AGENDA – MONDAY,
APRIL 7TH
Psychological Disorders
• Overview
• Perspectives
DSM-V
• Example
Begin project
Homework: Reading Quiz  TUESDAY
AP COUNTDOWN: 28 regular days, 19 school days
PSYCHOLOGICAL
DISORDERS
BEHAVIOR MUST BE
CONSISTENT AND/OR
REPEATED
Someone’s behaviors,
thoughts, and/or feelings
must be…
• 1.) Deviant
• 2.) Distressful
• 3.) Dysfunctional
PERSPECTIVES
Psychodynamic
• Disorders arise from childhood conflicts or
unconscious thoughts
• Examples
• Most people who suffer from DID had extremely
abusive childhoods
• People with anxiety have failed to repress past
experiences with stimuli
PERSPECTIVES
Humanistic
• Disorders arise from a failure to strive towards
one’s full potential
• Being out of touch with one’s true feelings
• Examples
• People who suffer from depression are unable to get
out of their low on their own
PERSPECTIVES
Cognitive
• People suffer from disorders because their train of
thought is irrational, dysfunctional, inappropriate
• Examples
• Most personality disorders originate because people
view the world and certain situations in drastically
different lights
PERSPECTIVES
Sociocultural
• Disorders arise from a dysfunctional society and
home life
• Examples
• Why do so many homeless people suffer from
disorders? (keep in mind, there are many ways to
answers this question)
PERSPECTIVES
Biological (Biomedical)
• Disorders come from genetic
inheritances, organic
problems, or chemical
imbalances
• Examples
• People who suffer from
depression have a lack of
serotonin production within
their brain
• People with antisocial
personality disorder have a
malfunctioning amygdala
PERSPECTIVES
Behavioral
• People have disorders because certain behaviors
and thoughts have been reinforced, punished, or
observed over many years
• Examples
• Someone with PTSD would have been continually
punished by the loud noises and threatening stimuli
around them in a war-like situation
PERSPECTIVES
Biopsychosocial
• Combination of many different perspectives
• Argues that people can have genetic
predispositions AND a bad environment AND
cognition can play a role in developing a disorder
• Examples:
• An individual with a genetic predisposition for
depression could lose their job and develop the
disorder
DSM-V
“The big book of disorders”
Explains symptoms and a
person’s background
Does not provide treatment or
reasons why a person
developed the disorder
AGENDA – TUESDAY,
APRIL 8TH
Abnormal Psych Reading Quiz
Work on Fractured Fairy Tales project
Frequently Asked Questions
Work time on laptops
Homework: Project due THURSDAY
FAQS
Which version of the fairy tale can my group use?
Any version, as long as you specify which one and
you stay consistent
Where should I save my project?
Google Drive. Always.
Does every group need to present their case study?
Yes, but you can earn extra credit by making it more
visually appealing for your classmates
I really need to present it to the class?
Yes.
What if we don’t know the character’s family or medical history?
Use whatever information is available to you from
their story. Do not fabricate very important information,
but get creative with their thoughts and emotions based
on their known behavior
AGENDA – MONDAY,
APRIL 14TH
Practice FRQ – Abnormal Psych
Begin therapy notes
Homework:
Reading Quiz Tomorrow
Exam #5: Monday, April 21st
AP Test countdown: 14 school days, 21 regular days
CASE STUDIES
Josephine Armitage
Borderline Personality Disorder
Odd, erratic behavior
Avoids being abandoned
Repeated self-mutilation and suicide attempts
No feelings of euphoria and intense excitement (not
bipolar disorder)
No constant behavior (not depression)
CASE STUDIES
Rosalind Noonan
Conversion Disorder
No medical cause of stuttering
Not in extreme pain or physically disabled
Precipitated by extreme emotions and recall of these
past feelings