Marion Weeks
Jenks High School
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Characterized by disturbances or changes in
memory, consciousness, or identity due to
psychological factors.
Some believe dissociative disorders are an
attempt to escape from a part of the self that
one fears; allows them to reduce anxiety by
forgetting stressful events or aspects of their
personality
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Dissociative amnesia –
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Inability to recall important events or information;
usually associated with stressful events; this is basically
amnesia with no physical cause and is distinct from
repression because it typically involves forgetting basic
knowledge of oneself (like their name, where they live
and work, their family…)
Dissociative fugue –
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A person suddenly and unexpectedly travels away from
home or work and is unable to recall the past (amnesia
plus flight); lasts for days to decades; when individual
comes out of fugue, he/she has no memory of the fugue
period.
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Depersonalization disorder
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Most common dissociative disorder
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Characterized by feelings of unreality concerning
the self and the environment.
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Characterized by the intensity of the symptoms and
anxiety provoked by the symptoms.
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Young adults have experienced some symptoms of
this disorder.
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Dissociative identity disorder (previously
known as multiple personality disorder) –
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Person exhibits two or more distinct identities that
take control at different times.
Original personality is unaware of other
personalities.
Others are aware of original personality.
Each maintains its own identity, name, and
distinctive behavior pattern.
DID sufferers usually suffered severe physical,
psychological, or sexual abuse as a child
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Existence of DID is highly controversial
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Evidence to support – distinct brain states associated
with different personalities, changes in eye-muscle
balance as patients switch identities
Evidence against – subjects told to pretend they had
been accused of murder and were being examined
by psychiatrist -- most spontaneously pretended to
have a second personality; disease virtually nonexistent outside North America, following publicity
of disease in the 1960’s and 70’s, diagnoses increased
10,000 fold
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Dissociation is a relatively common response to
traumatic experience.
People report feeling detached from their
surroundings and their own bodies.
In those persons with dissociative disorders the
dissociative experiences are more extreme and
frequent, and the symptoms severely disrupt
everyday functioning.
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The learning perspective views dissociation as
rewarding and thus highly reinforcing.
Some psychologists suggest that dissociative
identity disorder is a diagnostic fad.
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In general, personality disorders are:
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Characterized by long standing chronic, inflexible,
maladaptive patterns of perception, thought, and
behavior that seriously impair an individual’s ability
to function personally or socially.
Usually recognizable by adolescence
As a group, among the least reliably judged and are
questioned as to their existence independent of the
social and cultural factors in which they develop.
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Narcissistic personality disorder is marked by a
grandiose sense of self-importance and is
preoccupied with fantasies of success or power.
Additionally, the individual feels a need for
constant attention or admiration, has
inappropriate reactions to criticism, may be
indifferent or over-reacting, and feels entitled
to favors without reciprocation.
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Antisocial personality disorder is marked by a
long-standing pattern of irresponsible behavior
that hurts others without causing feelings of
guilt.
The individual often does not experience
shame or intense emotion of any kind.
The violation of social norms begins early in
life and may involve various criminal acts,
often committed impulsively.
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Biological perspective suggests that a genetic
vulnerability(related to little or low level
autonomic system arousal) may contribute to
the antisocial personality disorder.
Correlated with a fearless approach to life.
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The biopsychosocial perspective suggests that,
in the case of antisocial personality disorder, if
fearlessness is channeled in productive
directions, heroism or adventurism may result.
Lacking a sense of social responsibility, the
same disposition produces, for example, a con
artist or killer.
Some studies have detected early signs of
antisocial behavior in children as young as 3 to
6 years old.