Psychological

Disorders
Chapter 13

S
 Defining and
Diagnosing Mental
Disorders

S
 What do you think?

The definition of ________ includes any behavior or

emotional state that causes a person to suffer, is self-
destructive, seriously impairs the person’s ability to
work or get along with others, or endangers others or
the community.
A. insanity

B. mental disorders

C. Both of the above

 What is Abnormal
Behavior?

S Not typical or culturally expected

S Distress

S Dysfunction
Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual (DSM)

Provides clear diagnostic description of the various mental

disorders

Is designed to assist mental health professionals in the

determination of who does and who does not suffer from a
mental illness
 Explosion of mental
disorders

Supporters of new categories

answer that it is important to
distinguish disorders precisely.

Critics point to economics:

diagnoses are needed for
insurance reasons for therapists
to be compensated.
Concerns about the
DSM

The danger of overdiagnosis

The power of diagnostic labels

Confusion of serious mental

disorders with normal problems

The illusion of objectivity

Advantages of the DSM

When the manual is used correctly and diagnoses

are made with valid objective tests, the DSM
improves the reliability of diagnosis.
It also may be a helpful tool in making the most
effective treatments available to those suffering
from different disorders.
 Projective tests

Projective tests

Psychological tests used to infer a person’s motives,

conflicts, and unconscious dynamics on the basis of the
person’s interpretation of ambiguous stimuli

Can be particularly useful for assessing children who may

have issues that are shameful or embarrassing to
discuss.

The validity and reliability of such tests are often called

into question.

Rorschach inkblot test

A projective personality test that asks respondents to

interpret abstract, symmetrical inkblots
 Objective tests
(Inventories)

Standardized objective questionnaires requiring written

responses
Typically include scales on which people are asked to rate
themselves

Inventories are generally more reliable and valid than either

projective methods or subjective clinical judgments.
Minnesota Multiphasic
Personality Inventory

A widely used personality instrument

Includes ten indices, or scales, of personality

Also includes validity scales designed to make

sure that respondents are answering in a true and
honest fashion
Anxiety Disorders

S
 Generalized anxiety
disorder

A continuous state of anxiety marked by feelings of

worry and dread, apprehension, difficulties in
concentrating, and signs of motor tension

Genetic predisposition
Genes may be involved in causing abnormalities in the amygdala and the
prefrontal cortex.

Experience
Some chronically anxious people have a history, starting in childhood, of
being unable to control or predict their environments.
 Generalized anxiety
disorder

S Frequency of
symptoms in
cases of
Generalized
Anxiety Disorder
Posttraumatic stress
disorder

An anxiety disorder in which a

person who has experienced a
traumatic or life-threatening
event has symptoms such as
psychic numbing, reliving the
trauma, and increased
physiological arousal

Diagnosed only if symptoms

persist for one month or longer

May immediately follow event or

occur later
 Panic disorder

An anxiety disorder in which a person experiences

recurring panic attacks

A panic attack is a period of intense fear and feelings of

impending doom or death, accompanied by physiological
symptoms such as rapid heart rate and dizziness.

Such attacks may come out of nowhere, but often occur in

response to extended stress, prolonged emotions, specific
worries, or frightening experiences.
 What do you know?

When Charlie takes a test, his heart begins

pounding, his palms begin to sweat, and he
has a difficult time breathing. Charlie worries
that he is about to have a heart attack. Which
type of disorder might Charlie have?
A. Generalized anxiety disorder

B. Panic disorder

C. PTSD
 Phobias

Phobia
An exaggerated, unrealistic fear of a specific situation, activity, or
object
Social phobia
Individuals become extremely anxious in situations in which they
will be observed by others - eating in a restaurant, speaking in
public, having to perform for an audience.

Agoraphobia
A set of phobias, often set off by a panic attack, involving the basic
fear of being away from a safe place or person
Obsessive-compulsive
disorder (OCD)

An anxiety disorder in which a

person feels trapped in
repetitive, persistent thoughts
(obsessions) and repetitive,
ritualized behaviors
(compulsions) designed to
reduce anxiety

Person understands that the

ritual behavior is senseless but
anxiety mounts if the behavior is
not performed.
 Your turn

If you have the persistent thought that gremlins are

sabotaging any airplane you are on or will be on, then
you have a(n) _____. If you cannot stop asking for
more water during flights, then you have a(n) _____.
1. Obsession; compulsion

2. Compulsion; obsession

3. Phobia; obsession

4. Plane ticket; pet camel

Mood Disorders

S
 Depression

Major depression

A mood disorder involving disturbances in emotion

(excessive sadness), behavior (loss of interest in one’s
usual activities), cognition (thoughts of hopelessness), and
body function (fatigue and loss of appetite), which last at
least two weeks
 Symptoms of
depression

Depressed mood
Reduced interest in almost all activities
Overeating or not eating much at all
Sleeping too much or too little
Fatigue
Difficulty with concentration
 Bipolar disorder

S A mood disorder in which episodes of

depression and mania (excessive euphoria)
occur
 What do you know?

Serena sometimes feels absolutely on top of the

world. She feels ecstatic for no apparent reason,
and everything around her seems to be wonderful
and beautiful. However, after a few weeks of feeling
great, Serena becomes horribly upset, begins
sleeping 12 hours a day, and constantly crying.
Which disorder might Serena have?
A. Clinical depression

B. Bipolar disorder
Vulnerability-stress
model

S An approach that emphasizes

how individual vulnerabilities
interact with external stressors
or circumstances to produce
mental disorders
Personality Disorders

S
Personality disorders

Personality disorder
Maladaptive patterns that cause great personal distress or an inability
to get along with others

Borderline personality disorder

Characterized by intense but unstable relationships, impulsiveness,
self-mutilating behavior, feelings of emptiness, and a fear of
abandonment by others.

Antisocial personality disorder (APD)

Characterized by a lifelong pattern of irresponsible, antisocial
behavior such as lawbreaking, violence, and other impulsive, restless
acts
Dissociative Identity
Disorder

S
 Dissociative identity
disorder

A controversial disorder marked by the appearance

within one person of two or more distinct personalities,
each with its own name and traits
Formerly known as Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD)
Schizophrenia

S
 Symptoms of
schizophrenia

Bizarre delusions
Hallucinations and heightened sensory awareness
Disorganized, incoherent speech
Grossly disorganized and inappropriate behavior
Impaired cognitive abilities
 Delusions and
hallucinations

Delusions

Odd or unusual ways of thinking that are not founded in

reality

Hallucinations
False sensory experiences that feel intensely real
The most common type is an auditory hallucination.