Chapter 12: Psychological Disorders

schizophrenia

a severe psychological disorder that is characterized by highly disorders thought processes.

DSM-5

approved in 2013, since throughout the history of the DSM the number of diagnosable disorders has increased dramatically, this edition of DSM-5 includes new diagnoses such as binge eating disorder and gambling disorder

depressive disorders

are disorders in which the individual suffers from depression, an unrelenting lack of pleasure in life. (very common)

biological approach

attributes psychological disorders to organic, internal causes.

maladaptive

behavior that interferes with ones ability to function effectively in the world, also behavior that presents danger to a person or those around him or her.

deviant

behavior that is abnormal because it deviates from what is considered a culturally acceptable norm.

abnormal behavior

behavior that is deviant, maladaptive, or personally distressful over a relatively long period of time.

personally distressful

behavior that makes the person find the behavior troubling, may cause the person to feel intense shame, guilt, or despair.

post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

develops through exposure to a traumatic event that overwhelms the person's abilities to cope.

generalized anxiety disorder

different from everyday feelings of anxiety in that sufferers experience persistent anxiety for at least 6 months and are unable to specify the reasons for the anxiety.

bipolar disorder

disorder characterized by extreme mood swings that include one or more episodes of mania, an overexcited, unrealistically optimistic state.

panic disorder

disorder in which the individual experiences recurrent, sudden onsets of intense apprehension of terror, often without warning and with no specific cause.

psychological approach

emphasizes the contributions of experiences, thoughts, emotions, and personality characteristics in explaining psychological disorders.

sociocultural approach

emphasizes the social contexts in which a person lives, including gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, family relationships, and culture.

delusions

false, unusual, and sometimes magical beliefs that are not part of an individual's cultures. (positive symptom)

negative symptoms

flat affect and lack of normal activities

dissociative identity disorder (DID)

formerly multiple personality disorder, is the most dramatic, least common, and most controversial dissociative disorder; individuals with this disorder have two or more distinct personalities or identities.

positive symptoms

hallucinations, delusions, referential thinking, catatonia

major depressive disorder (MDD)

involves a significant depressive episode and depressed characteristics, such as lethargy and hopelessness, for at least two weeks.

anxiety disorders

involves fears that are uncontrollable, disproportionate to the actual danger the person might be in, and disruptive of ordinary life.

catatonia

is a state of immobility and unresponsiveness that last for long periods of time. (positive symptom)

dissociative amnesia

is a type of amnesia characterized by extreme memory loss that stems from extensive psychological stress.

referential thinking

means giving personal meaning to completely random events. (positive symptom)

flat affect

means the display of little or no emotion. (negative symptom)

biopsychosocial model

none of the factors considered is necessarily viewed as more important than another; rahter biological, psychological, and social factors are all significant ingredients in producing both normal and abnormal behavior.

phobic disorder

psychological disorder in which the individual has an irrational, overwhelming, persistent fear of a particular object or situation.

dissociative disorders

psychological disorders that involves a sudden loss of memory or change in identity; the three types are dissociative amnesia, dissociative fugue, and dissociative identity disorder.

problems with DSM-5

relies to heavily on social norms and subjective judgements, has too many new categories of disorders, loosens diagnostic criteria and gives many more individuals powerful psychoactive drugs, perhaps unnecessarily.

hallucinations

sensory experiences that occur in the absence of real stimuli; the hallucinations are usually auditory or visual. (positive symptom)

obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

the individual has anxiety-provoking that will not go away and/or urges to perform repetitive, ritualistic behaviors to prevent or produce some future situation.

suicide

thinking about committing suicide is not abnormal but performing the act is abnormal, approx. 90% of individuals who commit suicide are estimated to have a diagnosable mental disorder, most common of those disorders are depression and anxiety.

learned helplessness

through experience with unavoidable aversive stimuli, a organism learns that it has no control over negative outcomes.

diathesis-stress model

view of schizophrenia emphasizing that a combination of biogenetic disposition and stress causes the disorder.