Understanding Abnormal Psychology

Defining Abnormality

• Abnormal psychology focuses on understanding the nature of mental disorders, their causes, and available treatments
• It examines extreme forms of normality due to various malfunctions

Key Aspects of Disorders

• Nature: identifies the essential diagnostic features of a disorder
• Causes: encompasses personality theories, social psychology, and biological underpinnings
• Etiology: uses a biopsychosocial model to describe the frameworks of disorders

Questions Explored in Abnormal Psychology

• Abnormal psychology explores questions about the topic and problems within the field
• These problems capture interest, demand attention, and trigger concern
• Family aggregation examines whether a disorder runs in families

Scientist-Practitioner Approach

• Scientist-practitioners stay updated with current developments to use the latest diagnostic and treatment procedures
• Scientist-practitioners evaluates their own assessment and treatment procedures to ensure effectiveness
• Scientist-practitioners conduct research that generates new information about disorders or their treatments

Defining Abnormality

• Abnormality lacks a universal definition

Indicators of Abnormality

• Subjective Distress: Psychological pain indicates abnormality, but it is not always a sufficient or necessary condition
• Maladaptiveness: Interference with well-being, daily activities, and relationships can be an indicator, but is not always present in all disorders
• Statistical Deviancy: Abnormality is defined as "away from the normal" though it requires making value judgments
• Violation of Societal Standards: Violating moral and cultural norms is considered abnormal

Social Discomfort

• Social discomfort arises when implicit or unwritten rules are violated
• It can be a way to recognize abnormality, but depends on circumstances

Irrationality and Dangerousness

• Exhibiting unorthodox and unexpected behaviors is often considered abnormal
• Posing a danger to oneself or others is seen as psychologically abnormal

Social Judgements

• Decisions about abnormal behavior include social judgments based on societal values and expectations
• Defining abnormality is influenced by culture
• What is considered abnormal shifts as society changes

Definition of Abnormal Behavior

• Psychological dysfunction within an individual is associated with distress and impairment, and is not culturally expected

Psychological Dysfunction

• Dysfunction involves behavioral, psychological, or biological malfunctions that are unexpected in a cultural context with distress and impaired functioning
• Defining dysfunction can be challenging, so prototypes (models) are a possible solution

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5)

• It is the accepted standard for defining mental disorders in the U.S
• It provides necessary information to diagnose disorders
• Important revisions incorporate new scientific developments
• It is guided by chance, continuity, and a minimal level of constraint
• It is updated to reflect society's shifts
• The bereavement exclusion area was removed

Classification Systems in Psychopathology

• Classification systems provide a nomenclature (naming system) for identifying disorders in shorthand terms
• Classification systems enable structured information and facilitate research
• Classification systems define the domain of psychopathology

Disadvantages of Classification Systems

• Shorthand information leads to loss of personal details
• Classification systems can create social stigma and stereotypes
• Labeling can reduce possibilities

Diagnostic Classifications

• Classifications classify disorders, not people
• People are not their diagnosis

Person First Language

• Avoid defining people by their illness
• Use respectful language

Reducing Prejudice

• Reduce prejudicial attitudes toward people with mental illness through education, positive interactions, and systemic change
• Promote compassion through education, debunking myths, accurate media, personal stories, respectful language, anti-discrimination policies, access to mental health services, and open conversations

Basic Concepts of Disorders

• The presenting problem is the specific issue(s) a client brings to a clinician
• The clinical description uniquely combines behaviors, thoughts, and feelings of a specific disorder

Duration of a Disorder

• A chronic disorder lasts a long time and possibly a lifetime
• Remission: the disappearance of symptoms
• Recurrence: continuation of suppressed symptoms
• Relapse: re-emergence of new symptoms
• An episodic disorder involves recovery within months and possible later recurrence
• A time-limited disorder resolves quickly with little to no risk of recurrence

Onset of a Disorder

• Acute onset: a disorder starts suddenly
• Insidious onset: a disorder develops gradually over time

Prognosis

• Prognosis: the anticipated course and onset of a disorder

Causation, Treatment, Etiology, and Outcomes of Disorders

• Etiology: The cause or origin of a disease or disorder
• Treatment: The management and care of a patient or combating a disease
• Outcomes: The result or effect of an action, situation, or event

Important Considerations for Causation

• Correlation does not imply causation
• Effect does not imply cause

Culture

• Culture shapes clinical presentation and sets the backdrop for evaluating abnormality

Epidemiology

• Epidemiology examines the distribution and frequency of disorders
• Incidence: the number of new cases in a period
• Prevalence: the total number of cases in a period

Earliest Views

• Understanding abnormal behavior has not progressed smoothly
• Dominant views impacted how abnormal behavior has been viewed

Medical Concepts

• Superstitious explanations were followed by medical concepts in places like Egypt and Greece

Figures in Early Medicine

• Hippocrates (460–377 B.C.): Mental illness results from natural causes and brain pathology, not demonic activity
• Plato (429–347 B.C.): Patients should be treated humanely and not held responsible
• Aristotle (384–322 B.C.): Various humors in the body cause mental illness
• Galen (A.D. 130–200): Mental disorders have physical and mental categories

Renaissance

• Scientific questioning and humane treatments reappeared in Europe

Figures in the Middle Ages

• Avicenna (c. 980–1037): Promoted humane treatment of mental disturbances
• Hildegard (1098-1179): Used natural objects for healing
• Paracelsus (1490–1541): Rejected demons and believed in psychic causes
• Johann Weyer (1515–1588): Argued against demonology
• Robert Burton (1576–1640): Wrote about depression
• William Tuke (1732-1822): Provided humane surroundings
• Philippe Pinel (1745–1826): Pioneered moral management

Figures in Moral Management

• Benjamin Rush (1745–1813): Advocated moral management
• Dorothea Dix (1802–1887): Improved the physical well-being of patients
• Clifford Beers (1876–1943): Campaigned for public attitude change
• Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815): Investigated hypnosis
• Emil Kraepelin (1856-1926): Developed the first diagnostic system
• Sigmund Freud (1856-1939): Psychoanalysis
• Wilhelm Wundt (1832–1920): Established experimental psychology
• J. McKeen Cattell (1860–1944): Studied individual differences
• Lightner Witmer (1867–1956): Established first psychological clinic
• William Healy (1869–1963): Mental illness is environmental and sociocultural factors

Progress in Mental Health

• Improved acceptance, methods, and scientific research are used

Closures of Mental Hospitals

• Movements were made to close mental hospitals though the new environment remains controversial

Psychological Factors

• Understanding psychological factors occurred with Sigmund Freud

Causal Factors and Viewpoints

• Psychopathology questions causes of mental distress and maladaptive behavior

Potential Actions to Take

• Preventing the condition and maintaining it
• Being able to classify and diagnose the disorder

Identify Risk Factors

• Observe what variables are associated with psychopathological outcomes

Correlations

• If X is associated with Y, then X is a correlate of Y
• If X is not associated with Y, then X is not a correlate of Y

Risk Factors

• If X occurs before Y, X is a risk factor for Y
• If X does not precede Y, X is not a risk factor for Y

Variable Factors

• If X can be manipulated or changed X is a variable risk factor
• If X cannot be manipulated or changed X is a fixed marker

Causality

• Causality can be ascertained if a change in X is associated with a change in Y

X and Y

• Y is a disorder occuring that is affected by causal risk factors
• If a change in X can lead to a change in Y, X is a causal risk factor
• If a change in X does not lead to a change in Y, X is a variable marker for Y

Necessary Cause

• It is a characteristic that must exist for Y to occur

Sufficient Cause

• It is a characteristic that guarantees the occurrence of the disorder

Contributory Cause

• Increases the likelihood a disorder will develope

Reinforcing Contributory Cause

• Maintains an already occurring disorder

Risk Factors

• Distal risk factors: occur early in life, effects manifest later
• Proximal risk factors: occur recently, effects manifest soon after

Feedback

• Feedback and Bidirectionality can affect abnormal behavior

Diathesis-Stress Models

• Diathesis: predisposition toward developing a disorder from different factors
• Stress: response or experience to perceived demands that exceed individual resources

Models

• Additive model: diathesis and stress combined cause disorder with high diathesis requiring low stree and vice versa
• Interactive Model: some diathesis must be present for stress to have any impact

Protective Factors

• Decrease the likelihood of negative outcomes
• Includes skills, strengths, or resources
• Protective factors buffer against negative outcomes for those with risk factors

Resilience

• Resilience is the ability to adapt successfully to difficult circumstances

Biological perspective

• Mental disorders are diseases and harmful deviations from the normal state
• Disorders primarily affect cognition, emotion, or behavior
• The central nervous, autonomic nervous, and/or endocrine systems are involved

Relevant Factors

• Genetic vulnerabilities
• Brain dysfunction and neural plasticity
• Neurotransmitter and hormonal abnormalities in the brain
• Temperament

Genetic Materials

• Human cells contains 23 pairs of chromosomes with genetic instructions
• 22 pairs determine anatomy and physiology
• 1 pair determines the sex
• Chromosomes are linked structures containing genes made of DNA
• Abnormalities affect major defects and disorders

Disorders

• Personality traits and disorders are not affected by chromosomal abnormalities
• Instead, personality traits and disorders are associated with polymorphis
• Vulnerabilities are caused by multiple genes and polymorphisms
• Behavior is a product between organism and environment

Gene Expression

• Gene expression is influenced by internal and external environments and genes can be tuned on or off by influencers

Hereditary

• Genotype is someones total genetic endowment
• Phenotype is how an interaction between the genotype and environment is observed
• Genes influence how experiences operate, and experiences influence how genes operate differently
• Genotype shapes environmental experiences

Factors in Behavior and Mental Processes

• passive effect: Genes and environment become linked without someone doing anything
• evocative effect: Genotype evokes or elicits certain reactions from people or social environments
• active effect: Genes correlate through actions of individual which is referred to as "niche-building."

Genetic Implications

• Strong effects can mean that environmental influences must be unimportant
• Genes impose a limit on potential
• Genetic effects diminish with age
• Disorders in families must be genetic if they do not run in the family

Nervous System

• CNS: Central (Brain and Spinal Cord)
• PNS: Peripheral (Somatic which controls movement and Autonomic which controls involuntary functions)

Other Functions

• Autonomic functions may relate to sympathic Fight or Flight and Parasympathetic Rest and Digest

Neuronal Communication

• Messages are transmitted from one neuron to the other through Neural transmission/action potential as well as synaptic transmission

Neurons with Types of Fluid

• Neurons are filled with fluid on the inside and outside
• Outside cell has positive sodium ions and inside has negative potassium
• Neurons are electrically polarized at resting state
• Neurons are permeable to adjacent neurons
• Depolarization allows rushing of positive neurons

Membrane

• Depolarization affects chain of events leading to action event
• Axon adjacent to permeable part and sodium producing causes depolarization

Processes

• Membrane regains semipermeability and positive sodium and disturbs adjacent membrane, membrane becomes depolarized

Axon

• Neurons work in chains not connected
• Synapse affects neurons, synapse has space, neural message is neurotransmitters that affect excitatory or inibitory neurotransmitters

Transmitter Systems

• Imbalances with transmitters caused by issues synapsing, issues with processing, and sensitive/insensitive receptors

Brain Regions

• Lowest level is the hindbrain, next level is midbrain, and largest is the forebrain
• Hindbrain routine performs keeps brain working

System Functions

• Midbrain helps control the postural systems which affect senses
• Forebrain includes thalamus, hypothalamus, and most of the limbic

Limbic System

• Thalamus route stimuli, links center of brain
• Hypothalamus manages emotions
• Amygdala helps key emotions
• Hippocampus helps with memories
• Cingulate helps process relation to processing

Forebrain

• Largests, controls conscious experience, actions, language, intelligence
• Cortex structure has body and grey matter, white matter
• Plasticitiy can change as responses

Cerebral Cortex

• Hormonal chemical affect hormones that affect the brain
• HPA has stress regulatory functions

Influences

• Psychoanalysis, ego and object, behavioral, cognitive approaches and theories are used

Psychoanalytic Theory

• Invest mental process as a way to collect information
• Psychic determinism ensures that mental processes are not random

Psychoanalytic Concept

• Understanding mind means undeterstanding structure
• Impulses trigger actions in ways that allow ways
• Erotic Impulse gives an instinct
• Catharsis allows investment in an object or person by libidinal

Freudian

• Psychoanalytic theory is when libido is incorrectly used
• Different models allow conscious processes like unconscious, preconscious, or conscious
• Provinces includes id, pleasure, reality, ego

Infantile Time

• Oral, Anal, and Phallic processes can be done with superego
• Anxieties involve stress
• Defesnes are needed

Defenses

• Displacement: releasing feelings onto dangerous items
• Fixation: attaching and unreasonable to people
• Projection: attriubting motives that are bad
• Rationalization: concealing behavior
• Formation; preventing unwanted behaviors
• Regression: withdrawing at levels
• Sublimation: substitution activities
• Introjection: adding attributes

Mental Stressors

• Development is good when adequately control
• Internal Conflicts can delay gratification

Object RElations Theory

• Refference involves persons environment
• External are physical
• Internal are emotional
• Person impacts relationship

Individuals Relations

• Viewing people has an integrates view
• Cannot hold a "split"

ATTACHMENT THEORY

• Connects strong individual and people
• Relations heavily impact development in social areas

Influences on Interations

• Foundation can allow secure interactions
• Bonding helps them navigate
• Secureness helps base and explore

Attachment Styles

• Secure, Avoidant, and ambivalent are some known areas
• Styles vary per individual
• Behavorial theories state that the study of behavior and stimuli control is basis for what can serve behavior
• Studies from tests with patients state this

Learned Habits

• Can come with preactice or experience or learning
• Includes conditioning

Stimuli Theories

• Conditioning allows a reoccur stimuli
• Former stimilu allows capacity with repeated parings
• Organisms follow stimili expectations
• Behaviour may be conditioned

Cognitive Responses

• Frequency allows an increases or decreases with operant conditioning
• When behaviors operate allows results will result as will determine engagement

Understanding

• Can come for both observational, unconditioned simuli, or rienforcers
• Maladaptive behaviour can be used as a result
• Competency allows relations
• Unrelated stimuli must result

Cognition Perspective of Social Health

• Humanistic sees human nature is good
• Expresses processes of social health

Behaviour Approach

• Can focus more on irrationa and is unique

Psychology

• Process of basic information is processed
• Self Control can give a way
• Perspective shows thoughts and lead to emotions