Abnormal Behavior Overview

Abnormal Behavior in Historical Context

• Psychological disorder is a dysfunction in cognitive, emotional or behavioral functioning that is atypical or unexpected in the cultural context and is associated with distress, impairment and risk of suffering, death, pain or impairment.
• Psychopathology is the scientific study of psychological disorders.
• Counseling psychologists focus on adjustment and vocational issues of healthy individuals while clinical psychologists focus on more severe psychological disorders.
• Psychiatrists have an M.D. degree and specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders, often from a biological viewpoint.
• Psychiatric social workers have a master’s degree in social work and specialize in collecting information about the social and family situations of individuals with psychological disorders.
• Psychiatric nurses have advanced degrees and specialize in the care and treatment of patients with psychological disorders.
• Marriage and family therapists and mental health counselors have master’s degree and provide clinical services.
• Prevalence measures the population rate of a disorder. Incidence measures the rate of new cases over a period of time.
• Disorders can have a chronic, episodic or time-limited course.
• Prognosis refers to the expected course of a disorder.
• Etiology studies the origins of a disorder.
• The brain stem handles essential functions like breathing, sleeping, and moving.
• The forebrain is more advanced and evolved recently.
• The hindbrain regulates automatic activities like breathing, heartbeat and digestion. The cerebellum controls motor coordination.
• The midbrain coordinates movement with sensory input and contains parts of the reticular activating system.
• The thalamus and hypothalamus regulate behavior and emotion and function as a relay between the forebrain and other parts of the brain.
• The limbic system is at the base of the forebrain and includes the hippocampus, cingulate gyrus, septum, and amygdala.
• DSM-5 is divided into three sections: introduction, disorders, and disorders needing further research.
• The DSM-5 removed the multiaxial system and combined axes I, II, and III into the descriptions of the disorders.
• The term "mental retardation" has been replaced with “intellectual disability”.
• Comorbidity occurs when an individual presents with more than one psychological disorder at the same time.

Research Methods

• The patient uniformity myth refers to the tendency to view all participants as one group.
• Epidemiology studies the incidence, distribution, and consequences of problems in one or more populations.
• Epidemiological research can’t determine cause but provides valuable data for understanding disorders.

Social Anxiety Disorder (Social Phobia)

• SAD is more than exaggerated shyness.
• Individuals with performance anxiety experience intense anxiety when performing specific tasks in front of people.
• Common performance anxiety situations include public speaking, eating in restaurants and signing checks in public.
• Anxiety-provoking physical reactions include blushing, sweating, trembling, and paruresis.
• The prevalence of SAD in a given year is 6.8% and 8.2% in adolescents.
• SAD is the second most prevalent anxiety disorder.
• The sex ratio for SAD is nearly 50:50.
• SAD onset typically occurs during adolescence with a peak around 13 years old.
• SAD is more prevalent in young people (18-29 years), those undereducated, single, and of low socioeconomic class.
• Socially anxious individuals recognize angry faces more quickly than “normals”.
• Some infants are born with a temperamental profile of inhibition or shyness, evident as early as 4 months of age.
• Cognitive therapy that emphasizes real-life experiences is a superior treatment for SAD.