PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS

hearing / seeing things

irrational beliefs

disorders of emotion or mood

abnormal behavior can be acquired through behavioral learning - operant and classical conditioning

abnormal behaviors are influenced by mental processes

behaviour, cognition and social factors all influence each other (reciprocal determinism)

showing prolonged levels of unease or anxiety

acting in ways that make others fearful or interfere with one's well-being

talking or acting in ways that are irrational or incomprehensible to others

behaving erratically and inconsistently

behaving in ways that are statistically rare and violate social norms

contains 300 disorders

after the depressing event has passed but the feeling remain for weeks, months or longer

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

- most likely to experience symptoms of depression during months of shortened periods of sunlight

alternating periods of depression and extreme mania

- persistent and pervasive feelings of anxiety that comes out of nowhere and lasts for long periods
- no external cause

increased heart rate, feeling dizzy, hands become sweaty, feeling like you might die

fear of public crowded spaces, open spaces

irrational fear of a specific object, activity or situation

claustrophobia - fear of enclosed spaces

acrophobia - fear of heights

more in TB pg 582 - 583, Table 3

CAUSE
- Preparedness hypothesis: we have the innate tendencies to respond quickly and automatically to stimuli that posed a survival threat to our ancestors

obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors

tendency to run in families suggest a genetic link

learned that their anxiety-provoking thoughts are connected to harmful consequences

TREATMENT
- changing the individual's behaviour through extinction and will inevitable change the brain

- exaggerated sense of self-importance, a need for constant attention or admiration and often a preoccupation with fantasies of success or power

- no empathy for others

lack sense of responsibilities to others and violations of social norms begin early in lives: disrupts class, getting into fights and running away from home

unstable and impulsive behaviours

impoverished ability to "read" other people, use language and interact socially

difficulty in reading. not a problem of visual sensation or perception but rather abnormality in the brain's language-processing circuits

disability involving short attention span, distractibility and extreme difficulty in remaining inactive for any period

Disorganized

incoherent speech, hallucinations, delusions and bizarre behaviour

Catatonic

involves remaining motionless or extreme excitement

Paranoid

combination of delusions and hallucinations

Undifferentiated

displaying a combination of symptoms that do not clearly fit in one of the other categories

Residual

had a past episode of schizophrenia but are free of symptoms

Positive
- person displays active symptoms (e.g. delusions, hallucinations)

Negative
- passive processes and deficiencies (e.g. social withdrawal, lack of emotional expression, lack of pleasure in life and poverty of thinking)

Genetics

Abnormal brain structure
- enlarged ventricles in brain of schizophrenic twin

Biological factors
- antipsychotic drugs which interfere with the brain's dopamine receptors, suppress symptoms of positive schizophrenic symptoms

- drugs that stimulate dopamine reactions can actually produce schizophrenic reactions

Diathesis-stress hypothesis
- genetic factor place the individual at risk but environmental stress factors transform this potential into an actual schizophrenic disorder

individual blocks out certain information, usually associated with a stressful incident, leaving one unable to remember personal information

dissociative amnesia with the addition of "flight"from one's home, family and job

involves a sensation that mind and body has separated

individual who experienced severe physical trauma, had a near-death experience or using recreational drugs may report symptoms of depersonalization

individual displaying more than two identities

may be a defense by the dominant personality to protect oneself from terrifying events or memories

has a consciousness of its own and emerges suddenly usually under stress

paralysis, weakness, loss of sensation but with no physical cause

problem seems to be "all in the mind"

individual worry about getting sick. every ache and pain signals a disease