Psychological Disorders
Defining abnormality
- Satistical abnormality
- Social or culutral nonconformity
- Subjective discomfort
- Maladaptive behavior
Statisitcal abnormalities and limitations
- Rare or unusual behavior is statistically abnormal
- Traits have normal distributions
- Extreme scores suggest statistical abnormality
Clinical scales on the MMPI-2 provide evidence of statistical abnormality
- Due to LIMITATIONS, clinical judgments about mental disorders are never based solely on statisitcal abnormality
Why is abnormality defined by social/culutral nonconformity
- Failure to conform to societal norms or standards for acceptable conduct
- not always a problem (lady gaga meat dress)
- Informs diagnoses of some mental disorders
e.g. antisocial personality disorder
Why is abnormality defined by subjective discomfort
- Private feelings of pain, unhappiness or emotional distress
- Important criterion for clinical judgments because it may not be evident to outside observers
Limitations - sometimes normal and expected, not always present in mental disorders
Why is abnormality defined by maladaptive behavior
- Consider whether there are impairments in social or occupational functioning
- Clinical judgments about psychological disorders nearly always take this into consideration
- One way to differentiate normal negative emotions from ones that are problematic
How is the DSM-5 used to define and diagnose mental disorders
Mental disorders are defined by a set of symptoms that desribes a prototype
e.g. depression only requires 5/10 of the symptoms
- Diagnosed categorically (either diagnosed or not, no in between)
- diagnosed by experts
What is a mental disorder - DSM-5 definition
A disturbance in thoughts, emotions or behavior due to a psychological dysfunction within an individual, which is associated with personal distress or impairment in functioning, and is not typical or culturally expected
Psychological dysfunction
Cognitive, emotional, behavioral and underlying biological systems not functioning properly
- Underlying cause of the symptoms of the disorder
e.g. schizophrenia (auditory and visual sense do not work properly)
Benefits and drawbacks to diagnosing mental disorders
Purpose:
- Facilitates communication among mental health professionals
- Prognosis
- Treatment planning
- Forensic purposes
Stgma:
- Diagnostic labels can develop negative connotations
- Stigma can interfere with treatment and result in discrimination
- Important to label problem not people (diagnosed with schizophrenia not a "schizophrenic")
Major anxiety disorders
Generalized anxiety disorder - chronic, excessive worry about many things
Specific phobia - persistent, irrational fear of specific object or situation
Social anxiety disorder - irrational fear of humiliation and embarrassment
Panic disorder - sudden, recurring panic attacks and anxiety that might occur again in public places
Agoraphobia - phobia and avoidance of public places, usually where a panic attack has occured
Other disorders related to anxiety
OCD - repetitive, intrusive thoughtd and ritualistic behaviors performed to neutralize anxiety
PTSD - four weeks following trauma exposure; experience of haunting memories, nightmares, flashbakcs and avoidance of reminders of the trauma
Stimulus generalization
Conditioned fears generalize to objects or situations similar to those present when classical conditioning took place
Operant conditioning
negative reinforcement of avoidance
Preparedness theory
Humans have evolved a biological predisposition to fear things that have been dangerous in the past
Social factors to prevent anxiety disorders
Social support is important to prevent people from developping anxiety disorders espeically after following a tragic event.
e.g hurricane andrew and the children, less likely ro develop PTSD when social support was accessible