Study Guide: Chapter 14
Introduction: Understanding Psychological
Disorders
1. Define psychopathology, and discuss some of the
issues related to labeling behavior as “abnormal.”
2. (Critical Thinking) Discuss the social stigma
associated with having a mental disorder, including the
accuracy of the stereotype that people with a
psychological disorder are prone to violence.
3. Define a psychological disorder, and discuss the
development and role of DSM-IV-TR in classifying
psychological disorders.
4. Discuss the key findings of the National Comorbidity
Survey, including the prevalence of psychological
disorders and gender differences in the incidence of
specific disorders.
5. List and describe core features and examples of key
diagnostic categories in DSM-IV-TR.
Anxiety Disorders: Intense Apprehension and Worry
6. Describe the main symptom of the anxiety disorders,
and differentiate between pathological anxiety and
normal anxiety.
7. Identify the symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder
(GAD) and panic disorder, including cultural variations,
and discuss the cognitive-behavioral
explanation of panic disorder.
8. Describe the most common types of phobias, noting
the specific symptoms that characterize agoraphobia and
social phobia.
9. Discuss how the different learning theories account
for the development of phobias.
10. List the main symptoms and causes of posttraumatic
stress disorder (PTSD) and the factors that influence the
likelihood of developing PTSD.
11. Describe the main symptoms of obsessive–
compulsive disorder (OCD), identifying common
obsessions and compulsions in different cultures, and
discuss current thinking about its causes.
Mood Disorders: Emotions Gone Awry
12. Describe the main features of a mood disorder,
noting how those features differ from normal mood
swings.
13. Discuss the range of symptoms that characterize
major depression, noting how major depression differs
from dysthymic disorder.
14. Discuss the prevalence and course of major
depression, including gender differences.
15. Define bipolar disorder and cyclothymic disorder,
identify the symptoms of each, and discuss the
prevalence and course of bipolar disorder.
16. Discuss the role of genetic predisposition, brain
chemistry, and stressful life events in the development
of mood disorders, and note the relationship between
creativity and mood disorders.
17. (Critical Thinking) Summarize the findings and
implications of research investigating the possible link
between cigarette smoking and psychological
disorders, especially depression and schizophrenia.
Eating Disorders: Anorexia and Bulimia
18. Describe the symptoms, characteristics, and causes
of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.
Personality Disorders: Maladaptive Traits
19. Identify the key characteristics and symptoms of a
personality disorder, and describe the three categories or
“clusters” of personality disorders.
20. Describe the symptoms and characteristics of
paranoid personality disorder, antisocial personality
disorder, and borderline personality disorder.
Dissociative Disorders: Fragmentation of the Self
21. Contrast common dissociative experiences with the
symptoms of a dissociative disorder, noting the formal
definition of a dissociative disorder.
22. Describe the symptoms of dissociative amnesia and
dissociative fugue, and list the factors that have been
identified as triggering these disorders.
23. Describe the symptoms and possible causes of
dissociative identity disorder (DID), and explain the
controversy surrounding its diagnosis and reports of
its prevalence.
Schizophrenia: A Different Reality
24. Define schizophrenia, distinguishing between
positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia.
25. (Focus on Neuroscience) Identify the brain areas
involved when a schizophrenic patient was experiencing
hallucinations.
26. List and describe the key symptoms of
schizophrenia.
27. (Culture and Human Behavior) Define the Jerusalem
Syndrome, discuss who it affects most, and explain one
possible cause of the disorder.
28. Describe the different types of schizophrenia,
discuss the prevalence of schizophrenia, and identify
variations in the course of the disease.
29. Summarize the evidence for the various factors
thought to be involved in the development of
schizophrenia, including genetic factors, paternal age,
and exposure to the influenza virus.
30. Discuss research on the role of the brain in
schizophrenia, including abnormal brain structures, the
dopamine hypothesis, and the progressive loss of
gray matter in early-onset schizophrenia.
31. (Focus on Neuroscience) Describe the five-year
prospective study involving normal adolescents and
adolescents with early-onset schizophrenia. Discuss
the results of the study.
32. Discuss the findings and implications of the Finnish
Adoptive Family Study of Schizophrenia, describing the
roles of heredity and family environment in
the development of schizophrenia.
Application: Understanding and Helping to Prevent
Suicide
33. Discuss patterns of suicidal behavior, and
characterize the thinking of the suicidal person.
34. List and explain five guidelines to help someone
who is expressing suicidal intentions.