Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 12

Chapter 12
Psychological Disorders

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 12

What is Normal?
Psychopathology: Scientific study of mental, emotional,
and behavioral disorders
Subjective Discomfort: Feelings of discomfort,
unhappiness, or emotional distress
Statistical Abnormality: Having extreme scores on some
dimension, such as intelligence, anxiety, or depression
Social Nonconformity: Disobeying societal standards for
normal conduct; usually leads to destructive or selfdestructive behavior

Figure 12.1

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 12

FIGURE 12.1 The number of people displaying a personal characteristic may help define
what is statistically abnormal.

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 12

What Is Normal? (cont'd)

Situational Context: Social situation, behavioral setting,
or general circumstances in which behavior takes place
Is it normal to walk around strangers naked? If you
are in a locker room and in the shower area, yes!
Cultural Relativity: Judgments are made relative to the
values of ones culture

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 12

Clarifying and Defining Abnormal Behavior

(Mental Illness)

Maladaptive Behavior: Behavior that makes it difficult to

function, to adapt to the environment, and to meet
everyday demands
Mental Disorder: Significant impairment in psychological
functioning

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 12

Clarifying and Defining Abnormal Behavior

(Mental Illness)
Psychotic Disorder: Severe psychiatric disorder
characterized by hallucinations and delusions, social
withdrawal, and a move away from reality
Organic Mental Disorder: Mental or emotional problem
caused by brain pathology (i.e., brain injuries or
diseases)
Mood Disorder: Disturbances in affect (emotions), like
depression or mania
Anxiety Disorder: Feelings of fear, apprehension, anxiety,
and distorted behavior

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 12

Clarifying and Defining Abnormal Behavior

(Mental Illness)
Substance Related Disorders: Abuse or dependence on
a mind or mood-altering drug, like alcohol or cocaine
Person cannot stop using the substance and may
suffer withdrawal symptoms if they do
Neurosis: Archaic; once used to refer to excessive
anxiety, somatoform, dissociative disorders, and some
kinds of depression

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 12

DSM
DSMDiagnostic & Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorders
Published by American Psychiatric
Association
used by clinicians and researchers to
diagnose and classify mental disorders

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 12

General Risk Factors for

Contracting Mental Illness
Biological Factors: Genetic defects or inherited
vulnerabilities; poor prenatal care, head injuries,
exposure to toxins, chronic physical illness, or disability
Psychological Factors: Low intelligence, learning
disorders
________________
Social Conditions: Poverty, homelessness,
overcrowding, stressful living conditions
Family Factors: Parents who are immature, mentally ill,
abusive, or criminal; poor child discipline; severe marital
or relationship problems
Other sources of psychological stress

Figure 12.11

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 12

FIGURE 12.11 A combination of vulnerability and stress may produce psychological problems.
The top bar shows low vulnerability and low stress. The result? No problem. The same is true of
the next bar down, where low vulnerability is combined with moderate stress. Even high
vulnerability (third bar) may not lead to problems if stress levels remain low. However, when
high vulnerability combines with moderate or high stress (bottom two bars) the person crosses
the line and suffers from psychopathology.

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 12

Anxiety-Based Disorders
Anxiety: Feelings of apprehension, dread, or uneasiness
Adjustment Disorders: When ongoing stressors cause
emotional disturbance and push people beyond their
ability to effectively cope
Usually suffer sleep disturbances, irritability, and
depression
Examples: Grief reactions, lengthy physical illness,
unemployment can be some triggers for anxiety

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 12

Anxiety-Based Disorders (cont'd)

1.

2.
3.

Anxiety Disorders: When stress seems greatly out of

proportion to the situation at hand usually
accompanied by some form of avoidance
3 Main Types
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): Duration of at
least six months of chronic, unrealistic, or excessive
anxiety
Panic Disorder (w/ or w/o agoraphobia)
Phobia

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 12

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Extreme anxiousness and worry for at
least 6 months
Anxiousness/anxiety do not fade when life
circumstances get better
Multiple topics of worry

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 12

Panic Disorders
Panic Disorder (without Agoraphobia): A chronic state of
anxiety with brief moments of sudden, intense,
unexpected panic (panic attack)
Panic Attack: Feels like one is having a heart attack,
going to die, or is going insane
Symptoms include vertigo, chest pain, choking, fear
of losing control
Panic Disorder (with Agoraphobia): Panic attacks and
sudden anxiety still occur, but with agoraphobia

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 12

Agoraphobia
Agoraphobia (with Panic Disorder): Intense, irrational
fear that a panic attack will occur in a public place or in
an unfamiliar situation
Intense fear of leaving the house or entering
unfamiliar situations
Can be very crippling
Literally means fear of open places or market (agora)
Agoraphobia (without Panic Disorder): Fear that
something extremely embarrassing will happen away
from home or in an unfamiliar situation.

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 12

Specific Phobias
Irrational, persistent fears, anxiety, and avoidance that
focus on specific objects, activities, or situations
People with phobias realize that their fears are
unreasonable and excessive, but they cannot control
them.

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 12

Social Phobia
Intense, irrational fear of being observed, evaluated,
humiliated, or embarrassed by others (e.g., shyness,
eating, or speaking in public)

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 12

Review: 3 Anxiety Disorders

1. Phobiaobjects, situation, social
Causes: not only experiencealso inherit
tendencies (prepared fears)

2. Generalized Anxietyconstant anxiety

and worry
3. Panic Disorderdiscrete panicky
episodes

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 12

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Extreme preoccupation with certain thoughts and
compulsive performance of certain behaviors
Obsession: Recurring images or thoughts that a person
cannot prevent
Cause anxiety and extreme discomfort
Enter into consciousness against the persons will
Most common: Being dirty or wondering if you
performed an action (turned off the stove)

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 12

Compulsions
Compulsion: Irrational acts that person feels compelled
to repeat against his/her will
Help to control anxiety created by obsessions
Checkers and cleaners

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 12

Table 16.2
Obsessive-Compulsive Tendencies

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 12

Anxiety
Feelings of tension, uneasiness,
apprehension, worry, and vulnerability
We are motivated to avoid experiencing
anxiety

Figure 10.6

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 12

FIGURE 10.6 The approximate relationship between the id, ego, and superego, and the levels
of awareness.

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 12

Theoretical Causes of Anxiety Disorders:

Psychodynamic
Psychodynamic (Freud): Anxiety caused by conflicts
among id, ego, and superego.
Forbidden id impulses for sex or aggression are
trying to break into consciousness and thus
influence behavior; person fears doing something
crazy or forbidden.
Superego creates guilt in response to these
impulses.
Ego gets overwhelmed and uses defense
mechanisms to cope.

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 12

Other Theoretical Causes of Anxiety

Disorders
Humanistic-Existential: Unrealistic selfimage conflicts with true self

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 12

Other Theoretical Causes of Anxiety

Disorders
Behavioristic: Anxiety symptoms and
behaviors are learned, like everything else

Conditioned emotional responses generalize

to new situations
Anxiety Reduction Hypothesis: When reward
of immediate relief from anxiety perpetuates
self-defeating avoidance behaviors

Cognitive: When distorted thinking causes

people to magnify ordinary threats and
failures, leading to anxiety and distress

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 12

Mood Disorders
Major disturbances in emotion, such as depression or
mania
Depressive Disorders: Sadness or despondency are
prolonged, exaggerated, or unreasonable
Bipolar Disorders: Involve both depression, and mania or
hypomania
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Depression that only
occurs during fall and winter.
May be related to reduced exposure to sunlight
Phototherapy: Extended exposure to bright light to
treat SAD

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 12

Major Mood Disorders

Lasting extremes of mood or emotion and sometimes
with psychotic features (hallucinations, delusions)
Major Depressive Disorder: A mood disorder where the
person has suffered one or more intense episodes of
depression; one of the more serious mood disorders.
Bipolar I Disorder: Extreme mania and deep depression;
one type of manic-depressive illness.
Mania: Excited, hyperactive, energetic, grandiose
behavior
Bipolar II Disorder: Person is mainly sad but has one or
more hypomanic episodes (mild mania)

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 12

Suicide: Major Risk Factors

Drug or alcohol abuse

Prior suicide attempt
Depression or other mood disorder
Availability of a firearm
Severe anxiety or panic attacks
Family history of suicidal behavior
Shame, humiliation, failure or rejection

Figure 12.15

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 12

FIGURE 12.15 Suicidal behavior usually progresses from suicidal thoughts, to threats, to
attempts. A person is unlikely to make an attempt without first making threats. Thus, suicide
threats should be taken seriously

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 12

Common Characteristics of Suicidal

Thoughts and Feelings (Shneidman)
Escape
Unbearable Psychological Pain: Emotional pain that the
person wishes to escape
Frustrated Psychological Needs: Such as searching for
love, achievement, or security
Constriction of Options: Feeling helpless and hopeless
and deciding that death is the only option left

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 12

Psychosis
Psychosis: Loss of contact with reality marked by
hallucinations, delusions, disturbed thoughts and
emotions, and personality disorganization

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 12

Schizophrenia:
The Most Severe Mental Illness
Psychotic disorder characterized by hallucinations,
delusions, apathy, thinking abnormalities, and split
between thoughts and emotions
Does NOT refer to having split or multiple
personalities

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 12

Delusions
Delusions: False beliefs that psychotic individuals insist
are true, regardless of overwhelming evidence against
them
Common forms:
Erotomanic
Grandiose
Jealous
Persecution
Somatic

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 12

Hallucinations
Hallucinations: Imaginary sensations, such as seeing,
hearing, or smelling things that do not exist in the real
world
Most common psychotic hallucination is hearing
voices
Note that olfactory hallucinations sometimes occur
with seizure disorder (epilepsy)

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 12

Some More Psychotic Symptoms

Flat Affect: Lack of emotional responsiveness
Inappropriate emotions:
Disturbed Verbal Communication: Garbled and chaotic
speech; word salad
Personality Disintegration: Uncoordinated thoughts,
actions, and emotionsa split between thought and
emotion
Withdrawal and apathy
Breakdown of personal habits
Problems with selective attention

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 12

Causes of Schizophrenia
Psychological Trauma: Psychological injury or shock,
often caused by an environment of violence, abuse, or
neglect
Disturbed Family Environment: Stressful or unhealthy
family relationships, communication patterns, and
emotional atmosphere
Deviant Communication Patterns: Cause guilt, anxiety,
anger, confusion, and turmoil
Heredityif one identical twin becomes schizophrenic
then the other twin has about 50% chance
Stress-Vulnerability Hypothesis: Combination of
environmental stress and inherited susceptibility cause
psychotic disorders

Figure 12.7

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 12

FIGURE 12.7 Lifetime risk of developing schizophrenia is associated with how closely a person
is genetically related to a schizophrenic person. A shared environment also increases the risk.

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 12

Biochemical Causes of Schizophrenia

Biochemical Abnormality: Disturbance in brains chemical
systems or in the brains neurotransmitters
Dopamine: Neurotransmitter involved with emotions and
muscle movement
Works in limbic system
Dopamine overactivity in brain may be related to
schizophrenia
Glutamate may also be related to schizophrenia

Figure 12.8

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Chapter 12

FIGURE 12.8 Dopamine normally crosses the synapse between two neurons, activating the
second cell. Antipsychotic drugs bind to the same receptor sites as dopamine does, blocking
its action. In people suffering from schizophrenia, a reduction in dopamine activity can quiet a
persons agitation and psychotic symptoms.