UNIT 12: ABNORMAL BEHAVIOR

Introduction to Psychological Disorders

Defining Psychological Disorders

• Psychological disorders are persistently harmful thoughts, feelings, and actions.
  
  

• Behavior is classified as disordered when it is deviant, distressful, and dysfunctional (the three D’s).
  
  

Deviant, Distressful, Dysfunctional:

• Deviant: Behavior or thoughts that differ from societal norms.
  
  

• Distressful: Causes significant emotional pain or suffering.
  
  

• Dysfunctional: Interferes with daily functioning (work, school, relationships).
  
  

Understanding Psychological Disorders

• Ancient treatments included trephination, exorcism, caging, beating, burning, castration, mutilation, or animal blood transfusion.
  
  

  • Trephination: Boring holes in the skull to release evil spirits.
    
    

Medical Perspective

• Philippe Pinel: Advocated for humane treatment, viewing madness as an ailment of the mind, not demonic possession.
  
  

Medical Model:

1. Etiology: Cause and development of the disorder.
   
   

2. Diagnosis: Identifying symptoms and distinguishing disorders.
   
   

3. Treatment: Hospitalization or therapy.
   
   

4. Prognosis: Forecast of the disorder’s progression.
   
   

Biopsychosocial Perspective

• Disorders arise from an interaction of biological, psychological, and social-cultural factors.
  
  

Classifying Psychological Disorders

• DSM-5 (2013): Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
  
  

  • Goals:
    
    

    • Describe disorders.
      
      

    • Determine prevalence.
      
      

    • Standardize diagnosis.
      
      

    • Define eligibility for treatment.
      
      

• Criticism: DSM may overextend psychiatry's reach.
  
  

Labeling Psychological Disorders

• Critics: Labels can stigmatize.
  
  

• Proponents: Labels aid communication and treatment planning.
  
  

• “Insanity” labels: Raise ethical and legal questions.
  
  

Rates of Psychological Disorders

• US NIMH (2008): 26% of US adults have a diagnosable disorder yearly.
  
  

• WHO: Lowest rates in Shanghai, highest in the US.
  
  

• Immigrant Paradox: Immigrants often have better mental health than natives.
  
  

• Poverty: Strongly correlates with mental illness.
  
  

Anxiety Disorders, OCD, and PTSD

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

• Persistent, uncontrollable worry.
  
  

• Autonomic arousal.
  
  

• Cause often unidentified.
  
  

Panic Disorder

• Minute-long intense dread.
  
  

• Physical symptoms: chest pain, choking, etc.
  
  

• Leads to avoidance behavior.
  
  

Phobias

• Persistent, irrational fear disrupting behavior.
  
  

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

• Obsessions: Unwanted thoughts.
  
  

• Compulsions: Ritual behaviors to reduce anxiety.
  
  

• Brain Imaging: High activity in the frontal lobe.
  
  

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

• Symptoms (lasting 4+ weeks):
  
  

  • Haunting memories.
    
    

  • Nightmares.
    
    

  • Social withdrawal.
    
    

  • Anxiety, sleep problems.
    
    

• Resilience: 10% of women, 20% of men develop PTSD after trauma.
  
  

Understanding Anxiety Disorders

• Freud: Anxiety from repressed thoughts.
  
  

• Learning Perspective:
  
  

  • Fear conditioning and stimulus generalization.
    
    

  • Observational learning (e.g., monkey studies).
    
    

• Biological Perspective:
  
  

  • Natural selection: Fear of survival threats.
    
    

  • Genetics: Twins share phobias.
    
    

  • Brain circuits: Anterior cingulate cortex involvement.
    
    

Mood Disorders

Major Depressive Disorder

• Lasts 2+ weeks, not caused by substances or medical conditions.
  
  

• Prevalence: 5.8% men, 9.5% women globally.
  
  

Dysthymic Disorder

• Daily depression lasting 2+ years, less severe than MDD.
  
  

Bipolar Disorder

• Alternating between mania and depression.
  
  

• Creativity often surges in manic phases.
  
  

Explaining Mood Disorders

Biological Perspective:

• Genetics: Depression runs in families.
  
  

  • Identical twins: 50%.
    
    

  • Fraternal twins: 20%.
    
    

• Neurotransmitters: Low norepinephrine & serotonin in depression.
  
  

• Brain activity: Fluctuates with mood episodes.
  
  

Social-Cognitive Perspective:

• Self-defeating beliefs & negative explanatory style.
  
  

• Depression Cycle:
  
  

  1. Negative stressful events.
     
     

  2. Pessimistic thinking.
     
     

  3. Hopeless depression.
     
     

  4. Impaired thinking/acting → rejection.
     
     

Schizophrenia

Symptoms:

• Disorganized thinking: Selective attention failure.
  
  

• Delusions: False thoughts.
  
  

• Hallucinations: False sensory experiences (often auditory).
  
  

• Inappropriate emotions/actions: Flat affect, catatonia.
  
  

Onset & Development:

• 1 in 100 affected worldwide.
  
  

• More severe in men, onset in early adulthood.
  
  

Positive vs Negative Symptoms:

• Positive (+): Hallucinations, delusions, disorganized speech.
  
  

• Negative (-): Flat affect, catatonia, lack of speech/movement.
  
  

Chronic vs Acute Schizophrenia:

• Chronic: Slow onset, poor recovery, negative symptoms.
  
  

• Acute: Rapid onset, better recovery, positive symptoms.
  
  

Biological Factors:

• Dopamine overactivity: Elevated D4 receptors.
  
  

• Brain activity: Abnormal in frontal cortex, thalamus, amygdala.
  
  

• Brain structure: Enlarged ventricles.
  
  

• Viral infections: Linked to prenatal exposure.
  
  

• Genetics: 50% concordance in identical twins.
  
  

Psychological Factors:

• Environmental stressors can trigger symptoms in predisposed individuals.
  
  

• Early warning signs:
  
  

  • Family history.
    
    

  • Birth complications.
    
    

  • Poor coordination, attention span.
    
    

  • Emotional unpredictability.
    
    

Other Disorders

Somatic Symptom Disorder:

• Psychological distress manifests as physical symptoms without medical cause.
  
  

Conversion Disorder:

• Sudden loss/change in physical function (e.g., paralysis), no medical explanation.
  
  

Illness Anxiety Disorder (Hypochondriasis):

• Unfounded belief in serious illness despite evidence.
  
  

Dissociative Disorders

Dissociative Amnesia:

• Sudden, selective or global memory loss after trauma.
  
  

Dissociative Fugue:

• Amnesia with relocation and adoption of new identity.
  
  

Depersonalization Disorder:

• Feelings of detachment from one’s body or mind.
  
  

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID):

• Multiple distinct personalities.
  
  

• Criticism:
  
  

  • Possibly therapist-induced.
    
    

  • Reinforced by anxiety reduction.
    
    

Eating Disorders

Anorexia Nervosa:

• Starvation despite being underweight (15%+ below normal weight).
  
  

Bulimia Nervosa:

• Binge eating followed by purging, fasting, or excessive exercise.
  
  

Binge Eating Disorder:

• Binge episodes without purging, followed by guilt or distress.
  
  

Personality Disorders

• Characterized by enduring, inflexible behaviors impairing social functioning, typically without depression or delusions.
  
  

Antisocial Personality Disorder:

• Lack of conscience, lower stress hormone responses.
  
  

• PET scans: Reduced frontal lobe activity.
  
  

• Risk increases with poverty + birth complications.