Class notes
Psy 101 - Abnormal Psychology Notes
- Course
- Psychology 101
- Institution
- Indiana University
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Unit 12: Abnormal BehaviorModule 65: Introduction to Psychological Disorders
65-1: How do we draw the line between normality and disorder?
psychological disorder: a syndrome marked by a clinically significant disturbance in an
individual’s cognition, emotion regulation, or behavior.
Summary:
● According to psychologists and psychiatrists, a psychological disorder is a
syndrome marked by a clinically significant disturbance in an individual’s
cognition, emotion regulation, or behavior.
● Disordered thoughts, emotions, or behaviors are dysfunctional or maladaptive,
interfering with normal daily life.
Review Questions:
● What is a psychological disorder?
● What are some things associated with psychological disorder that interfere with
normal daily life?
65-2: How do the medical model and the biopsychosocial approach influence our
understanding of psychological disorders?
medical model: the concept that diseases, in this case psychological disorders, have
physical causes that can be diagnosed, treated, and, in most cases, cured, often
through treatment in a hospital.
Epigenetics: the study of environmental influences on gene expression that occur
without a DNA change
Summary:
● The medical model assumes that psychological disorders are mental illnesses
with physical causes that can be diagnosed, treated, and, in most cases, cured
through therapy, sometimes in a hospital.
● The biopsychosocial approach assumes that three sets of influences—biological,
psychological, and social-cultural—interact to produce specific psychological
disorders.
● Culture-specific disorders, the vulnerability stress model, and epigenetics all
provide insight into the ways in which biology and environment interact to make it
more or less likely that a psychological disorder will develop.
Review Questions:
● What is the medical model and epigenetics?
● What does the biopsychosocial approach assume?
● What is the vulnerability stress model?
65-3: How and why do clinicians classify psychological disorders, and why do
some psychologists criticize the use of diagnostic labels?
DSM-5: the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
,Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition; a widely used system for classifying psychological
disorders.
Summary:
● The American Psychiatric Association’s DSM-5 contains diagnostic labels and
descriptions that provide a common language and shared concepts for
communication and research.
● Classification helps psychiatrists and psychologists to predict a disorder’s future
course, suggest treatment, and prompt research into its causes.
● Some critics believe the DSM casts too wide a net and may pathologize normal
behaviors. Other critics view DSM diagnoses as arbitrary labels that create
preconceptions that bias perceptions of the labeled person’s past and present
behavior.
Review Questions:
● What is the APA and their book: DSM-5?
● How does the DSM serve as a tool to mental health professionals?
● What is the general criticism towards the DSM?
65-4: Why is there controversy over attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder?
attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: (ADHD) a psychological disorder marked by
extreme inattention and/or hyperactivity and impulsivity
Summary:
● A child who displays inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity may be diagnosed
with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and treated with medication
and other therapy.
● The controversy centers on whether the growing number of ADHD cases reflects
overdiagnosis or increased awareness of the disorder. Long-term effects of
stimulant-drug treatment for ADHD are not yet known.
Review Questions:
● What is ADHD?
● What are the controversies surrounding ADHD?
65-5: Do psychological disorders predict violent behavior?
Summary:
● Most violent criminals are not mentally ill, and most mentally ill people are not
violent. People with disorders are more likely to be victims than attackers.
● Whether people with mental disorders who become violent should be held
responsible for their behavior raises moral and ethical questions. Psychology and
law must often work hand-in-hand to determine the best course of action.
Review Questions:
(true or false)
● Are most violent criminals mentally ill?
● Are most mentally ill people not violent?
, ● Are mentally ill people more likely to be victims to violence?
65-6: How many people have, or have had, a psychological disorder? Is poverty
a risk factor?
Summary:
● Psychological disorder rates vary, depending on the time and place of the survey.
In one multinational survey, rates for any disorder ranged from 6 percent
(Nigeria) to 27 percent (the United States).
● Poverty is a risk factor: Conditions and experiences associated with poverty
contribute to the development of psychological disorders. But some disorders,
such as schizophrenia, can drive people into poverty.
Review Questions:
● How is poverty a risk factor to development of a psychological disorder?
● What percentage of Americans have had a diagnosed mental disorder? What
percentage of Nigerians?
Module 66 Anxiety Disorders, Obsessive
Compulsive Disorder, and Posttraumatic
Stress Disorder
66-1: How do generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and phobias differ?
anxiety disorders: psychological disorders characterized by distressing, persistent
anxiety or maladaptive behaviors that reduce anxiety
social anxiety: disorder intense fear and avoidance of social situations. (Formerly called
social phobia.)
generalized anxiety disorder: an anxiety disorder in which a person is continually tense,
apprehensive, and in a state of autonomic nervous system arousal.
panic disorder: an anxiety disorder marked by unpredictable, minutes-long episodes of
intense dread in which a person may experience terror and accompanying chest pain,
choking, or other frightening sensations; often followed by worry over a possible next
attack.
agoraphobia: fear or avoidance of situations, such as crowds or wide open places,
where one has felt loss of control and panic.
phobia: an anxiety disorder marked by a persistent, irrational fear and avoidance of a
specific object, activity, or situation.
Summary:
● Anxious feelings and behaviors are classified as an anxiety disorder when they
form a pattern of distressing, persistent anxiety or maladaptive behaviors that
reduce anxiety.
● People with generalized anxiety disorder feel persistently and uncontrollably
tense and apprehensive for no apparent reason.
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