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Disorders Chapter 15
Abnormal Behaviour Example
• Two weeks ago, a man jumped
from a 401 overpass after
throwing his 5 year old daughter
off. He died and she is still in
guarded condition in the
hospital. He left a suicide note
that seemed to indicate that he
wanted to punish his wife.
• Model:
Framework of explanation
• Abnormal psychology:
Use models to explain
maladapative behavior
Models of Abnormal
Behaviour
The Medical-Biological Model
• assumes psychological
disorders result from anxiety
produced by unresolved
conflicts outside a person’s
awareness
The Humanistic Model
• Abnormal behaviour is
learned through selective
reinforcement and
punishment
The Cognitive Model
• Maladjustment occurs
within and because of a
context – family,
community, culture, etc.
• humans evolved in a
specific environment
• Maladjustments may be
expressions of behaviour that
would once have been
normal in evolutionary history
• (e.g., phobias, aggression)
Which Model Is Best?
• Some psychologists use
only one model to
analyze all behaviour
problems
- Potential biases
- Symptom focus rather
than etiology
- Too complex
- Medical model focus
- Reliability
- Pathologize everyday
behaviour
Anxiety Disorders
Defining Anxiety
• Anxiety :
a generalized feeling of
fear and apprehension
that may be related to a
particular situation or
object often
accompanied by
increased physiological
arousal
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Diagnostic Criteria:
• Risk factors
– suicide
• Comorbidity
– Depression
– Substance abuse
Phobic Disorders
• Phobic disorders :
– Irrational fear of an
object or a situation
• Accompanied by panic
attacks
• Often brought on by
interpersonal stress
Social Phobia
• Excessive fear and
avoidance of situations
where one might be
scrutinized by others
• Categories of specific
phobias: animal, natural
environment, blood-injection-
injury, situational, other
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
• Persistent, uncontrollable
thoughts and irrational
beliefs that cause
compulsive rituals that
interfere with daily life
– Obsessions =
thoughts
– Compulsions = behaviors
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
• 80% of cases report both
obsessions and compulsions
• Neurological mechanisms
identified (frontal lobe and
amygdala)
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Mood Disorders
Depressive Disorders
• Depressive disorders
– General category of mood
disorders in which people
show extreme and
persistent sadness, despair,
and loss of interest in life’s
usual activities
• Insomnia
• Weight loss
• Loss of energy
• Feelings of
worthlessness and
guilt
• Inability to
concentrate
• Suicidality
Major Depressive Disorder:
Onset and Duration
• Onset
– usually prior to age 40
• Duration
– days, weeks, or months
– Single episode or
recurring episodes
Major Depressive Disorder:
Prevalence
• Major depressive disorder
affects about 1.3 million
Canadians each year
• A physical examination
• Thyroid, virus, anemia?
• Brain disorders
• A psychiatric history
• Course, genetics, history
• A mental status examination
• Evaluate the current
status/severity
• Rule out dysthymia
SAD: Seasonal Affective Disorder
Causes of Major Depressive
Disorder (many & varied)
Biological Theories:
genetics
children of depressed
parents
twin studies
neurotransmitters
e.g. Monoamine theory
dopamine,
norepinephrine, epinephrine,
serotonin
Learning and Cognitive
Theories
• Learning and thoughts underlie
depression
• Lewinsohn:
• Beck:
– Negative views of self, environment, future
– Poor self-concept and negative expectations
– Negative interpretation of self and the world in
general
Figure 15.2 Lewinsohn’s View of Depression
Learned Helplessness
• Depressed Phase:
symptoms of depression
• Dissociative amnesia –
• Negative symptoms –
– Lack of things that are there in
normal people
– Can’t experience pleasure
– Lack of appropriate emotional
response
Schizophrenia: Language and
Thought Disturbances
• Difficulty maintaining logical thought and coherent
conversation
• Word Salad – “I am of pepper and music that makes the news.”
• Hallucinations –
visual, tactile, olfactory, auditory
• ambivalent affect –
– Emotional range is marked and
dramatic
• flat affect –
– No emotional response
Schizophrenia: Behavioural
Disturbances
• Disturbances in behaviour
may take the form of
unusual actions that have
special meaning
• Undifferentiated –
– Delusions, hallucinations,
incoherence, grossly disorganized
behavior, but doesn’t meet criteria of
other subtypes
Causes of Schizophrenia
• Diathesis-stress model of
schizophrenia –
– Biology
• Twin studies (identical = 48% concordance
/ fraternal = 17%)
• Parent-child (1 = 3 to 14% / 2 = 35%)
• Brain structures – enlarged ventricles
– Environment
• Emotionally fragmented
– Alcoholism, abuse, communication patterns
Causes of Schizophrenia
Biological Factors:
• Genetics
• Neurotransmitters (dopamine – too much);
glutamate; GABA
• Brain Function
• Vulnerability is a
diminished ability to deal
with demanding life
events
MEDIA DEPICTION OF
SCHIZOPHRENIA
Personality Disorders
Personality Disorders
• Axis II of the DSM
classification system
• Personality disorders –
psychological disorders
characterized by
inflexible and long-
standing maladaptive
behaviours that typically
cause stress and/or
social or occupational
problems
Personality Disorders: Clusters
• Three broad classes or clusters:
A) odd or eccentric –
Paranoid PDO
C) anxious or fearful –
Dependent PDO