Final exam

• Demonic Model


  Psychological disorders were viewed as caused by demonic possession
• Medical Model


  Psychological disorders were viewed as medical conditions
• The Renaissance period
• Bloodletting


  A medical treatment used during the Renaissance period to treat psychological disorders
• Modern Era


  The current period where psychological disorders are viewed and treated differently
• Chlorpromazine


  A drug that started the deinstitutionalization movement
• Culture-bound Syndromes


  Psychological disorders that are unique to certain cultures
• Culture-bound Syndromes


  • Saora disorder (feeling like ants are biting you)
  • Windigo
  • Koro (belief that genitals are receding into the body and disappearing)
• Autism Spectrum Disorder


  • Deficits in language, social bonding, and imagination
  • Social impairments, repetitive or restrictive behaviours
  • Highly specialized and limited interests
• The Anti-Vaxxer Movement is DEBUNKED
• The Anti-Vaxxer Movement was based on a single study with a small sample size
• The Anti-Vaxxer Movement was based on an illusory correlation
• Changes in diagnostic practices over time

  Expanded list of symptoms for autism
• Government encouragement


  Schools were encouraged to classify more children as having autism so those children could receive more accommodations
• Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)


  • 3-7% of children satisfy diagnostic criteria
  • Male-to-female ratio of 3.4 to 1
  • Mostly genetically influenced, with some prenatal factors included
• Presentations of ADHD


  • Inattentive (easily distracted, unorganized, difficulty listening)
  • Hyperactive/Impulsive (difficulty sitting still, rush through tasks, make rash decisions)
  • Combined (symptoms of both presentations)
• Early-Onset Bipolar Disorder


  • There are concerns with over-diagnosis
  • Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD) was introduced to avoid Bipolar Disorder diagnoses in kids
  • Controversial validity
• Anxiety Disorders


  • Most anxieties are transient and can be adaptive
  • They can also become excessive and inappropriate
  • One of the most prevalent and earliest onset of all classes of disorders
• Generalized Anxiety Disorder


  • Continual feelings of worry, anxiety, physical tension, and irritability
  • About 3% of the population
  • 1/3 develop it after major stressor or life change
  • More prevalent in females and Caucasians
• Panic Disorder


  • Repeated, unexpected panic attacks
  • Persistent concerns about future attacks
  • A change in personal behaviour in an attempt to avoid them
  • Can be associated with a specific situation or come "out of the blue"
• Phobias


  • Intense fear of an object or situation that's greatly out of proportion to its actual threat
  • The most common anxiety disorder (11%)
  • Different forms include agoraphobia and specific or social phobia
• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

  • Marked emotional disturbance after experiencing or witnessing a severely stressful event
  • Symptoms include flashbacks, recurrent dreams, avoiding reminders of the trauma, and increased physiological arousal
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)


  • Marked by obsessions (persistent ideas, thoughts or impulses that are unwanted and inappropriate and cause marked distress)
  • Distress is relieved by compulsions (repetitive behaviours or mental acts)
  • Must spend at least 1 hour per day engaging in obsessions, compulsions, or both
• Explanations for Anxiety Disorders

  • Learning models focus on acquiring fears via classical conditioning and then maintaining them through operant conditioning
  • Anxious people tend to think about the world in different ways from non-anxious people, including catastrophic thinking
• Explanations for Anxiety Disorders (continued)

  • Anxiety sensitivity - a fear of anxiety-related symptoms
  • Many are genetically influenced by level of neuroticism
  • A malfunction of the caudate nucleus in people with OCD
  • Genetic relationship between OCD and Tourette's Disorder
• Mood Disorders


  • Major Depression
  • Bipolar I
  • Bipolar II
  • Dysthymia
  • Cyclothymia
• Over 20% of North Americans will experience a mood disorder
• Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)


  • The most common mood disorder at 16%
  • More prevalent in females, most likely to develop in 30s
  • Depression symptoms can develop gradually or suddenly but are often recurrent
  • The average episode lasts 6 months to 1 year; most people experience 5-6 episodes
  • Can cause extreme functional impairment across all areas
• Sample MDD Symptoms


  • Feeling blue or irritable
  • Sleep difficulties
  • Fatigue and loss of energy
  • Weight changes
  • Thoughts of death or suicide
• Explanations for MDD


  • Complex interplay of biological, psychological, and social influences
  • Life events such as the loss of something that is dearly valued can set the stage for depression
  • Depression can create interpersonal problems, which cause a lack of social support
  • Behavioural model - depression results from a low rate of positive reinforcement in the environment
  • Beck's cognitive model - depression is caused by negative beliefs and expectations
• Explanations for MDD (continued)

  • Learned helplessness - the tendency to feel helpless in the face of events we can't control
  • People with depression attribute failure internally and have global, stable negative attributions
  • Genes moderately influence MDD and the role of serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine
• Bipolar Disorder


  • Have both depressive and manic episodes
  • Elevated mood, lowered need for sleep, high energy, talkativeness, inflated self-esteem
  • Also show highly irresponsible behaviour
  • Equally common in men and women
  • Produces serious problems in the social and occupational realms
  • Very heavily genetically influenced, but stressful life events can cause episode onset
• Common Myths and Misconceptions About Suicide
• Talking to people with depression about suicide makes them more likely to obtain help
• Many or most individuals who die by suicide communicate their intent to others, which gives us an opportunity to seek help for a suicidal person
• Bipolar 1


  • Manic (lots of energy, very extreme, last 7 days or more)
  • Depressive (not all the time)
• Bipolar 2


  • Tends to be milder
  • Hypomania (less disruptive)
  • Tend to have more issues with the depressive
• Personality Disorders


  • Personality traits are inflexible, stable, are expressed in a wide variety of situations and cause distress or impairment
  • There are 10 personality disorders in the DSM-5
  • The textbook focuses on borderline personality disorder and psychopathic personality
• Borderline Personality Disorder


  • Instability in mood, identity, and impulse control
  • Many engage in drug abuse, sexual promiscuity, overeating, even self-mutilation
• Theories about Borderline Personality Disorder

  • Kernberg (1975) - lack of emotional bonding in childhood
  • Lineham's sociobiological model - inherited tendency to overreact to stress
  • Selby & Joiner's emotional cascade model - intense rumination leading to a vicious cycle of acting out and ruminating more