Psychology Chapter 15 Quiz

Mental Disorders

• Defined as persistent disturbances in behavior, thoughts, or emotions leading to significant distress or impairment.
• Classified within a medical model that views abnormal experiences as illnesses with biological and environmental causes.

Diagnosis and Classification

• Signs are objectively observed indicators of a disorder, while symptoms are subjectively reported experiences.
• Disorders represent common sets of signs and symptoms, while diseases refer to known pathological processes affecting the body.
• Diagnosis determines the presence of a disorder or disease.
• DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) has evolved to include detailed diagnostic criteria across multiple editions.

DSM Editions

• DSM (1952): Standardized classification system for mental disorders.
• DSM-II (1968): First revision, providing common terminology.
• DSM-III (1980) and DSM-IV (1994): Improved reliability through detailed symptom criteria.
• DSM-5: Contains 22 categories with over 200 disorders, including a section on cultural considerations and the concept of comorbidity.

Psychological Understanding

• Integrated perspective on disorders emphasizes biological, psychological, and environmental factors.
• Diathesis-stress model suggests that predispositions for disorders may remain hidden until stress triggers them.
• Stigmatization attached to mental disorders affects treatment-seeking behavior and self-esteem.

Anxiety Disorders

• Anxiety disorders are characterized by disproportionate anxiety and significant comorbidity with depression.
• Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): Chronic excessive worry with symptoms like restlessness and muscle tension; approximately 6% prevalence in North America.
• Phobic disorders involve excessive fear of specific objects or situations.
• Panic disorder involves panic attacks, lasting feelings of terror, with hereditary components.

Mood Disorders

• Major Depressive Disorder: Severe mood disturbance for two weeks or more, marked by feelings of worthlessness and loss of pleasure.
• Other forms include Dysthymia (chronic lesser symptoms for at least 2 years) and Seasonal Affective Disorder (episodes linked to seasonal changes).
• Biological factors, such as neurotransmitter activity, play a critical role in depression.

Schizophrenia

• Characterized by a disruption in psychological processes and perception of reality, affecting about 1% of the population.
• Symptoms include delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, and negative symptoms like emotional withdrawal.
• Enlarged ventricles and issues with dopamine activity may relate to schizophrenia's manifestation, influenced by genetics and environmental factors.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

• Emerges in early childhood; involves communication deficits and repetitive behavior patterns.
• Spectrum includes various disorders like Asperger's and pervasive developmental disorder.
• Current understanding emphasizes empathizing capacity deficits associated with the condition.

Personality Disorders

• Characterized by deeply ingrained patterns of behavior and thought that cause personal distress and functional impairment; affects about 14.8% of the population.
• Common categories include:
  • Odd/eccentric (paranoid, schizoid)
  • Dramatic/erratic (antisocial, borderline, narcissistic, histrionic)
  • Anxious/inhibited (avoidant)

Suicide and Self-Injury

• Suicide is a leading cause of death, particularly among younger demographics; many cases correlate with depressive episodes.
• Nonsuicidal self-injury involves harmful behaviors without intent to die, while nonfatal suicide attempts are more prevalent than completed suicides.

Research and Perspectives

• The Research Domain Criteria Project (RDoC) seeks to classify disorders based on underlying processes rather than just symptoms.
• Factors include biological influences like genes and neurotransmitter activity, psychological influences such as learning and memory, and social influences like interpersonal behavior.