Intro to AbPsych and Contemporary Theories

Cards (79)

  • Abnormal psychology

    A branch of psychology that deals with psychopathology and abnormal behavior
  • Abnormality is above normal
  • Norm is average so when it is abnormal it is a deviation
  • Criteria for defining abnormality (4Ds)
    • Distress - Emotional Pain
    • Dysfunction - Impairment or Reduction in functioning
    • Danger - Risk to self or others
    • Deviance - Socially and culturally unacceptable behavior
  • Causes of abnormality (Biopsychosocial Formulation)

    • Biological Causes
    • Psychological Causes
    • Sociocultural Causes
  • Mental Health
    Refers to the successful performance of mental function, resulting in productive activities, fulfilling relationships with other people, and the ability to adapt to change and cope with adversity
  • Mental Disorder according to DSM V-TR

    A syndrome characterized by clinically significant disturbance in an individual's cognition, emotion regulation, or behavior that reflects a dysfunction in the psychological, biological, or developmental process underlying mental functioning activities
  • Mental disorders are usually associated with significant distress or disability in social, occupational, or other important activities
  • An expectable or culturally approved response to a common stressor or loss, such as the death of a loved one, is not a mental disorder
  • Socially deviant behaviors and conflicts that are primarily between the individual and society are not mental disorders unless the deviance or conflicts results from a dysfunction in the individual
  • Insidious onset

    Slow development
  • Courses of disorders
    • Chronic course (persist for a long time)
    • Episodic course (recurring)
    • Time-Limited course (specific time frame)
  • Basis for Assessing Maladjustment includes conformity to norms, inner world (subjective experience), and social contribution
  • Historical Beliefs about Abnormal Behavior
    • Evil spirits, demonic possessions, sorcery, or behest of an offended ancestral spirit
    • Trephining / Trepanning (a surgical intervention in which a hole is drilled or scraped into the human skull)
    • Exorcism (elaborate prayers, noises, emetic, flogging & starvation)
  • Dorothea Dix advocated for the humane treatment of individuals with mental illness and played a key role in improving mental health care in the 19th century
  • Clifford Beers, through his autobiography "A Mind That Found Itself," raised awareness about the mistreatment of psychiatric patients and contributed to reforms in mental health care
  • Philippe Pinel, a French physician, is known for his advocacy of more humane treatment for psychiatric patients and his work in reforming mental health institutions in the late 18th and early 19th centuries
  • Emil Kraepelin, a German psychiatrist, is renowned for his development of the first modern classification system for psychiatric disorders, laying the foundation for contemporary diagnostic systems in psychiatry
  • Disease
    Mostly organic, with structural changes, confirmed by lab tests
  • Disorder
    Mostly functional, with functional changes, not confirmatory (through signs and symptoms)
  • Components of Syndrome
    • Signs (Objective, physician's observations)
    • Symptoms (Subjective, patient's observation)
  • Biological Approaches

    • Structural abnormalities in the brain
    • Disordered biochemistry
    • Faulty genes
  • Serotonin
    Regulates emotions and impulses such as aggression, travels through many key areas of the brain affecting their function
  • Insufficient and excessive serotonin may be associated with disorders like depression, anxiety, sleep problems, digestive problems, suicidal behavior, OCD, PTSD, and panic disorders
  • Dopamine
    Prominent in the areas of the brain that regulate our experience of reinforcements or rewards, also important to the functioning of muscle systems and plays a role in disorders involving muscle control
  • Abnormally low prefrontal dopamine activity (causing deficit symptoms) leading to excessive dopamine activity in mesolimbic dopamine neurons (causing positive symptoms) is hypothesized to characterize schizophrenia
  • Having too much or too little dopamine in some parts of the brain are linked to some mental illnesses including depression, schizophrenia and psychosis
  • Norepinephrine (Noradrenaline)

    Produced by neurons in the brain stem, prolonged action by cocaine and amphetamines causes stimulating effects, too little leads to depressed mood
  • Some people may be genetically predisposed to psychological disorders, which are probably linked not to a single faulty gene but to an accumulation of faulty genes
  • Methods of determining heritability of a disorder
    • Family history studies
    • Twin studies
    • Adoption studies
  • Factors contributing to vulnerability to disorder
    • Biological factors (genes, disordered biochemistry, brain anomalies)
    • Social factors (maladaptive upbringing, chronic stress etc)
    • Psychological factors (unconscious conflicts, poor skills, maladaptive cognitions, etc)
  • Triggers of stress leading to disorder
    • Biological trigger (onset of a disease, exposure to toxins, etc)
    • Social triggers (traumatic events, major loss, etc)
    • Psychological trigger (perceived loss of control, violation of a trust)
  • Psychological Theories of Abnormality
    • Psychodynamic Approach
    • Behavioral Approach
    • Cognitive Behavioral Approach
    • Humanistic / existential / phenomenological
    • Interpersonal theories
    • Family systems
    • Social structure theories
  • Social Structural Model of Mental Health
    Neighborhood widespread poverty, prejudice and discrimination, lack of cultural and ethnic ties, high residential turnover, high child-to-adult ratio) and social organization (lack of community resources, high crime rates, poor schools)
  • Types of studies
    • Family history studies
    • Twin studies
    • Adoption studies
  • Vulnerability factors
    • Biological factors (genes, disordered biochemistry, brain anomalies)
    • Social factors (maladaptive upbringing, chronic stress etc)
    • Psychological factors (unconscious conflicts, poor skills, maladaptive cognitions, etc)
  • Stress triggers
    • Biological trigger (onset of a disease, exposure to toxins, etc)
    • Social triggers (traumatic events, major loss, etc)
    • Psychological trigger (perceived loss of control, violation of a trust)
  • Psychological Theories
    • Psychodynamic Approach
    • Behavioral Approach
    • Cognitive Behavioral Approach
    • Humanistic / existential / phenomenological
    • Interpersonal theories
    • Family systems
    • Social structure theories
  • The Biological Model

    • Assumes that psychological disorders are caused by malfunctioning in the brain
    • Treatments geared toward making the brain function normally, mainly through drugs, but also electroconvulsive shock and brain surgery
  • The Psychodynamic Model

    • Assumes that psychological disorders are caused by unconscious conflicts from unresolved childhood issues
    • Pioneered by Sigmund Freud