Lecture Overview
• Studying Psychological Disorders:
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•
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Childhood Disorders (ADHD; Autism)
Anxiety Disorders
Mood Disorders
Schizophrenia
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Studying Psychological Disorders
• Abnormal Behavior: patterns of emotion,
thought, & action considered pathological
for one or more of four reasons:
• statistical infrequency
• disability or dysfunction
• personal distress
• violation of norms
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Studying Psychological Disorders:
Four Criteria for Abnormal Behavior
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• Culture-General Symptoms: shared
symptoms across cultures
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Studying Psychological Disorders
(Continued)
• Historical perspectives:
– In ancient times, people
believed demons were the
cause of abnormal behavior, & boring holes in
the skull (trephining) allowed evil spirits to
escape.
– In the 19th Century the medical model of
psychiatric diseases began to take hold.
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Studying Psychological Disorders
(Continued)
• Modern
psychology
includes
seven major
perspectives
on abnormal
behavior.
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Studying Psychological Disorders:
Classifying Abnormal Behavior
• Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders (DSM-IV-TR):
• provides detailed symptom descriptions
• contains over 200 diagnostic categories
grouped into 17 major categories & five
dimensions (or axes)
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Studying Psychological Disorders:
Classifying Abnormal Behavior
(Cont.)
• Five Axes of DSM-IV-TR (guidelines for
making decisions about symptoms)
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•
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Axis I (current clinical disorders)
Axis II (personality disorders & mental retardation)
Axis III (general medical information)
Axis IV (psychosocial & environmental problems)
• Axis V (global assessment of functioning)
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Key Points:
1)Differential Diagnoses
2)People with psychiatric diagnoses also
commonly suffer comorbidity with
Substance-related disorders
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• ADHD: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder
• Historically called Minimal Brain Damage
or Dysfunction (MBD) ; Attention Deficit
with or without Hyperactivity
(ADD
, ADD+ H).
• Problems with Diagnoses?
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• DSM-IV (TR) AttentionDeficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
A. Persistent pattern of inattention
and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that is
more severe than is typically observed
in individuals at comparable level of
development.
B. Some hyperactive-impulsive or
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C. Some impairment from the
symptoms must be present in at least
two settings.
D. There must be clear evidence of
interference with developmentally
appropriate social, academic or
occupational functioning.
E. ADHD primarily hyperactive
ADHD primarily inattentive
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• Deficits in Executive Function: Wisconsin
Card Sort Test
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• Stroop Test:
• BLUE
• RED
• GREEN
BLUE
RED
GREEN
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• ADHD results in Problems of Executive
Function:
• Planning
• Working Memory **
• Sustaining Attention
• Resisting Distraction
• Organizing
• Stopping and Starting Behavior
** remembering so as to do
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• Pervasive Developmental Disorders
• Autism
•
High- functioning
•
Low-functioning
• Asperger’s Syndrome
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Autistic children have deficits in:
• Social interaction (Theory of Mind)
• Language and communication
• Imaginative play
• Range of interest and activity
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Asperger’s Syndrome in children produces:
Odd language (stilted prosody)
Deficit in social interaction
Fixation in interest
Diagnosed later than Autism; fewer severe
behavior problems
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Anxiety Disorders
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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Anxiety Disorder: overwhelming apprehension & fear
accompanied by autonomic nervous system (ANS)
arousal
Five Major Types:
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Panic Disorder
Phobias
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
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Five Types of Anxiety Disorders
1. Generalized Anxiety
Disorder: persistent,
uncontrollable, &
free-floating anxiety
2. Panic Disorder: sudden
& inexplicable panic
attacks
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Anxiety Disorders (Continued)
3. Phobia: intense, irrational
fear & avoidance of a specific
object or situation
4. Obsessive-Compulsive
Disorder (OCD): intrusive,
repetitive, fearful thoughts
(obsessions), with urges to
perform repetitive,
ritualistic, behaviors
(compulsions),
or both
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Anxiety Disorders (Continued)
5. Posttraumatic Stress
Disorder (PTSD):
anxiety disorder
following extraordinary
stress
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Explanations of Anxiety Disorders
• Psychological--faulty cognitions,
maladaptive learning
• Biological--evolution, genetics,
brain functioning, biochemistry
• Sociocultural—environmental
stressors, cultural socialization
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Mood Disorders
• Mood Disorders:
characterized by
extreme disturbances
in emotional states
• Two Main Types of
Mood Disorders:
• Major Depressive
Disorder: long-lasting
depressed mood that
interferes with
the ability to function,
feel pleasure,
or maintain interest in
life
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Bipolar Disorder:
• repeated episodes
of mania &
depression
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Mood Disorders
(Continued)
• Note how major
depressive
disorders differ
from bipolar
disorders on this
hypothetical
graph.
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Explanations of Mood Disorders
– Biological--brain functioning,
neurotransmitter imbalances,
genetics
– Psychosocial--environmental
stressors, disturbed
interpersonal relationships,
faulty thinking, poor selfconcept, learned helplessness,
faulty attributions
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Mood Disorders (Continued)
• Gender & Cultural
Diversity:
– Culture-general symptoms
for depression (e.g., sad
affect, lack of energy)
– Women more often
depressed. Why?
Combination of biological,
psychological, & social
forces (biopsychosocial
model)
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Biological
Social
Psychological
Schizophrenia
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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Schizophrenia: group of psychotic disorders,
characterized by a general loss of contact with
reality
Five areas of major disturbance:
Perception (hallucinations)
Language (word salad, neologisms)
Thoughts (psychosis, delusions)
Emotion (exaggerated or flat affect)
Behavior [unusual actions (e.g., catalepsy, waxy
flexibility)]
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Subtypes of Schizophrenia
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Schizophrenia (Continued)
• Explanations of Schizophrenia:
– Biological: genetic predisposition,
disruptions in neurotransmitters, brain
abnormalities
– Psychosocial: diathesis-stress model,
disturbed family communication
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Genetics & Schizophrenia
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Schizophrenia (Continued)
• Gender & Cultural Diversity:
Numerous culturally general
symptoms, but significant
differences exist in:
• prevalence
• form
• onset
• prognosis
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