Psychological

Disorders
 Psychological Disorders

❚ Criteria
❙ Atypical- deviation from norms or
statistics
❙ Disturbing to society- varies with time &
culture
❙ Maladaptive - difficulty functioning in
society
❙ Harmful to self or others -
homicide/suicide
Three models of
psychological disorders

1. Ancient Perspective
2. Bio-Psycho-Social Model
3. Medical Model
Ancient Perspective
❚ Perceived Causes
❙ movements of sun or moon
❘ lunacy- full moon
❙ evil spirits
❚ Ancient Treatments
❙ exorcism, caged like animals, beaten,
burned, castrated, mutilated, blood
replaced with animal’s blood
 Psychological Disorders
❚ Bio-psycho-
Biological
(chemistry, brain) social Model
❙ assumes that
biological,
socio-cultural,
and
Psychological psychological
Sociocultural ( learned helplessness,
(Societal expectations, negative perceptions factors
and memories)
definition of normality
and disorder)
combine and
interact to
produce
Medical Model

❚ Mental illnesses have physical

causes
❚ Diagnosis (will tell you about)
❙ etiology
❙ prognosis
❙ treatment
Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders

❚ DSM
❙ a guide based on the medical model
❙ gives criteria for classifying
psychological disorders
DSM-IV Disorders
❚ Anxiety
❚ Mood
❚ Schizophrenia
❚ Personality
❚ Dissociative
DSM-IV: Anxiety Disorders
Physical and mental tension or
maladaptive behaviors that reduce
anxiety
❚ Generalized Anxiety Disorder
❙ physiological arousal: reports tension and
apprehension daily
❚ Phobia
❙ persistent, irrational fear of a specific object
or situation
 Anxiety Disorders
❚ Common and uncommon phobias
100
Percentage 90
of people 80
surveyed
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Snakes Being Mice Flying Being Spiders Thunder Being Dogs Driving Being Cats
in high, on an closed in, and and alone a car In a
exposed airplane in a insects lightning In a crowd
places small house of people
place at night

Afraid of it Bothers slightly Not at all afraid of it

Anxiety Disorders
❚ Panic Disorder
❙ periodic episodes of intense dread with
terror, chest pain, choking, or other
frightening sensations
❚ Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
❙ unwanted repetitive thoughts
(obsessions) and/or actions
(compulsions)
Anxiety Disorders
Common Obsessions and Compulsions Among
People With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Thought or Behavior Percentage*
Reporting Symptom
Obsessions (repetitive thoughts)
Concern with dirt, germs, or toxins 40
Something terrible happening (fire, death, illness) 24
Symmetry order, or exactness 17
Compulsions (repetitive behaviors)
Excessive hand washing, bathing, tooth brushing, 85
or grooming
Repeating rituals (in/out of a door, 51
up/down from a chair)
Checking doors, locks, appliances, 46
car brake, homework
Mood Disorders

❚ Mood Disorders: Emotional

extremes
❙ Major depressive disorder
❙ Bipolar disorder
Major Depressive Disorder:
Some DSM criteria

❚ two or more weeks of depressed

moods (sadness)
❚ feelings of worthlessness, and
❚ diminished interest or pleasure
in most activities
 Mood Disorders-
Depression
Around the world
women are more
Percentage 20 susceptible to
of population depression
aged 18-84
experiencing 15
major
depression 10
at some
point In life
5

USA Edmonton Puerto Paris West Florence Beirut Taiwan Korea New
Rico Germany Zealand
Bipolar Disorder
❚ formerly called manic-depressive
disorder
❚ the person alternates between the
depression and mania
❙ Mania: a mood disorder marked by
a hyperactive, wildly optimistic
state
Mood Disorders-
Bipolar
❚ PET scans show that brain energy
consumption rises and falls with emotional
swings

Depressed state Manic state Depressed state

 Mood Disorders-
Suicide

Suicides per 70 The higher suicide rate

100,000 people 60 among men greatly
increases in late
50 adulthood
40
30
20
10
0
15-24 25-34 35-44 45-44 55-64 65-74 75-84 85+

Males Females
Mood Disorders-
Depression
❚ Altering any
one
Brain
chemistry
Cognition component of
the chemistry-
cognition-
mood circuit
Mood can alter the
others
Schizophrenia
❚ A Psychotic Disorder
❙ Psychotic: loss of contact with
reality
❙ Characteristics:
❘ disorganized and delusional thinking
❘ disturbed perceptions
❘ inappropriate emotions and actions
Schizophrenia
❚ Delusions
❙ false beliefs, often of persecution
or grandeur
❚ Hallucinations
❙ false sensory experiences (can be
auditory or visual)
 Schizophrenia
Subtypes of Schizophrenia

Paranoid: Preoccupation with delusions or hallucinations

Disorganized: Disorganized speech, flat or inappropriate emotion

Catatonic: Immobility (waxy flexibility!)

Undifferentiated Schizophrenia symptoms but doesn’t fit one of the

or residual: above types; or previously schizophrenic
 Schizophrenia

Lifetime risk 40
of developing
schizophrenia 30
for relatives of
a schizophrenic 20

10

General Siblings Children Fraternal Children Identical

population twin of two twin
schizophrenia
victims
Personality Disorders

❚ Personality Disorders
❙ enduring behavior patterns that
impair social functioning
Personality Disorders

❚ Antisocial Personality Disorder

❙ disorder in which the person
(usually a man) lacks a conscience
or guilt
❙ may be ruthless or a clever con
artist
Personality Disorders
Those with criminal
convictions have lower
levels of arousal
Adrenaline 15
excretion(ng/min)
10

Nonstressful Stressful
situation situation
No criminal conviction
Criminal conviction
Personality Disorders
PET scans illustrate reduced activation in a
murderer’s frontal cortex
Normal Murderer
Dissociative
Disorders
❚ Dissociative Disorders
❙ conscious awareness becomes
separated (dissociated) from previous
memories, thoughts, and feelings
❚ Dissociative Identity Disorder
❙ person has two or more distinct and
alternating personalities
❙ formerly called multiple personality
disorder