Grommersoft

Notetaker: Heather Lobenstein
Advanced Placement Psychology
Chapter 15: Psychological Disorders
( http://www.ApPsychology.net )
°  Psychological Disorder- a condition in which behavior is judged
°  Atypical-not enough in itself
°  Disturbing- varied with time and culture
°  Maladaptive- harmful
°  Unjustifiable- sometimes there's a good reason
Historical Perspective
°  Perceived Causes- movements of sun or moon; evil spirits
°  Ancient Treatments- exorcism, caged like animals, beaten, burned, castrated, mutilated, blood replaced with animals
blood
Psychological Disorders
°  Medical Model
°  Concept that diseases have physical causes
°  Can be diagnosed, treated, and in most cases, cured
°  Assumes that these "mental" illnesses can be diagnosed on the basis of their symptoms and cured through therapy
in a psychiatric hospital
°  Bio-psycho-social Perspective- assumes that biological, sociocultural, and psychological factors combine and
interact to produce psychological disorders
Etiology
°  DSM-IV
°  American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
°  A widely used system for classifying psychological disorders
°  Neurotic disorder
°  Usually distressing but that allows one to think rationally and function socially
°  Freud saw the neurotic disorders as ways of dealing with anxiety
°  Psychotic disorder
°  Person loses contact with reality
°  Experiences irrational ideas and distorted perceptions
Anxiety Disorders
°  Anxiety Disorders- distressing, persistent anxiety or maladaptive behaviors that reduce anxiety
°  Generalized Anxiety Disorder- client is tense, apprehensive, and in a state of autonomic nervous system arousal
°  Phobia- persistent, irrational fear of a specific object or situation
°  Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder- characterizes by unwanted repetitive thoughts (obsessions) and/or actions
(compulsions)
°  Panic Disorder- marked by a minutes-long episode of intense dread in which a person experiences terror and
accompanying chest pain, choking, or other frightening sensation
Dissociative Disorders
°  Dissociative Disorders- conscious awareness becomes separated (dissociated) from previous me mories, thoughts,
and feelings
°  Dissociative Amnesia- selective memory loss often brought on by extreme stress
°  Dissociative Fugue- flight from one's home and identity accompanies amnesia
°  Dissociative Identity Disorder- rare dissociative disorder in which a person exhibits two or more distinct and
alternating personalities; also known as multiple personality disorder

Mood Disorders
°  Mood Disorders- characterized by emotional extremes
°  Major Depressive Disorder- a mood disorder in which a person, for no apparent reason, experiences two or more
weeks of depressed moods, feelings of worthlessness, and diminished interest or pleasure in most activities
°  Mania- a mood disorder marked by a hyperactive, wildly optimistic state
°  Bipolar Disorder- a mood disorder in which the person alternated between the hopelessness and lethargy of
depression and the overexcited state of mania; formerly called manic-depressive disorder
Schizophrenia
°  Schizophrenia
°  Literal translation "split mind"
°  A group of severe psychotic disorders characterized by:
°  Disorganized and delusional thinking
°  Disturbed perceptions
°  Inappropriate emotions and actions
°  Delusions- false beliefs, often on persecution or grandeur, that may accompany psychotic disorders
°  Hallucinations- false sensory experiences such as seeing something without any external visual stimulus
Subtypes of Schizophrenia
Paranoid
 Preoccupation with delusions or hallucinations
Disorganizes Disorganized speech or behavior, or flat or inappropriate emotion
Catatonic
 Immobility (or excessive, purposeless movement), extreme negativism, and/or parrotlike
repeating of another's speech or movements
Undifferentiated or residual Schizophrenia symptoms without fitting one of the above types
Personality Disorders
°  Personality Disorders
°  Disorders characterized by inflexible and enduring behavior patterns that impair social functioning
°  Usually without anxiety, depression, or delusions
°  Antisocial Personality Disorder- disorder in which the person (usually male) exhibits a lack of conscience for
wrongdoing, even toward friends and family me mbers; may be aggressive and ruthless or a clever con artist
Bibliography
Myers, David G., Psychology Fifth Edition. Worth Publishers, Inc. New York, NY ©1998