposed cause, due to dissociative identity disorder being diagnosed within adulthood, many struggle to distinguish whether the abuse was real or not. Comparing the three dissociative disorders, dissociative amnesia, dissociative amnesia with dissociative fugue, and dissociative identity disorder, the differences are in what is remembered and the effect of it. For dissociative amnesia, important private information is forgotten while with dissociative fugue, identity is confused. On the other hand, dissociative identity disorder is the presence of multiple identities that control behavior and actions.
What is psychotherapy, and what is its basic assumptions?
Psychotherapy is the utilization of psychological methods to address problems of emotion, behavior, and personal life. Within psychotherapy, there are many different forms and types. However, there is the assumption that psychological factors influence an individual's emotions, actions, and relationships. This would thus affect the individual’s daily functioning. Some mental health professionals that may use psychotherapy include clinical psychologists, counseling psychologists, psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, professional counselors, psychiatric social workers, therapists, and psychiatric nurses.
What is biomedical therapy, and how does it differ from psychotherapy?
Biomedical therapy uses medical treatments in order to address symptoms that are related to psychological disorders. The specific medicine used are drugs referred to as psychotropic medications. Biomedical therapy uses the assumption that symptoms of psychological disorders are the result of multiple factors including biology. Different from psychotherapy, biomedical therapy uses medicine rather than psychological treatment to manage psychological disorders. Additionally, the assumptions for biomedical therapy involve biological factors while for psychotherapy, they involve psychological factors.
In your own words, describe the differences between family therapy, group therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and psychoanalysis.
To start off with, family therapy emphasizes the whole family and the improvement of relationships between members. It uses the assumption that family is a system that is one component as members all play different roles. Family therapy is used to benefit the effect of an individual's psychotherapy as many are less likely to relapse when family is also in therapy. Within family therapy, the family is considered to have rules that allow the family to continue to function as one. On the other hand, group therapy includes one or more therapists working together with many clients. Within group therapy, any approach is used for each specific client. Group therapy can be less expensive for clients and less time needed for therapists compared to individual therapy. Additionally, therapists can use the multiple people interactions to their advantage. Cognitive-behavioral therapy focuses more on what techniques are being used, specifically psychotherapies that include both cognitive and behavioral techniques. This uses the assumption that all responses of cognitive, behavior, and emotions are related and interconnected. The main part of cognitive-behavioral therapy is its approach where therapists create a plan and combine treatments from behavioral and cognitive techniques. With this specific type of therapy, positive symptoms can be decreased. Finally, psychoanalysis was a type of psychotherapy formed by Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysis is meant to discover unknown conflicts to determine the real problem a client may have. Within psychoanalysis, there are multiple techniques, including free association where the patient details all ideas while on a couch. During this, resistance may occur where the conscious or unconscious prevents the remembrance of memories. At times, interpretations may be made in order to explain the meaning behind the patient’s thoughts. During psychoanalysis, transference is an important aspect as it is when a patient communicates to the therapist as if they were already part of their life. It is important for the therapist to remain neutral at this time. The psychoanalyst would then work with the patient in order to understand conflicts and disagreements. In summary, family therapy focuses on the family, group therapy focuses on working with a group, cognitive-behavioral therapy focuses on the use of both cognitive and behavioral techniques, and psychoanalysis focuses on finding underlying disputes.
What are some key advantages of group therapy?
Some key advantages of group therapy include less time and money needed for the therapist and client, respectively. Additionally, therapists are able to relate a client’s perceptions first-hand through the interactions with others. Support from others within group therapy can also assist clients in understanding their own problems. This can be helpful when dealing with the repercussions of disasters. Within groups, one can also experiment with different behaviors in safe environments.
When would you recommend an antipsychotic vs. an antidepressant?
One would recommend an antipsychotic when attempting to treat psychotic symptoms. Antipsychotics can help lower the positive symptoms of schizophrenia such as hallucinations, delusions, and more. At the same time, antipsychotic medications do not cure schizophrenia, they cannot remove negative symptoms, can bring undesired and motor side effects, and may even cause tardive dyskinesia. Tardive dyskinesia is the involuntary movements of lips, the jaw, and the tongue. On the other hand, one would take antidepressants to treat symptoms of major depressive disorder. First generation antidepressants can influence neurotransmitters’ path by increasing norepinephrine and serotonin. Similar to antipsychotics, there are side effects that can affect the cardiovascular system and high blood pressure. Second-generation antidepressants provide similar effects as first generation antidepressants. With the third group of antidepressants, the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, serotonin pathways are targeted. This would help decrease depressive symptoms and lead to less side effects.
List the criteria for Antisocial Disorder.
The criteria for antisocial personality disorder include the capacity to lie, cheat, and manipulate others without feeling remorse for the actions. In order to be diagnosed, the individual must be over the age of 18 and have conduct disorder since younger than 15. Conduct disorder is typically diagnosed when a child shows behavior capable of attracting authorities such as hurting others or being violent. The individual must also have at least three identifiable characteristics, including the inability to follow social norms and laws, participating in deceit, having impulsivity, easily irritable, disregard for others, constant lack of responsibility, and no remorse.
Detail the category of anxiety disorders? List the symptoms criteria for each.
Anxiety disorders are classified as having excessive fear or anxiety and include specific phobia, social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, agoraphobia, and generalized anxiety disorder. Specific phobia is when an individual may experience a panic attack after noticing a situation or object they are afraid of. Objects that can cause specific phobia typically follow four categories which are fear of certain situations, fear of parts of the natural environment, fear of injury, and fear of animals. The next anxiety disorder is social anxiety disorder which is when one may become paralyzed due to the fact that they may be judged. The main criteria for this disorder is the unreasonable fear of being judged by others, resulting in focusing on negative ideas. At the same time, fear must interfere with daily functioning. Moving on, panic disorder is when panic attacks occur often and unexpectedly. Panic attacks must be unknown and frequency is different for all individuals. Agoraphobia can be the result of panic disorders for some. It is the fear of having a panic attack where escape would not be possible that may influence and affect the individual’s daily life. Finally, generalized anxiety disorder is associated with having unrestrained symptoms of anxiety. Many individuals are constantly anxious and tense regarding all situations. Within this disorder, once one worry is gone, another takes its place.
An individual believes they have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, what symptoms will you assess for?
Symptoms that will need to be assessed for include exposure to death, injury, or sexual violence through direct exposure, witness, learning about regarding someone close, and severe exposure. For those under 6, the individual would have needed to experience the event, witnessing the event, or learning that it occurred to a close caregiver. Additionally, there would also need to be the presence of recurrent memories of the event, recurrent dreams of the event, times in which the individual feels as if the event is occurring again, or distress when reminded of the event. These symptoms apply to those above the age of 6. For children, intrusion symptoms include recurring play of the event, distressing dreams, and reenactment of the event. Additionally, avoidance of the stimuli related to the event through avoiding memories, thoughts, and reminders of the events is another part of post traumatic stress disorder. Negative alterations in behavior as a result of the event is shown through the inability to recall the event, overemphasized beliefs about people, and twisted cognition about the event. Changes that can occur regarding the event include irritable behavior, recklessness, hypervigilance, excessive response, damaged concentration, and changes in sleep. For all, symptoms must have lasted for at least one month and affect functioning.
What are the symptoms, characteristics, and causes of anorexia nervosa?
Anorexia nervosa is described as an individual rejecting the idea to keep a healthy body weight, having the fear of gaining weight, and creating a false perception about their body. Symptoms include a diet that restricts the amount of calories taken in that is not ideal for the individual, extreme fear of being fat despite being underweight, and the idea that one is fat when in reality they are not. A characteristic of anorexia nervosa is the individual exercising excessively after consuming restricted calories. Additionally, basal metabolic rate, levels of glucose, insulin, and leptin can all drop. For women, the menstrual cycle can pause; while for men, their sexual function can be damaged. Beyond that, many individuals may develop lanugo which is soft body hair. Causes of anorexia nervosa include different factors such as low levels of serotonin, disarranged brain chemistry, family relationships, idea of perfection, and more. Specifically for anorexia, cultural expectations have increased the presence of eating disorders.
What are the symptoms, characteristics, and causes of bulimia nervosa?
Bulimia nervosa is associated with often having periods of binge eating due to no sense of control, making amends through purging, and having perceptions of the body. Characteristics of bulimia nervosa include purging oneself after eating too much through vomiting or laxatives and enemas. The episodes of binge eating are unable to be controlled and stopped. Causes of bulimia nervosa are similar to anorexia nervosa and can include changes in brain chemistry from other psychiatric disorders, low levels of serotonin, family interactions and expectations, and the need to be perfect.
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