Myers’ EXPLORING
PSYCHOLOGY (6th Ed)
Psychological
Disorders
James A. McCubbin, PhD
Clemson University
Edited by E. McAnulla
Worth Publishers
100 point project
Case studies: Over break you are to
create an original case study on a subject
that suffers from a mental disorder. This
subject can be your creation or a
character in a book/ movie. You must
provide enough detail in the background,
explanation of crisis periods/ critical
events, and subject interviews that
another AP student could “study” your
subject. The link below is the format of a
case study that will be modeled in class.
 http://www.abacon.com/carson/case/case
s.html
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Psychological Disorders

Psychological Disorder
– a “harmful dysfunction” in which
behavior is judged to be:
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atypical--not enough in itself
disturbing--varies with time and culture
maladaptive--harmful
unjustifiable--sometimes there’s a good
reason
Psychological Disorders

Medical Model
– concept that diseases have physical
causes
– can be diagnosed, treated, and in most
cases, cured
– assumes that these “mental” illnesses
can be diagnosed on the basis of their
symptoms and cured through therapy,
which may include treatment in a
psychiatric hospital
Psychological Disorders

Bio-Psycho-Social Perspective
– assumes that biological, sociocultural,
and psychological factors combine
and interact to produce psychological
disorders
Psychological Disorders
Classifying
Psychological Disorders

DSM-IV
–American Psychiatric Association’s
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual
of Mental Disorders (Fourth
Edition)
–a widely used system for
classifying psychological disorders
–presently distributed as DSM-IV-TR
(text revision)
Axis
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The DSM uses a multiaxial or multidimensional approach to diagnosing because
rarely do other factors in a person's life not impact their mental health. It assesses
five dimensions as described below:
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Axis I: Clinical Syndromes
–
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Axis II: Developmental Disorders and Personality Disorders
–
–
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Physical conditions such as brain injury or HIV/AIDS that can result in symptoms of mental
illness are included here.
Axis IV: Severity of Psychosocial Stressors
–
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Developmental disorders include autism and mental retardation, disorders which are typically
first evident in childhood
Personality disorders are clinical syndromes which have a more long lasting symptoms and
encompass the individual's way of interacting with the world. They include Paranoid,
Antisocial, and Borderline Personality Disorders.
Axis III: Physical Conditions which play a role in the development, continuance,
or exacerbation of Axis I and II Disorders
–
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This is what we typically think of as the diagnosis (e.g., depression, schizophrenia, social
phobia)
Events in a persons life, such as death of a loved one, starting a new job, college,
unemployment, and even marriage can impact the disorders listed in Axis I and II. These
events are both listed and rated for this axis.
Axis V: Highest Level of Functioning
–
On the final axis, the clinician rates the person's level of functioning both at the present time
and the highest level within the previous year. This helps the clinician understand how the
above four axes are affecting the person and what type of changes could be expected.
Categories
 Adjustment
Disorders • Anxiety
Disorders • Dissociative Disorders •
Eating Disorders • Impulse-Control
Disorders • Mood Disorders • Sexual
Disorders • Sleep Disorders •
Psychotic Disorders • Sexual
Dysfunctions • Somatoform
Disorders • Substance Disorders •
Personality Disorders
Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety Disorders
– distressing, persistent anxiety or
maladaptive behaviors that reduce
anxiety

Generalized Anxiety Disorder
– person is tense, apprehensive, and in a
state of autonomic nervous system
arousal
Anxiety Disorders

Panic Disorder
– marked by a minutes-long episode of
intense dread in which a person
experiences terror and accompanying
chest pain, choking, or other frightening
sensation
Anxiety Disorders

Phobia
– persistent, irrational fear of a specific
object or situation
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Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
– unwanted repetitive thoughts
(obsessions) and/or actions
(compulsions)
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Post traumatic stress disorder
Anxiety Disorders

Common and uncommon fears
Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety Disorders

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PET Scan of brain
of person with
obsessivecompulsive
disorder
High metabolic
activity (red) in
frontal lobe areas
involved with
directing attention
Dissociative Disorders

Dissociative Disorders
– conscious awareness becomes
separated (dissociated) from previous
memories, thoughts, and feelings
– Amnesia and Fugue State

Dissociative Identity Disorder
– rare dissociative disorder in which a
person exhibits two or more distinct and
alternating personalities
– formerly called multiple personality
Personality Disorders

Personality Disorders
– disorders characterized by inflexible and
enduring behavior patterns that impair
social functioning
– usually without anxiety, depression, or
delusions
Personality Disorders

Antisocial Personality Disorder
– disorder in which the person (usually
man) exhibits a lack of conscience for
wrongdoing, even toward friends and
family members
– may be aggressive and ruthless or a
clever con artist
Personality Disorders
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Common Characteristics
Personality Disorders are mental illnesses that share several unique qualities. They
contain symptoms that are enduring and play a major role in most, if not all, aspects
of the person's life. While many disorders vacillate in terms of symptom presence
and intensity, personality disorders typically remain relatively constant.
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To be diagnosed with a disorder in this category, a psychologist will look for the
following criteria:
Symptoms have been present for an extended period of time, are inflexible and
pervasive, and are not a result of alcohol or drugs or another psychiatric
disorder. The history of symptoms can be traced back to adolescence or at least
early adulthood.
The symptoms have caused and continue to cause significant distress or negative
consequences in different aspects of the person's life.
Symptoms are seen in at least two of the following areas:
–
–
–
–
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Thoughts (ways of looking at the world, thinking about self or others, and interacting)
Emotions (appropriateness, intensity, and range of emotional functioning)
Interpersonal Functioning (relationships and interpersonal skills)
Impulse Control
Disorders in this Category
Antisocial Personality Disorder
Borderline Personality Disorder
Narcissistic Personality Disorder
Mood Disorders-Depression

Boys who
were later
convicted of
a crime
showed
relatively low
arousal
Personality Disorders

PET scans illustrate reduced activation in
a murderer’s frontal cortex
Normal
Murderer
Mood Disorders

Mood Disorders
– characterized by emotional extremes

Major Depressive Disorder
– a mood disorder in which a person, for
no apparent reason, experiences two or
more weeks of depressed moods,
feelings of worthlessness, and
diminished interest or pleasure in most
activities
Mood Disorders

Manic Episode
– a mood disorder marked by a
hyperactive, wildly optimistic state

Bipolar Disorder
– a mood disorder in which the person
alternates between the hopelessness
and lethargy of depression and the
overexcited state of mania
– formerly called manic-depressive
disorder
Mood DisordersDepression
Mood DisordersSuicide
Mood Disorders-Bipolar

PET scans show that brain energy
consumption rises and falls with emotional
switches
Depressed state
Manic state
Depressed state
Mood DisordersDepression

Altering any one
component of
the chemistrycognition-mood
circuit can alter
the others
Mood DisordersDepression

The vicious
cycle of
depression
can be
broken at
any point
Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia
– literal translation “split mind”
– a group of severe disorders
characterized by:
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disorganized and delusional thinking
disturbed perceptions
inappropriate emotions and actions
Schizophrenia

Delusions
– false beliefs, often of persecution or
grandeur, that may accompany
psychotic disorders

Hallucinations
– sensory experiences without sensory
stimulation
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
Other categories
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Eating Disorders
Common Characteristics
Eating disorders are characterized by disturbances in eating
behavior. This can mean eating too much, not eating
enough, or eating in an extremely unhealthy manner (such
as binging or stuffing yourself over and over). Many people
argue that simple overeating should be considered a
disorder, but at this time it is not in this category.
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Disorders in this Category
Anorexia Nervosa
Bulimia Nervosa
others
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Impulse Control Disorders
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Common Characteristics
Disorders in this category include the failure or extreme difficulty
in controlling impulses despite the negative consequences. This
includes the failure to stop gambling even if you realize that losing
would result in significant negative consequences. This failure to
control impulses also refers to the impulse to engage in violent
behavior (e.g., road rage), sexual behavior, fire starting, stealing,
and self-abusive behaviors.
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Disorders in this Category
Intermittent Explosive Disorder
Kleptomania
Pathological Gambling
Pyromania
Trichotillomania
other
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Paraphilias and Sexual Disorders
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Common Characteristics
Paraphilias all have in common distressing and repetitive sexual fantasies, urges, or
behaviors. These fantasies, urges, or behaviors must occur for a significant period of
time and must interfere with either satisfactory sexual relations or everyday
functioning if the diagnosis is to be made. There is also a sense of distress within
these individuals. In other words, they typically recognize the symptoms as
negatively impacting their life but feel as if they are unable to control them.
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Disorders in this Category
Exhibitionism
Fetishism
Frotteurism
Gender Identity Disorder
Pedophilia
Sexual Masochism
Sexual Sadism
Transvestic Fetishism
Voyeurism
other
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Sleep Disorders
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Common Characteristics
Primary Sleep disorders are divided into two subcategories: Dyssomnias are those
disorders relating to the amount, quality, and timing of sleep. Parasomnias relate to
abnormal behavior or physiological events that occur during the process of sleep or
sleep-wake transitions. We use the perm primary to differentiate these sleep
disorders from other sleep disorders that are caused by outside factors, such as
another mental disorder, medical disorder, or substance use. The primary sleep
disorders are listed below:
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Disorders in this Category
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Dyssomnias
Primary Insomnia
Primary Hypersomnia
Narcolepsy
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Parasomnias
Nightmare Disorder
Sleep Terror Disorder
Sleepwalking Disorder
other
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Somatoform Disorders
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Common Characteristics
Disorders in this category include those where the symptoms
suggest a medical condition but where no medical condition can
be found by a physician. In other words, a person with a
somatoform disorder might experience significant pain without a
medical or biological cause, or they may constantly experience
minor aches and pains without any reason for these pains to
exist.
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Disorders in this Category
Body Dysmorphic Disorder
Conversion Disorder
Hypochondriasis Disorder
Pain Disorder
Somatization Disorder
other
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Substance Related Disorders
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Common Characteristics
The two disorders in this category refer to either the abuse
or dependence on a substance. A substance can be
anything that is ingested in order to produce a high, alter
one's senses, or otherwise affect functioning. The most
common substance thought of in this category is alcohol
although other drugs, such as cocaine, marijuana, heroin,
ecstasy, special-K, and crack, are also included. Probably
the most abused substances, caffeine and nicotine, are also
included although rarely thought of in this manner by the
layman.
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Disorders in this Category
Substance Abuse
Substance Dependence
Childhood disorders
 Attention-Deficit
/ Hyperactivity
Disorder
 Conduct Disorder
 Oppositional Defiant Disorder
 Tourette's Disorder
 Autistic Disorder
 Developmental/ IQ disorders
Rates of Psychological
Disorders