Psychological Disorders
Chapter 18: Psychological Disorders
Case Study: Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity
Section 1: Understanding Psychological Disorders
Section 2: Anxiety and Mood Disorders
Section 3: Dissociative and Somatoform Disorders
Section 4: Schizophrenia
Section 5: Personality Disorders
Lab: Applying What You’ve Learned
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Psychological Disorders
Case Study: Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity
The majority of people with serious psychological disorders
are not dangerous to others. Some, however, commit
violent crimes. Of these, some are found not guilty by
reason of insanity and are sent to psychiatric institutions
instead of prison. When an accused person pleads insanity,
the prosecutor tries to prove that the person was sane at
the time of the crime and the defense tries to prove he or
she was not. Under law, one must be either all or nothing,
but in reality most psychological disorders are a matter of
degree.
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Psychological Disorders
What do you think?
• In general, what criteria must a defendant meet to be
ruled legally insane?
• Do you support the use of the insanity defense? Why
or why not?
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Psychological Disorders
What Are Psychological Disorders?
• Psychological disorders are behavior patterns or mental
processes that cause serious personal suffering or interfere
with a person’s ability to cope with everyday life.
• The great majority of people are never admitted to mental
hospitals and most people never seek the help of
psychologists or psychiatrists.
• Estimates suggest that 23% American adults have
experienced some type of psychological disorder.
• For people aged 15 to 44, psychological disorders are the
leading cause of disability in the United States.
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Psychological Disorders
Identifying Psychological Disorders
Typicality
• Normality is determined by the degree to which a behavior is
average, or typical, of the majority of people.
– Scientific and artistic geniuses are not typical, but are not
abnormal.
– People who are quite normal may have lifestyles that differ
widely from the rest of the community.
• Additional measurements must be taken into account.
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Psychological Disorders
Maladaptivity
• Maladaptivity is a behavior that impairs an individual’s
ability to function adequately in everyday life.
• Ex: Alcoholism, Suicidal, Violent Criminal
Emotional Discomfort
• Depression and anxiety cause extreme emotional
discomfort.
Socially Unacceptable Behavior
• Ones culture must be taken into account.
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Psychological Disorders
Classifying Psychological Disorders
Classification helps to determine:
• How many people have a given disorder
• What factors may be associated with a disorder
• Diagnosis and treatment
DSM - Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
• American Psychiatric Association's classification system
• Used to communicate needs and treatment
• Modern categories based on observable signs and symptoms
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Psychological Disorders
Major Types of Disorders
• Anxiety Disorders
• Mood Disorders
• Dissociative Disorders
• Somatoform Disorders
• Schizophrenia
• Personality Disorders
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Psychological Disorders
What Is Anxiety?
• Anxiety refers to a general state of dread or uneasiness that
occurs in response to a vague or imagined danger, as
opposed to fear, which is a response to a real danger or
threat.
– Characterized by
• Nervousness
Trembling
• Inability to relax
Sweating
• Concern about losing control
Rapid heart rat
• Increased blood pressure
Shortness of breat
• Everyone feels anxious at times, but constant anxiety can
interfere with effective living.
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Psychological Disorders
Types of Anxiety Disorders
Phobic Disorder
• Phobia: Simple phobia is the most common of all anxiety
disorders, refers to a persistent excessive fear or irrational
fear of a particular object or situation.
– Most common include
• Zoophobia: fear of animals
• Claustrophobia: fear of enclosed spaces
• Acrophobia: fear of heights
• Arachnophobia: fear of spiders
• Social phobia is characterized by persistent fear of social
situations. Ex: public places, public speaking, or dating
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Psychological Disorders
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Psychological Disorders
Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia
• Panic attack is a relatively short period of intense fear or
discomfort, characterized by shortness of breath, dizziness,
rapid heart rate, and trembling. May believe that they are
dying or "going crazy." No apparent cause.
• Agoraphobia: the fear of being in places or situations in
which escape may be difficult or impossible such as crowded
public places.
– Many people with agoraphobia develop panic attacks
when in public.
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Psychological Disorders
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
• Obsessions are unwanted thoughts, ideas, or mental images
that occur over and over again.
• Compulsions are repetitive ritual behaviors, often involving
checking or cleaning something.
• People are usually aware that the obsessions are unjustified,
which distinguishes obsessions from delusions.
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
intense, persistent feelings of anxiety that are caused by an
experience so traumatic that it would produce stress in almost
anyone.
– PTSD occurs after rape, abuse, severe accident, natural
disasters, and war atrocities.
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Psychological Disorders
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Psychological Disorders
Types of Mood Disorders
• Most people have mood changes
that reflect the normal ups and
downs of life, but mood changes
that are inappropriate to a situation
can signal a mood disorder.
Major Depression
• Two types: depression and
bipolar disorder
• The DSM-IV contains a list of
symptoms to help diagnose
Bipolar Disorder
Postpartum Depression
• A cycle of mood changes from
depression to wild elation and back
again
• Some women suffer symptoms of
depression after giving birth
• Feelings of helplessness,
hopelessness, worthlessness, guilt,
and great sadness
• Can harm both mother and child
• Period of mania, or extreme
excitement characterized by
hyperactivity and chaotic behavior
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Psychological Disorders
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Psychological Disorders
Dissociative Disorders
• Dissociation: the separation of certain personality
components or mental processes from conscious thought
• In some situations, it is normal (becoming engrossed in a
book).
• If dissociation occurs as a way to avoid stressful events or
feelings, it can signal a disorder.
Dissociative Amnesia
• Characterized by a sudden loss of memory, usually following a
particularly stressful or traumatic event.
• It cannot be explained biologically.
• The incidence of dissociative amnesia rises markedly during
wartime and natural disasters.
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Psychological Disorders
Dissociative Fugue
• Characterized by not only forgetting personal information
and past events but also by suddenly relocating from home
or work and taking on a new identity.
• Individuals may appear healthy until the fugue ends, when
they will not remember anything that happened during the
fugue.
Dissociative Identity Disorder
• Involves the existence of two or more personalities within a
single individual. The various personalities may or may not
be aware of the other.
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Psychological Disorders
Depersonalization Disorder
• Depersonalization: feelings of detachment from
one’s mental processes or body
• People describe being outside their bodies.
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Psychological Disorders
Somatoform Disorders
Somatization: the expression of psychological distress through
physical symptoms. People with somatoform disorders have
psychological problems (such as depression) but experience
inexplicable physical symptoms (such as paralysis).
Conversion Disorder
Hypochondriasis
• Patients experience a
change in or loss of physical
functioning in a major part of
the body for which there is
no known medical
explanation
• A person’s unrealistic
preoccupation with
thoughts that he or she
has a serious disease.
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Psychological Disorders
What can paintings
of cats reveal about
a human mind?
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Psychological Disorders
What Is Schizophrenia?
• Schizophrenia: characterized by loss of contact with reality.
– Can be very disabling and can lead to the affected
person’s inability to function independently
– First appears in young adulthood
– Usually develops gradually, but can also appear suddenly
• Most striking symptoms are:
– Hallucinations
-Thought disorders
– Delusions
• Other symptoms include social withdrawal, impaired social
skills, loss of normal emotional responses.
• Occasionally, may go into a catatonic stupor: an immobile,
expressionless, coma like state.
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Psychological Disorders
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Psychological Disorders
Types of Schizophrenia
Paranoid Schizophrenia
• Delusions or frequent auditory hallucinations that center on
one theme, often a theme of persecution
Disorganized Schizophrenia
• Incoherent in their thought and speech and disorganized in
their behavior
• Emotionless or show inappropriate emotions
Catatonic Schizophrenia
• May hold unusual, uncomfortable body positions for long
periods of time
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