Psychology Class Notes >

Psychology Disorders (Abnormal

Psychology)
183

Abnormal Psychology - Let's start with a question. NORMAL - what does it mean
to you? This word seems to mean very different things to different people and
especially, in different situations.
How many of us here would say we are normal? What if asked to evaluate your own
intelligence - would you say your intelligence level or ability is "normal"?
Is normal average. Certainly the word average constitutes the majority, and isn't it
the majority that determines what is normal? Is normality simply fitting within the
confines of the majority - in other words, being average?
I. Basic Issues
A. What is "abnormal" behavior?
1. Contributes to maladaptiveness in an individual
2. Considered deviant by a culture (thus it is culture specific)
3. Leads to personal psychological distress
4. unusual, rare, but not necessarily bizarre
B. What are some common myths about abnormality?
1. Bizarre
2. Different in kind
3. dangerous
4. Shameful
5. Self-induced
C. Let's take a closer Look at each component
1. Maladaptive Behavior
a) an inability to handle daily life events For example, many people drink, but when
drinking interferes with social and/or professional life it can be considered
maladaptive.
b) this is a very important component in diagnosing problems such as drug abuse
2. Deviant Behavior
a) behavior that falls outside the boundaries deemed acceptable by a culture

For example: *men wear kilts in Scotland, *living arrangements in villages in Papua
New Guinea
3. Personal Psychological Distress
not necessarily overt behavior...reports of feelings of sadness, anxiety, etc., to
friends and/or family.
important in determining and diagnosing psychological disorders
4. Unusual but not necessarily bizarre like deviant behavior, this is often governed by
the culture. But, now we also include personal history, experiences, race, religion,
etc. D. Behavior on a Continuum Many textbooks do good jobs of explaining how
behavior can be viewed on a continuum from normal to abnormal as opposed to
ONLY normal or abnormal. WHY this is important:
1. It is difficult to accurately distinguish normal from abnormal
On occasion don't we all have some personal distress?
2. We have ALL displayed some abnormal behavior at some point in our lives
**the key is how much of each and how often do they occur.
E. What causes abnormality? Models of Abnormality.
1. Medical model: mental illness/also referred to as Biological Model
illness idea (abnormal behavior, maladaptive behavior, mental disorder,
psychopathology, emotional disturbance, behavior disorder, mental illness,
mental disease, insanity)
organic, yes: alcoholics, senility, strokes,
functional, ?: no link to physical factors
2. Psychoanalytic - all disorders due to internal problems/turmoil. He related ALL
neuroses (abnormal behavior caused by anxiety) to the Oedipul Complex.
3. Learning Model stems from Bandura's social learning theory - behavior is the
result of observation and imitation of others.
4. Cognitive Model
thought processes cause distress - follows the Psychosomatic Model
5. Legal Model

if you break the rules or laws determined by society you may be considered
psychologically imbalanced. In fact, many say that the legal definition of "insanity" is
being incapable of standing trial.
II. How do psychologists identify disorders? The classification problem: disorders
(problems not clear cut)
1. DSM-IV of APA (uses a MULTIAXIAL system) *Axis = dimension
2. Axes I & II - used for diagnosis of disorders
Axis I - identification of major disorders
Axis II - identification of personality or developmental disorders (often
comorbidity exists)
3. Remaining Axes are then used for supplemental information
Axis III - physical problems
Axis IV - severity of stress
Axis V - current level of adaptive functioning The multiaxial system is a good
thing - it attempts to show the BIG PICTURE of the person and not just focus
on one "abnormal" or "unusual" factor, symptom, behavior, etc.
III. DISORDERS
A. Anxiety Disorders: All characterized by high (very high) apprehension and anxiety,
tension, and nervousness
1. Generalized anxiety disorder and panic consists of prolonged, vague, unexplained
but intense fears that do not seem to be attached to any particular object.
very much like regular fears, but no actual danger
objective anxiety vs. free-floating anxiety
tense, apprehensive (concerns about future), difficulty concentrating, irritable,
worried, can't concentrate
headaches, insomnia, upset stomach, aching muscles, need to much sleep,
sweating, dizziness, etc.
Hypervigilance - always scanning the area for danger although none usually
exists.

 GAD - anxiety persists for at least 1 month (usually longer) and is not
attributable to recent life experiences (although they may play a role)
2. Panic disorder
severe anxiety moments
"nervous breakdown," a case of the nerves
3. Phobias: an intense, recurrent, unreasonable fear of a specific object or situation
which leads to avoidance of the object or situation
Simple Phobias (relatively rare) - an isolated fear of a single object or situation
that results in avoidance
o
miscellaneous category comprising irrational fears that don't fall under
any other category. For example - claustrophobia
Social Phobias - characterized by fear and embarrassment in dealings with
others. Often the fear is that their anxiety will be seen by others.
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Examples: public speaking, eating in public, interpersonal relationship

fears (asserting one's self, criticism, making a mistake, etc).

4. obsessive-compulsive
obsessions: persistent, irrational thought that presses itself into awareness at
odd times, idea that keeps returning
* often involve doubt, hesitation, fear of contamination, or fear of one's own
aggressions
compulsion: action that is continually repeated, e.g., mother with obsession
seeing herself stabbing kids, leads to counting up knives, keeping them
locked
most common compulsive behaviors: counting, ordering, checking, touching,
and washing
some are purely mental rituals like reciting a series of magical numbers to
ward off obsessive thoughts
* Most Common Features:
obsession or compulsion keeps getting into awareness

 feelings of anxiety or dread occurs if the act/thought is thwarted

seen as a separate being, not part of one's self, and is uncontrollable
person realizes how irrational their behavior is but can't stop
person feels the need to resist
* variety of rituals is endless, but there are 4 main types of preoccupations:
checking - doors, stoves, etc.
cleaning - refuse to use public phones, restrooms, etc., vacuum all day long
slowness - can't get through other tasks - preoccupied with compulsion
doubting OR conscientiousness - even when something is done carefully they
feel it was inadequate.
* Twin studies have indicated some support for the genetic basis
B. Somatoform disorders
1. Hypocondriasis: incessant worrying over health (not actual, physical illness as in
stress-induced illness like ulcers)
2. Conversion (loss of sensory functions): not psychosomatic illness, real loss e.g.,
glove anesthesia, "hysterical blindness"
C. Dissociative: several varieties, all ways to keep information about self out, lock
things away, loss of identity
1. Amnesia: forgetting past
2. fugue states: flight away from life, self: sometimes short, sometimes long
3. multiple personality not same as a split personality, three faces of Eve
D. Affective/Mood Disorders
definition - disturbances in mood or emotionality not due to any physical or mental
disorder (no bereavement, anxiety disorder, etc).
There are essentially 2 types: Depressive disorder, and Bipolar disorder

1. Depressive Disorder (unipolar)- persistent feelings of sadness and despair, and a

loss of interest in previously enjoyable activities/events. Also may include: marked
weight loss, sleep problems, unclear thinking, etc.
*a depressive episode must last for at least 2 weeks for classification. Then, if there
are 2 episodes of at least 2 week episodes, the person is diagnosed with Major
Depression:
a) Major Depression
1) Extreme unhappiness, may be attributed to some specific
factor, but prolonged
2) some changes from normal to depressed
Normal

Depressed

friends

antisocial

affection

revulsion & loss

of feelings

favorite activity gives

pleasure

boredom

humor/amusement

loss of humor

self-care

self-neglect

success/achievement

withdrawal

self-preservation

suicidal thoughts

good sleep

disturbed sleep

energy
fatigued
If the depressive episode lasts for an extended period, person may be
classified as having:
b) Dysthymia: affect is not so negative, but very long-term
* like depression, except continous, chronic state that has lasted for as much as two
years (one year
for adolescents)--almost like a "depressive personality disorder", with depression
being a
fundamental part of the individual's personality

2. Bipolar Disorder (Manic-depressive)

a) shifts back and forth in emotion, from depression (as described above to mania:
extremely high amounts of energy, excited
b) nature of the manic phase

 distinct period in which the predominant mood is quite elevated, it may look
euphoric and cheerful to an uninvolved observer, but to those who know the
person well it is clearly excessive
mania is usually accompanied by a decreased need for sleep, person has lots
of energy
you see a dramatic impairment in the person's functioning - they are bouncing
off the walls,
agitated
it's the opposite of depression in that you see the manic excessively involved
in pleasurable
activities, shopping sprees, hypersexuality
their speech may be loud, rapid, difficult to interrupt, and full of jokes and puns
c) Symptoms
depressed and pessimistic to uninhibited, delusions of grandeur, wild ideas
slow, tired, no energy to enthusiasm, excitement, energetic
speech slow to mile a minute talking, joking
sleeps a lot to little sleep
euphoric, happy to sadness
thinking is blocked, no ideas to wild
thoughts, ideas, bizarre behavior

E. Schizophrenia - actually part of a category of mental disorders known as

psychoses
psychosis - a disorder that involves alterations of perceptions, thought, or
consciousness. A psychotic person is said to be detached from reality (not
necessarily continuously) but believes their perceptions to be true.
most serious, 1 in 50 in U.S. (1% of poulation), 25% of hospitalized mentally
ill, high return rate,
usually under 35 when first admitted

 characterized by psychotic symptoms, which means a loss of contact with

reality
the individual detaches from reality and develops an elaborate inner world
which is illogical and
fantastic
also characterized by thought disorder, which involves a kind of unraveling of
thinking processes, the person's associations become loose, and language
and communication become disturbed, what they say makes no sense
(WORD SALAD)
why called split personality: split from reality, doesn't react right; also, the self
is split into fragments (but this is NOT the same as multiple personality)
Symptoms: best considered to be a group of psychotic reactions
Deterioration of behavior - the person declines from a previous level of
functioning, "not himself" e.g., example of Fred who went from being an
honor student in school, to failing grades, getting into trouble, and using
drugs over a two year period until finally having psychotic breakdown at age
16
Irrational, disordered thought(delusions), incoherence in ideas Delusions are
beliefs or a belief system that a person has which are almost certainly not
true; thoughts being broadcast from one's head often these have religious
content or the conviction that one is being controlled by outside forces, e.g.,

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