AP Psych: Chapter 8- Abnormal Psychology

What is the literal translation of schizophrenia?

"split mind"

What does the evidence suggest regarding a genetic link to schizophrenia? How can sets of twins be tested to be sure that the differences are not due to enviromental factors?

-1 in 10 odds of being diagnosed if sibling or parent has it -children adopted by those with schizophrenia don't "catch" it

List the factors that determine whether a person is more likely to suffer from PTSD after a traumatic event

-amount of emotional distress during trauma -frequency -sensitive limbic system -genes

Describe the symptoms of phobias

-anxiety disorder -persistent, irrational fear and avoidance of a specific object, activity, or situation

Describe the common symptoms of panic disorder. How does panic disorder differ from generalized anxiety disorder?

-anxiety disorder -unpredictable minutes-long episodes of intense dread -chest pain -terror -choking -other frightening sensations

What are two ways in which schizophrenia develops?

-appear suddenly, seemingly a reaction to stress -develops gradually, emerging from a history of social inadequency

What are the common symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder?

-continually tense -uneasy -apprehensive -state of autonomic nervous system arousal

Discuss the origins and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

-exposure to a traumatic or stressful event -haunting memories, nightmares, social withdrawal, anxiety, insomnia

Describe the diminished and inappropriate emotion characteristic of schizophrenia. What is meant by "flat affect?"

-inappropriate emotions: laughing at death and agitated for no reason -flat affect: emotionless state -senseless compulsive acts: rocking, rubbing an arm

Describe the symptoms of antisocial personality disorder

-lack of conscience for wrongdoing, even towards friends and family -aggressive, ruthless -clever con artist

Discuss the cognitive characteristics of someone impacted by major depressive disorder

-learned helplessness/sense of hopelessness -self defeating beliefs -negative attributions -self-blame

Explain how the environmental factors influence the development of antisocial personality disorder

-maltreatment at young age -brain development (ex. premature birth) -poverty -altered neurotransmitter balance -family instability

Discuss the psychological and enviromental factors that may trigger schizophrenia

-overuse of drugs (acid, LSD) -mother with severe, long-lasting schizophrenia -birth complications -separation from parents -short attention span -poor muscle coordination -disruptive, withdrawn behavior -emotional unpredictability -poor peer relations

Discuss the prevalaence of schizophrenia

1 in 100 people

List and elaborate on the 6 facts about depression

1. Behavioral and cognitive changes: recall negative information and anxiety making them unmotivated and inactive 2. Widespread 3. Women are twice as vulnerable to major depression 4. Most major depressive episodes self-terminate 5. Stressful events related to work, marriage, and close relationships also precede depression 6. Striking earlier and wider with each new generation

Explain how depression is thought to be a vicious cycle

1. Stressful experiences 2. Negative explanatory style 3. Depressed mood 4. Cognitive and behavioral changes 5. Repeat

Approximately what percent of the population suffers from OCD? At what age do the symptoms typically appear?

2-3% late teens or twenties

Discuss the changes in brain function that occur in major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder

Brain has less activity during depressive states the frontal lobe can be smaller and inactive hippocampus is vulnerable

Explain the relationship between the likelihood of recovery and the speed of onset of schizophrenia. How does this differ in acute schizophrenia as compared to chronic schizophrenia?

Chronic: slow developing and recovery is doubtful Acute: develops rapidly, recovery is likely with drug therapy

What researcher conducted the study of the biasing power of labels in people who claimed they were hearing voices saying empty, hollow, and thud?

David Rosenhan

Describe and contrast a typical schizophrenic hallucination with a delusion

Delusion: false beliefs, often of persecution or grandeur, that may accompany psychotic disorders Hallucination: an experience involving the apparent perception of something not present

How are people biologically predisposed to developing phobias?

Genetic makeup of temperament/personality may make people more/less likely to acquire phobias depending on how neurotic they are. They may naturally have a more active sympathetic nervous system.

Discuss the impact genetics and brain structures may have an antisocial personality disorder

Increased risk: -antisocial and unemotional tendencies -lower levels of stress hormones -reduced activity in frontal lobe

Compare characteristics of a state of mania to the state of depression

Mania: hyperactive, wildly optimistic state in which the person is overtalkative, overactive, makes poor decisions, and has increased creativity Depression: feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness, and lethargy

Explain what differentiates anxiety from an anxiety disorder

Normal anxiety is not intense and persistent and doesn't prevent you from completing everyday tasks

Explain why free-floating anxiety can be disabling.

One cannot identify the cause of the anxiety and can therefore not deal with or avoid it

How does having social anxiety differ from having a specific phobia?

People with social anxiety will avoid social situations all together, while people wtih specific phobias avoid the stimulus that arouses the fear

List and contrast positive symptoms with the negative symptoms of schizophrenia

Positive: -hallucunations -talk in disorganized and deluded ways -inappropriate laughter, tears, and rage Negative: -toneless voices -expressionless faces -mute, rigid bodies

How might the terms positive and negative when referring to symptoms of schizophrenia be similar to the use of reinforcement and punishment?

Positive: added inappropriate behaviors Negative: takes away desirable behaviors

What are the 6 types of ways to view situations?

Stable: continuous Temporary Global: no one or nowhere else Specific: name resources Internal: blame self External: blame others

Discuss the disorganized thinking and speaking that are symptoms of schizophrenia

Symptoms: -disorganized and delusional thinking -disturbed perceptions -inappropriate emotions and actions -hallucinations

Discuss why the sufferer's knowledge that the obsessions are irrational actually adds to the suffering

They recognize that their thoughts and actions are abnormal, but cannot do anything about it as only 1/5 people recover

Describe the symptoms of conversion disorder

This rare somatoform disorder in which a person experiences very specific genuine physical symptoms for which no physiological basis can be found, includes: blindness, paralysis, ect.

In what way does the biological perspective help us understand the development of phobias and anxiety? Consider both natural selection and genetics in your response.

Those not fearful of certain stimuli are less likely to survive and certain genes can make you more prone to disorders

What role does explanatory style play in depression?

Those with a pessimistic explanatory styles have a higher risk for depression than those with an optimistic explanatory style

What classifies behaviors as a psychological disorder?

Three D's: Distress Dysfunction Deviance

client-centered therapy

a humanistic therapy, developed by Carl Rogers, in which the therapist uses techniques such as active listening within a genuine, accepting, empathetic environment to facilitate clients' growth

bipolar disorder

a mood disorder in which the person alternates between the hopelessness and lethargy of depression and the overexcited state of mania

psychological disorder

a syndrome marked by a clinically significant disturbance in an individual's cognition, emotion regulation, or behavior

What behaviors or emotions are expressed for the personality disorder, avoidant personality disorder?

anxiety fearful sensitivity to rejection withdrawn

Describe agoraphobia. Hypothesize why agoraphobia is often one of the most frequently diagnosed types of phobias but may not actually be the most frequently occurring.

becoming afraid of public places or open spaces due to concern that they will not be able to escape or get help if needed

dissociative disorders

disorders in which conscious awareness becomes separated from previous memories, thoughts, and feelings

Describe the phenomenon of dissociation and explain how it differs from a dissociative disorder

disorders in which conscious awareness becomes separated from previous memories, thoughts, and feelings. Experiencing a sudden loss of memory or change in identity, often in a response to an overwhelmingly stressful situations

How did other researchers support the view that DID is a genuine disorder?

distinct brain and body states shift with changing personalities- such as better hand-eye coordination -heightened activity in brain areas controlling traumatic memories

What behaviors or emotions are expressed for the personality disorder, histrionic/narcissistic personality disorder?

dramatic or impulsive behaviors attention getting and self focused

What behaviors or emotions are expressed for the personality disorder, schizoid personality disorder?

eccentric behaviors emotionless disengagement

What role does dopamine play in schizophrenia?

excess dopamine receptors that intensify brain signals, which create hallucinations and paranoia

delusion

false beliefs, often of persecution or grandeur, that may accompany psychotic disorders

Define the biopsychosocial model and discuss how the biopsychosocial model explains psychological disorders

how biological, psychological, and social-culture factors interact to produce disorders Bio: evolution, genes, brain chemistry Psych: stress, trauma, learned helplessness Social: roles, expectations *Recognizes that the mind and body are insepearable

What brain structures are activated in someone who suffers from OCD?

hyperactive anterior angulate cortex: monitors actions and checks for errors

What classifies behaviors as a disorder?

if it impairs your life

Explain what David Rosenhan means by saying a label has "a life and an influence of its own."

labels can cause biased perceptions and create self-fulfilling prophecies

What are the research findings regarding the role neurotransmitters play in depression and mania?

norepinephrine: increases arousal and boosts mood, scarce during depression serotonin: arousal, scarce during depression

What structures are impacted or implicated in people with chronic schizophrenia?

out of sync neurons in the brain and less active frontal lobe, contribute to schizophrenia symptoms

What are the causes for schizophrenia?

overabundance of dopamine, low birth weight, oxygen deprivation during delivery, fluid- filled ventricles of the brain, or famine /infection during conception

Discuss the research findings on the stigmatizing power of labels

people labeled certain ways are expected to and are therefore often perceived as the label

Explain the way in which selective attention is impacted by schizophrenia

people with schizophrenia cannot block out other stimuli to focus on one, and become easily distracted, making them incoherent

Describe the characteristics of dissociative identity disorder

person exhibits two or more of our normal capacity for personality shifts -blinding headaches, blackouts

mood disorders

psychological disorders characterized by emotional extremes

Discuss the uses and misuses of the insanity plea

saying that one is not responsible for their actions due to a mental issue Can they be held accountable?

In what way is motor behavior impacted by schizophrenia?

senseless, compulsive acts, motionless for hours

What category of people is at a greater risk for panic disorder? Why?

smokers because nicotine is a stimulant

Explain the arguments against DID as a genuine disorder

some argue it as an extension of our normal capacity for personality shifts and people think that they have it, but don't or are acting

Discuss how classical conditioning and operant conditioning principles can be used to explain the development of anxiety disorders, OCD, and PTSD

stimulus generalization occurs and develops fears, reinforcement helps maintain phobias and compulsions as they arise

Describe the general characteristics of somatoform (or somatic symptom) disorders

symptoms take a somatic/bodily from without apparent physical cause

Define the medical model, and discuss how it explains psychological disorders. How has this model changed the way patients are treated?

the concept that diseases, in this case psychological disorders, have physical causes that can be diagnosed, treated, and in most cases cured, often through treatment at a hospital

Explain the genetic influences on depression

the heritability of major depression is 35-40%, many genes likely work together

Explain what is meant by a predisposition

the tendency to suffer from a particular condition

How can suffering from agoraphobia impact someone's life?

they may not even be able to leave their own home

What is meant by rumination? In what ways do negative thoughts and negative moods interact?

to endlessly rehash something in one's mind, overthink -pessimistic thinkers have a higher risk of depression

Discuss the evidence for prenatal viral infections as a cause for schizophrenia

two known risk factors for schizophrenia are low birth weight and oxygen deprivation during delivery

List the symptoms of major depressive disorder

two or more weeks of significantly depressed moods, feelings of worthlessness, and lethargy

Explain how obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) differs from normal obsessions or tendencies toward perfectionism.

unwanted repetitive obsessions/thoughts and/or actions/compulsions, which causes one distress

How have PET scans been used to determine how the brain in those suffering from schizophrenia differs from those who are not?

used while people were hallucinating; brain became highly active in the thalamus and amygdala

Discuss how observational learning principles can be used to explain the development of phobias

we can develop fears based off of observations of another's behavior to a stimulus