Abnormal Psychology

• Psychological Disorder


  Psychological dysfunction within an individual associated with distress or impairment in functioning and a response that is not typical or culturally expected
• 4 D's of Psychological Disorder

  • Psychological Dysfunction
  • Distress or Impairment
  • Atypical or Not Culturally Expected (Deviance)
  • Dangerousness
• Psychopathology


  Scientific study of mental disorders
• Clinical Psychology


  Applied branch of psychology that seeks to understand, assess, and treat psychological conditions in a clinical setting
• Abnormal Psychology


  Branch of psychology that studies unusual patterns of behavior, emotions, and thought which may or may not indicate an underlying condition
• Normal Behavior


  One behavior that is like other people in the society
• Criteria for determining Abnormal Behavior

  • Norm-violation
  • Statistical rarity
  • Personal Discomfort
  • Deviation
  • Maladaptiveness
• Clinical Assessment


  The systematic evaluation and measurement of psychological, biological, and social factors in an individual presenting with a possible psychological disorder
• Diagnosis


  Process of determining whether the particular problem afflicting the individual meets all criteria for a psychological disorder
• One-Dimensional


  Looking for a single cause
• Multidimensional


  Looking for a systemic cause
• Genes


  Long molecules of DNA at various locations on chromosomes, within cell nucleus
• 46 Chromosomes, 23 Pairs, 22 Pairs of Autosomes, 1 pair Sex Chromosomes
• Phenotypes


  Observable characteristics
• Genotypes


  Unique genetic makeup
• Endophenotypes


  Genetic mechanisms that ultimately contribute to the underlying problems causing the symptoms and difficulties experienced by people with psychological disorders
• Genetic Epidemiology


  • Basic Genetic Epidemiology
  • Advanced Genetic Epidemiology
  • Gene Finding
  • Molecular Genetics
• Family Studies


  Examine behavioral pattern or emotional trait in the context of the family
• Proband


  The first person in the family to be identified as possibly having genetic disorder and who may receive genetic counseling or testing
• Adoption Studies


  Identify adoptees who have a particular behavioral pattern or psychological disorder and attempt to locate first-degree relatives who were raised in different family settings
• Twin Studies


  Usually conducted to identical twins because they share genetic makeup
• Those people who reported more severe stressful life events and had at least one short allele of the 5-HTT gene were at greater risk of developing depression (Caspi et al., 2003) (serotonin-transporter gene)
• Epigenetics


  Factors other than inherited DNA sequence, such as new learning or stress, that alter the phenotypic expression of genes
• Neuroscience


  Study of the nervous system, especially the brain to understand behavior, emotions, and cognitive processes
• Neurotransmitters


  • Glutamate
  • GABA
  • Serotonin
  • Dopamine
  • Epinephrine
  • Norepinephrine
  • Endorphins
  • Acetylcholine
• Agonist


  Effectively increase the activity of the neurotransmitters (Excitatory)
• Antagonist


  Decrease or block neurotransmitter (Inhibitory)
• Inverse Agonists


  Produces effects opposite to those produced by the neurotransmitters
• Reuptake


  Neurotransmitter is released, quickly broken down and brought back to the synaptic cleft
• Brain Regions


  • Brain Stem
  • Limbic System
  • Basal Ganglia
  • Cerebral Cortex
• Nervous System

  • Somatic Nervous System
  • Autonomic Nervous System
• Endocrine System


  • Pituitary
  • Thyroid
  • Parathyroid
  • Adrenal
  • Pineal
  • Pancreas
  • Testes
  • Ovaries
• Permissive Hypothesis


  When serotonin (norepinephrine) levels are low, other neurotransmitters are permitted to range more widely, become dysregulated, and contribute to mood irregularities
• Classical Conditioning


  Type of learning in which neutral stimulus is paired with response until it elicits that response
• Classical Conditioning Components


  • Unconditioned Stimulus
  • Unconditioned Response
  • Conditioned Stimulus
  • Conditioned Response
  • Extinction
• Stimulus Generalization


  Strength of the response to similar objects or people is usually a function of how similar these objects or people are
• Introspection


  Subjects report their inner thoughts and feelings after experiencing certain stimuli
• John B. Watson


  Founder of behaviorism
• Systematic Desensitization


  Patients were gradually introduced to the objects or situations they feared so that their fear could extinguish
• Operant Conditioning


  Behavior changes as a function of what follows the behavior (rewards or punishment)