Abnormal Psychology Ch. 1

Phobia

Irrational fear of a specific object or situation which is severe enough to interfere with an individual's functioning in daily life

Psychological Dysfunction

Breakdown in cognitive, emotional, or behavioral functioning

Atypical

Not typical; not conforming to the type; irregular; abnormal

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM 5)

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual - Contains the current listing of criteria for psychological disorders

Hallucinations

False sensory experiences, such as seeing something in the absence of an external visual stimulus

Delusions

False beliefs that are maintained even though they clearly are out of touch with reality

Panic Disorder

Severe panic attacks; start at usually mid-teens to about 40 years of age; 75% or more are women.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

At least 6 months of excessive anxiety and worry and that it's difficult to turn off or control the process of worrying.. *** This is what is a pathological worrier not just normal
2/3 are FEMALE...It is CHRONIC

Environment Phobia

You are afraid of water, heights or storms you have a ______ phobia

Situational Phobia

Claustrophobia is a ______ phobia

Social Anxiety Disorder

#2 Anxiety disorder in the world; Fear of negative evaluation; As many as 12.1% of population suffer from this at some point (Sex ratio 50:50)

Selective Mutism

Rare childhood disorder, with a lack of speech in one or more settings in which speaking is socially expected. Example: they can speak in the home, but they can't speak in public settings like school. Relatively rare disorder occurring in less than 1% of

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Exposure to traumatic experiences witnessing death, or threatened death, actual or threatened serious injury, or actual or threatened sexual violation. ******Cannot be diagnosed until a month after the incident

Season Affective Disorder (SAD)

Thought to be with the production of melatonin? In the winter months?
*25% had already had Depressive episodes etc.

Suicide Stats

-Males are 4x more likely to commit suicide than females (why? Because males have much more violent methods than females and females often don't succeed)
-Females attempt suicide 3x more than men

Multiple-Personality Disorder

Severe form of dissociative reaction which can result in several independent personalities being manifested-- now known as Dissociative Identity Disorder

Anorexia Nervosa

Eating disorder characterized by continual food refusal and the pursuit of extreme thinness, leading to dangerously low body weight.

Antisocial Personality Disorder

A personality disorder marked by a pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others. Deceitful, unremorseful, manipulative, lacks anxiety and guilt.

Asperger's Disorder

A pervasive developmental disorder in which individuals display profound social impairment and restricted or unusual behaviors, but without language delays seen in autism.

Autistic Disorder (Autism)

Pervasive developmental disorder characterized by significant impairment in social interactions, extreme unresponsiveness to others, poor communication skills, and highly repetitive and rigid behavior.

Bulimia Nervosa

Eating disorder involving recurrent episodes of uncontrolled excessive (binge) eating followed by compensatory actions to remove the food (e.g., deliberate vomiting, laxative abuse, excessive exercise).

Conversion Disorder

The conversion of emotional difficulties into the loss of a specific physiological function. While the loss of functioning is real, no actual physical damage is present

Hypochondriasis

Anxiety disorder, refers to worry about having a serious illness. This debilitating condition is the result of an inaccurate perception of the condition of body or mind despite the absence of an actual medical condition

Psychotherapy

General term for treating mental health problems by talking with a psychiatrist, psychologist or other mental health provider

Transference

Phenomenon characterized by unconscious redirection of feelings from one person to another

Aversive Therapy

Form of psychological treatment in which the patient is exposed to a stimulus while simultaneously being subjected to some form of discomfort

Psychodrama

A form of psychotherapy in which patients act out events from their past.

Group Therapy

Form of psychotherapy in which therapist treat a small group of clients together as a group

Family Therapy

Form of psychotherapy designed to identify family patterns that contribute to a behavior disorder or mental illness and help family members break those habits

Serial Killer Defined

A. Classified as a psycho/sociopath suffering from antisocial personality disorder with a tortured past
B. Usually a sexual element associated to the murders
C. Usually MO (type of victim, approach, tools) and a signature

Serial Killer Profile

*76% of serial killers are in the U.S
* Usually white (84%) male (90%)
* Mostly organized

Psychopath

A person suffering from chronic mental disorder with abnormal or violent social behavior

Sociopath

A person with a personality disorder manifesting itself in extreme antisocial attitudes and behavior and a lack of conscience

what are the symptoms of schizotypal personality disorder

must have 5 of the 7
1. suspicious and paranoid
2. inappropriate emotional expression
3. limited relationships
4. odd, eccentric, and peculiar behavior
5. unusual perception and experiences
6. odd thinking and speech
7. ideas of reference

Abnormal Psychology

The subfield of psychology that addresses the causes and progression of psychological disorders; also referred to as psychopathology

psychological disorder

A pattern of thoughts, feelings, or behaviors that causes significant personal distress, significant impairment in daily life, and/or significant risk of harm, any of which is unusual for the context and culture in which it arises.

Psychosis

An impaired ability to perceive reality to the extent that normal functioning is difficult or not possible. The two types of psychotic symptoms are hallucinations and delusions.

Culture

The shared norms and values of a society that are explicitly and implicitly conveyed to its members by example and through the use of reward and punishment.

Moral Treatment

Treatment of the mentally ill that involved providing an environment in which people with mental illness were treated with kindness and respect and functioned as part of a community.

Psychoanalytic Theory

The theory that thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are a result of conscious and unconscious forces continually interacting in the mind.

Id

the seat of sexual and aggressive drives, as well as of the desire for immediate gratification of physical and psychological needs.

Superego

the seat of the conscience, which works to impose morality.

Ego

the psychic structure that is charged with mediating between the id's demands for immediate gratification and the superego's high standards of morality, as well as the constraints of external reality.

Psychosexual stages

the sequence of five distinct stages of development (oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital) through which children proceed from infancy to adulthood

Neurosis

a pattern of thoughts, feelings, or behaviors that expresses an unresolved conflict between the ego and the id or between the ego and the superego.

Defense mechanisms

Unconscious processes that work to transform psychological conflict in order to prevent unacceptable thoughts and feelings from reaching consciousness

Mental Processes

The internal operations that underlie cognitive and emotional functions (such as perception, memory, and guilt feelings) and most human behavior

Mental Contents

The specific material that is stored in the mind and operated on by mental processes

Behaviorism

focuses on understanding directly observable behaviors in order to understand mental illness and other psychological phenomena.

Diathesis-stress model

a model when a psychological disorder is triggered when a person with a predisposition-a diathesis-for the particular disorder experiences an environmental event that causes significant stress

Biopsychological Approach

The view that a psychological disorder arises from the combined influences of three types of factors-biological, psychological, and social

Neuropsychological Approach

The view that a psychological disorder arises from the combined influences of neurological, psychological, and social factors-which affect and are affected by one another through feedback loops.