Psychology Chapter on Mental Disorders

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Questions and Answers

What is a defining characteristic of a mental disorder?

It always leads to hospital admission.

It must be treatable with medication.

It involves clinically significant disturbance in behavior, emotion regulation, or cognitive functioning. (correct)

It affects only social functioning.

What term describes a predisposition toward developing a disorder?

Protective Factor

Stressor

Resilience

Vulnerability (correct)

What is meant by comorbidity?

A condition where two or more disorders are present in the same person. (correct)

A term for the duration of symptoms.

The study of disease prevalence in a population.

The presence of only one disorder in an individual.

Which parenting style is characterized by strict rules and high expectations with little warmth?

Authoritarian Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following terms describes conditions that are unable to find adequate treatment in the community?

Severe Signup and view all the answers

What is a protective factor in the context of environmental stressors?

An influence that mitigates adverse effects Signup and view all the answers

What does 'lifetime prevalence' refer to in the context of mental disorders?

The number of people who have experienced a disorder at any point in their life. Signup and view all the answers

What happens at the synapse during neurotransmission?

Chemical substances are released Signup and view all the answers

Which study design is characterized by the manipulation of variables?

Experimental study Signup and view all the answers

Which term refers to the chemical messengers secreted by endocrine glands?

Hormones Signup and view all the answers

What is the focus of epidemiology in the context of mental disorders?

To study the distribution and frequency of disorders within populations. Signup and view all the answers

How is temperament best described in relation to personality development?

Biologically programmed reactivity and self-regulation Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following best describes 'incidence' in the study of mental disorders?

It quantifies the number of new cases occurring within a specified time period. Signup and view all the answers

Which aspect of the psychodynamic perspective represents instinctual drives?

Id Signup and view all the answers

What is meant by the term 'acute' in relation to mental disorders?

Of short duration. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following best supports resilience according to the content?

Effective coping mechanisms Signup and view all the answers

What is a significant limitation of case studies in psychological research?

They have low generalizability. Signup and view all the answers

What is internal validity primarily concerned with?

The presence of confounding variables in a study. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following best describes Hippocrates' contribution to medicine?

He emphasized natural causes of disease and clinical observation. Signup and view all the answers

What was Plato's perspective on psychological phenomena?

They are responses of the whole organism. Signup and view all the answers

What method did Galen utilize in his contributions to medicine?

He dissected animals for anatomical insights. Signup and view all the answers

What does external validity involve in the context of research findings?

Generalizing findings to other populations, contexts, or times. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following defines exorcism in the historical context of mental illness treatment?

A religiously inspired procedure aimed at expelling evil spirits. Signup and view all the answers

What did Johann Weyer argue regarding individuals accused of witchcraft?

They were often mentally ill and did not deserve persecution. Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary principle of classical conditioning?

A neutral stimulus becomes associated with an unconditioned stimulus. Signup and view all the answers

In instrumental conditioning, what role does reinforcement play?

It strengthens the likelihood of repeating the reinforced behavior. Signup and view all the answers

What does generalization refer to in behavioral learning?

The tendency to respond to stimuli similar to the original conditioned stimulus. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following best describes observational learning?

Learning that occurs through the observation of behavior without direct experience. Signup and view all the answers

What is an attribution in the cognitive behavioral perspective?

The assignment of causes to events or behaviors. Signup and view all the answers

How do schemas affect cognition according to the cognitive behavioral perspective?

They can distort attention, memory, and comprehension. Signup and view all the answers

What aspect of learning did Albert Bandura emphasize in his cognitive-behavioral perspective?

The impact of cognitive processes on behavior regulation. Signup and view all the answers

What is self-efficacy according to Bandura's theory?

The belief in one's capability to achieve desired goals. Signup and view all the answers

What does the concept of accommodation refer to in psychological frameworks?

Changing existing frameworks to incorporate new information Signup and view all the answers

Which perspective emphasizes the inherent capacity for responsible self-direction?

Humanistic Perspective Signup and view all the answers

What is commonly associated with Acute Stress Disorder?

Occurrence within 4 weeks after a traumatic event Signup and view all the answers

What characterizes post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)?

It includes a recurrent experience of the traumatic event Signup and view all the answers

What are cultural idioms of distress?

Culture-specific methods of expressing distress Signup and view all the answers

In which scenario would relaxation training be most beneficial?

For patients experiencing tension headaches Signup and view all the answers

What does adjustment disorder with depressed mood typically result from?

A common stressor leading to significant behavioral or emotional symptoms Signup and view all the answers

Which aspect of the existential perspective is emphasized?

Individual uniqueness and the quest for meaning Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Mental Disorder

Defined as a syndrome present in an individual that includes clinically significant disturbance in behavior, emotion regulation, or cognitive functioning.
Associated with significant distress or disability in key areas of functioning, such as social, occupational, or other activities.
Definition is somewhat arbitrary.

Psychopathology

People trained in abnormal psychology.
Higher rates of psychopathology in women.

Comorbidity

Describes the presence of two or more disorders in the same person.

Qualifying Terms

Acute: Short duration
Chronic: Long duration.
Mild: Comorbidity is the exception rather than the rule.
Moderate:
Severe: Unable to find adequate treatment in the community.
Episodic:
Recurrent:

Epidemiology

Study of the distribution of disease, disorders, or health-related behaviors in a population.
Key component is determining the frequency of mental disorders.

Prevalence

The number of active cases in a population during any given period of time, expressed as a percentage.

Lifetime Prevalence

Number of people who have a disorder at any point in their lifetime.
This includes currently ill and recovered individuals.
Lifetime prevalence is usually higher than other prevalence rates.

Incidence

The number of new cases that occur over a given time.

Correlational Study

Research that examines whether and how variables go together (co-vary) without manipulating any variables.
Involves studying the world as it is, with no manipulation of variables.

Experimental Study

Research that involves manipulating a given factor or variable while holding everything else constant.
Participants are assessed at baseline and then randomly assigned to different groups.
Afterward, the experiment/treatment is compared across each group.

Case Study

An in-depth examination of an individual or family that draws from a number of data sources.
Conclusions of a case study have low generalizability (cannot be used to draw conclusions about other cases, even if they involve people with similar abnormalities).

Validity

Internal: How confident we can be in the results of the study.
The extent to which the study is free of confounds is methodologically sound, allowing the researcher to have confidence in the findings.
External: The ability to generalize findings beyond the study itself.
Findings from a single study are relevant to other populations, contexts, or times.

Hippocrates

"Father of Modern Medicine."
Emphasized the importance of heredity and predisposition, natural causes of disease, clinical observation, and brain pathology as the root of mental illness.
Pointed out that injury to the head could cause sensory and motor disorders.

Plato

Viewed psychological phenomena as responses of the whole organism.
Emphasized individual differences in intellectual and other abilities and sociocultural influences.

Galen

One of the most influential Greek physicians who practiced in Rome.
Made original contributions concerning the anatomy and nervous system based on dissecting animals. Took a scientific approach.

Mass Madness

Exorcism

Religiously inspired treatment procedure designed to drive out evil spirits or forces from a possessed person.
Treatment used to be prayer, holy water, sanctified ointments, the breath/spittles of priests, touching relics, and visiting holy places.
Performed by laying on of hands.

Witchcraft

Witchcraft and mental illness were connected more frequently in the medieval mind than was the case.
Johann Weyer argued that those accused of witchcraft were really mentally ill and did not deserve persecution.

Diathesis-Stress Model

Models describing vulnerable (diathesis) and stressors.
A vulnerability (diathesis) is a predisposition toward developing a disorder that can derive from biological, psychological, or sociocultural causal factors.

Developmental

Developmental outcomes for children include: authoritative, authoritarian, permissive/indulgent, and neglectful/uninvolved.

Protective Factors

Influences that modify a person's response to an environmental stressor, making it less likely that the individual will experience the adverse effects of the stressor.
Decreases the likelihood of negative outcomes among those at risk.
Sometimes leads to resilience (the ability to adapt successfully to very difficult circumstances).

Biological Causal Factors

Synapse: Tiny fluid-filled space between the axon endings of a neuron.
Neurotransmitters: Chemical substances released into the synapse by the presynaptic neuron when a nerve impulse controls.
Hormonal Imbalance: Chemical messengers secreted by a set of endocrine glands in our bodies.
Genetic Vulnerability: A genetically vulnerable person has usually inherited a large number of genes, or polymorphisms of genes, that operate together in an additive or interactive fashion to increase vulnerability.
Chromosomal Abnormalities:
Temperament: Refers to a child's reactivity and characteristic ways of self-regulation, believed to be biologically programmed.
- Early temperament is thought to be the basis from which our personality develops (2-3 months).
- Consistent over time, causing us to have similar reactions in similar contexts.

Psychological Viewpoints

Psychodynamic Perspective:
- Id: The source of instinctual drives and is the first structure to appear in infancy. (1) Life instincts & (2) Death instincts.
- Ego: Develops after the first few months of life. Mediates between the demands of the id and the realities of the external world.
Behavioral Perspective:
- Classical Conditioning: A form of learning in which a neutral stimulus is paired with an unconditioned stimulus that elicits an unconditioned behavior.
  - A neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus that elicits a conditioned response.
- Instrumental (Operant) Conditioning: A form of learning in which when a particular response is reinforced, it becomes more likely to be repeated on similar occasions.
  - Individuals learn how to achieve a desired goal.
  - The essential concept of reinforcement is (reward or pleasant stimulus).
- Generalization: Tendency of a response that has been conditioned to one stimulus to be elicited by other stimuli (ex- fear of bees= fear of flying insects).
- Discrimination: Ability to interpret and respond differently to two or more similar stimuli (ex red strawberries are good and not green= experienced both).
- Observational Learning: Learning through observation alone without directly experiencing an unconditioned stimulus (classical conditioning) reinforcement (operant conditioning).
Cognitive Behavioral Perspective:
- Attributions: The process of assigning causes to things that happen.
  - Theorists are interested in whether different forms of psychopathology are associated with distinctive and dysfunctional attribution styles (assign good and bad behaviors).
- Schemas: Representation of knowledge that guides the current processing of information and often leads to distorting attention, memory and comprehension..
- Albert Bandura: Developed an early cognitive-behavioral perspective and placed considerable emphasis on the cognitive aspects of learning. Stressed that human beings regulate behavior by internal symbolic processes. Focused almost exclusively on cognitive processes and their impact on behavior. We prepare ourselves for difficult tasks human beings and have “a capacity for self-direction”. Later developed a theory of self-efficacy, which is the belief that one can achieve desired goals. Cognitive-behavioral treatments work in large part by improving self-efficacy.
- Aaron Beck: Developed a perspective centered on the concept of a schema.
  - Assimilation: We are likely to cling to existing assumptions and to reject or distort new information that contradicts them.
  - Accommodation: Hanging our existing frameworks to make it possible to incorporate new information that doesn't fit—is more difficult and threatening, especially when important assumptions are challenged.
Humanistic Perspective:
- Emphasizes human nature as basically “good.”
- Paying less attention to unconscious processes and past causes, it emphasizes present conscious processes and places strong emphasis on people's inherent capacity for responsible self-direction.
Existential Perspective:
- Resembles the humanistic view in its emphasis on the uniqueness of each individual, the quest for values and meaning, and the existence of freedom for self-direction and self-fulfillment
Childhood Trauma:

Distress

Cultural idioms of distress refer to culture-specific ways of expressing distress to others.

Essential Hypertension

Relaxation training can also help patients who experience tension headaches

Acute Stress Disorder

Occurs within 4 weeks after a traumatic event and lasts for at least 2 days, maximum 4 weeks.

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

Criteria:
- Intrusion (recurrent experience of the traumatic event)
- Avoidance (avoiding thoughts, feelings, or reminders of the trauma)
- Negative alterations in cognition and mood (detached moods)
- Arousal and reactivity (excessive response when startled, aggression)

Adjustment Disorder (with depressed mood)

Psychological response to a common stressor that results in clinically significant behavioral or emotional symptoms.

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Description

Explore the intricate concepts related to mental disorders, psychopathology, and comorbidity. This quiz will test your understanding of the definitions, qualifying terms, and epidemiology of mental health issues. Prepare to delve into the complexities of clinical significance and the burden of mental health on individuals.