Chapter 4

• Concepts of Abnormality and Psychological Disorders are discussed in Chapter 4 of the Psychology textbook.
• Classification of Psychological Disorders is a key aspect of Chapter 4.
• Factors Underlying Abnormal Behaviour are examined in Chapter 4.
• Specialised training in clinical psychology/counselling is required to undertake psycho-diagnostic testing.
• Mere knowledge and information about psychological disorders do not provide the necessary skills for either diagnosing or treating psychological disorders.
• Students should be discouraged from attempting to treat each other, as they are not qualified to do so.
• Major Psychological Disorders include Anxiety Disorders, Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders, Trauma- and Stressor-Related Disorders, Somatic Symptom and Related Disorders, Depressive Disorders, Bipolar and Related Disorders, Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders, Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Disruptive, Impulse-Control and Conduct Disorders, Feeding and Eating Disorders, Substance-Related and Addictive Disorders.
• Key Terms, Summary Review Questions, Project Ideas, and Weblinks are provided in Chapter 4.
• Pedagogical Hints are included in Chapter 4.
• Abnormal Psychology is the area within psychology that is focused on maladaptive behaviour – its causes, consequences, and treatment.
• Separation anxiety disorder (SAD) is another type of anxiety disorder and is characterised by fear and anxiety about separation from attachment figures to an extent that is developmentally not appropriate.
• Children with SAD may have difficulty being in a room by themselves, going to school alone, are fearful of entering new situations, and cling to and shadow their parents’ every move.
• Specific phobias are the most commonly occurring type of phobia and include irrational fears such as intense fear of a certain type of animal, or of being in an enclosed space.
• Social anxiety disorder (social phobia) is characterised by intense and incapacitating fear and embarrassment when dealing with others.
• The symptoms of generalised anxiety disorder include worry and apprehensive feelings about the future; hypervigilance, which involves constantly scanning the environment for dangers; and motor tension, which results in the person being unable to relax, being restless, and visibly shaky and tense.
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterised by preoccupation with specific ideas or inability to prevent themselves from repeatedly carrying out a particular act or series of acts that affect their ability to carry out normal activities.
• Another type of anxiety disorder is panic disorder, which consists of recurrent anxiety attacks in which the person experiences intense terror.
• Anxiety disorders include generalised anxiety disorder, which consists of prolonged, vague, unexplained and intense fears that are not attached to any particular object.
• Agoraphobia is the term used when people develop a fear of entering unfamiliar situations.
• The clinical features of panic disorder include shortness of breath, dizziness, trembling, palpitations, choking, nausea, chest pain or discomfort, fear of going crazy, losing control or dying.
• Phobias are fears related to specific objects, people, or situations.
• Heroin is a drug that significantly interferes with social and occupational functioning and can lead to dependence, overdose, and withdrawal.
• Sedatives, Hypnotics or Anxiolytics, such as sleeping pills and anti-anxiety medication, are substances that can cause drowsiness, memory impairment, and confusion.
• Alcohol is a substance that affects the central nervous system, slowing down functioning and depressing judgment and inhibition, making people more talkative, friendly, confident and happy, but also causing motor difficulties, impairing speech, memory, vision, and hearing, and increasing the risk of accidents.
• Cocaine is a drug that may lead to a pattern of abuse, causing problems in short-term memory and attention, and dependence may develop, making the user need more of the drug to get the desired effects and feel depression, fatigue, sleep problems, irritability and anxiety when they stop taking it.
• Hallucinogens, such as LSD and mescaline, are substances that can cause hallucinations and alter a person's perception of reality.
• Caffeine is a substance commonly found in coffee, tea, caffeinated soda, analgesics, chocolate, cocoa, which can cause anxiety, insomnia, and heart palpitations.
• Opioid substances, such as morphine, heroin, cough syrup, and painkillers (analgesics, anaesthetics), are substances that can cause respiratory depression, addiction, and overdose.
• Inhalants, including gasoline, glue, paint thinners, spray paints, typewriter correction fluid, sprays, are substances that can cause breathing problems, brain damage, and death.
• Tobacco, including cigarettes and bidi, is a substance that can cause cancer, heart disease, and respiratory problems.
• Cannabis, also known as marijuana or 'bhang', is a substance that can cause anxiety, paranoia, and hallucinations.
• In anorexia nervosa, the individual may lose large amounts of weight and even starve herself/himself to death.
• Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder where the individual has a distorted body image that leads her/him to see herself/himself as overweight.
• Individuals with ODD do not see themselves as angry, oppositional, or defiant and often justify their behaviour as reaction to circumstances/demands.
• Disruptive, Impulse-Control and Conduct Disorders include Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Conduct Disorder and others.
• In binge eating, there are frequent episodes of out-of-control eating.
• Intoxicated drivers are responsible for many road accidents.
• Excessive drinking can seriously damage physical health.
• The terms conduct disorder and antisocial behaviour refer to age-inappropriate actions and attitudes that violate family expectations, societal norms, and the personal or property rights of others.
• Children show many different types of aggressive behaviour, such as verbal aggression, physical aggression, hostile aggression, and proactive aggression.