Abnormal Psychology Quiz

Introductory Psychology II - Chapter 15: Psychological Disorders

• Lectures: Topics covered include defining mental disorders, the history of mental disorders (including demonic models, medical models, and the modern era), the DSM-5-TR and its criticisms, anxiety-related disorders, depression, bipolar disorders, schizophrenia, personality disorders, dissociative disorders, and childhood disorders - with specific dates for each lecture.

Defining Mental Disorders

• Statistical rarity: Mental disorders can be identified by their infrequency.

• Subjective distress: A defining characteristic is distress experienced by the individual.

• Impairment: Impairment in daily functioning is another hallmark.

• Societal/cultural disapproval: Societal reactions to behaviors are a part of the definition.

• Biological dysfunction: Biological factors also play a role.

History of Mental Disorders

• Demonic Model: Early explanations for mental illness attributed it to evil spirits. Practices included exorcism and trephining.

• Medical Model: Mental illness was viewed as a physical health issue. Treatments included bloodletting and asylums.

• Moral Treatment: Later, a focus shifted to treating individuals in a humane and compassionate manner.

• Modern Era (Deinstitutionalization): Efforts moved away from large institutions toward community-based resources.

Diagnosing

• Purpose of diagnosis: Improves communication, gives clients a term for their experiences, helps select the best treatments, and aids research.

• Misconceptions: Diagnosing is not simply categorizing people into boxes, diagnoses are not unreliable, and labeling does not invalidate or make symptoms less real. The influence of diagnosis on perceptions and behavior is significant.

The DSM-5-TR

• Diagnostic Criteria: Standardized criteria for diagnosing mental disorders, specifying the number and type of symptoms and duration needed for diagnosis. Symptoms must not stem from medical conditions or substances.

• Other features: Prevalence (the proportion of people who have the condition), atheoretical biopsychosocial approach, and how developmental stages and cultural factors impact disorders.

• Criticisms: Comorbidity (occurring disorders overlap), and the tension between categorical (distinct) and dimensional (varying) diagnostic approaches.

Anxiety-Related Disorders

• Typical onset: Teenage years to early adulthood.

• Somatic disorders: Physical symptoms accompanied by anxiety. Examples include somatic symptom disorder and illness anxiety disorder.

• Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Excessive, uncontrollable worrying about minor topics, muscle tension, irritability, sleep difficulties, and concentration problems.

• Panic Disorder: Repeated, unexpected panic attacks, leading individuals to alter behavior.

• Agoraphobia: Avoidance of places or situations where escape might be difficult or help unavailable, if a panic attack occurs.

• Social Anxiety Disorder: Fear of social evaluation and believing one lacks social skills.

• Specific Phobias: Significant fear or anxiety of specific objects or situations (like animals, storms, water, elevators, darkness, clowns, etc.).

• Psychological factors associated with anxiety: Classical conditioning (associative learning), operant conditioning (avoidance/escape), observational learning, information/misinformation, catastrophizing, anxiety sensitivity, intolerance of uncertainty, and metacognitions.

• Biological factors: Twin studies suggest genetic contributions, and low levels of serotonin and GABA are linked. Neuroticism is often heightened in anxiety disorders.

Mood Disorders

• Common characteristics: Feeling down (depression) or elevated/expansive (mania).

• Examples of mood disorders included: Major Depressive Disorder, Persistent Depressive Disorder (Dysthymia), Seasonal Affective Disorder, Bipolar I Disorder, Bipolar II Disorder, Cyclothymic Disorder, Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder, Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder.

Major Depressive Disorder

• Key characteristics: Significantly depressed mood or anhedonia (loss of pleasure), substantial weight or appetite changes, sleep disturbances, feelings of worthlessness, and thoughts of suicide. Usually recurrent.

• Psychological factors Life events model (stressors and relationships), behavioral model (lack of positive reinforcement), interpersonal model (seeking reassurance but causing rejection), learned helplessness (feeling unable to control negative outcomes), and cognitive model (negative views of self, the world, and the future).

• Biological factors: Genetic predisposition, and the role of serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine. High neuroticism

Bipolar Disorders

• Mania/hypomania: Significantly elevated or irritable mood, grandiosity, increased goal-directed activity, and decreased need for sleep, engagement in risky behaviors.

• Bipolar I Disorder: Experience of manic episodes (marked elevation of mood).

• Bipolar II Disorder: Experience of hypomanic episodes (less severe than manic) and major depressive episodes.

• Factors in bipolar disorders: Biological factors (high heritability, involvement of serotonin and dopamine), and psychological factors (stressful life events, sleep disruption).

Suicide

• Prevalence: A significant public health concern, contributing to death among children, adolescents, young adults, Indigenous populations, and the elderly.
• Predicting suicide risk: Current planning/ideation, previous attempts, hopelessness, depression, comorbid substance abuse or other mental disorders, and recent major life stressor are factors.

Schizophrenia

• Positive symptoms: Delusions (irrational beliefs), hallucinations (false sensory perceptions).

• Disorganized symptoms: Disorganized speech (loose associations), disorganized behavior (unfitting context), and catatonia.

• Negative symptoms: Apathy (lack of motivation), flat affect (lack of emotional response), asociality (lack of interest in others), alogia (limited speech), and anhedonia (lack of pleasure).

• Factors: Schizophrenogenic mothers (a now-discredited theory of maternal rejection contributing to the condition), expressed emotion (criticism, hostility, and overinvolvement in the family environment), brain abnormalities (enlarged ventricles, hypofrontality), neurotransmitters (dysfunction in dopamine pathways), genetics, and the diathesis-stress model.

Personality Disorders

• Common characteristics: Persistent patterns of behavior and inner experience that deviate markedly from cultural expectations, causes emotional distress and impairment, and has onset in adolescence or early adulthood.

Borderline Personality Disorder

• Key features: Fear of abandonment, instability in mood, identity, and relationships. Marked impulsivity, chronic emptiness. Repeated suicide attempts or self-harm.

Dissociative Disorders

• Depersonalization/derealization disorder: Episodes of depersonalization (feeling detached from oneself) or derealization (feeling detached from surroundings).

• Dissociative amnesia: Memory loss following a stressful or traumatic event

• Dissociative fugue: Dissociative amnesia coupled with fleeing the area.

• Dissociative identity disorder: Two or more distinct personality states functioning independently. Different features (respiration, brain waves, eyesight, etc.) manifest with each personality. Amnesia between personality states is not fully supported by evidence.

• Proposed explanations for DID.   Posttraumatic model (childhood traumas creating compartments to handle events).Sociocognitive model (dissociation is learned and perpetuated by therapist).

Childhood Disorders

• Autism spectrum disorders: Severe deficits in language, social bonding, imagination, and intelligence; Repetitive and restrictive behaviors.

• Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): Restlessness, emotional outbursts, difficulty staying seated, not following directions, focus problems, and temper tantrums.

• Proposed explanations: genetics, parental age, and possibly MMR vaccine, liberal diagnostic criteria. Genetic contributions/brain volume differences and activation patterns. Possible overdiagnosis.

Test your knowledge on key concepts in abnormal psychology, including cognitive models of depression, bipolar disorder characteristics, and schizophrenia symptoms. This quiz covers critical factors influencing mental health and the biological aspects of various disorders.