Abnormal Psyc Review Essay

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What is Abnormal Behavior?
Definition: psychological dysfunction associated with distress or impairment in functioning that is not typical or a culturally expected response

Bio-psycho-social * Psychopathology: scientific study of psychological disorders * Genetic contributions * Phenotype vs. genotype * Behavior is typically polygenetic * Genes aren’t everything * Neuroscience contributions * Hindbrain – medulla, pons, cerebellum * Midbrain – coordinates movement w sensory input * Forebrain (cerebral cortex) – most sensory, emotional, and cognitive processing * Lobes of cerebral cortex * Frontal – problem solving, reasoning, personality, motor functiong/output, production of language * Parietal – spatial skills, touch, physical sensation * Occipital – vision * Temporal – social behavior, memory, emotion, hearing, language reception * Limbic system * Thalamus – integrative/relay station * Hypothalamus – major role in homeostasis * Amygdala – emotion, strongly associated w fear, also responding to good things (i.e. cute puppy) * Hippocampus – involves long term memories * Cingulate – social functioning, mirror neurons * Major neurotransmitters * Serotonin (5HT) – associated w depressions, clinical approval for treatment for mood disorders; peacefulness and calmness * Gamma aminobutyric Acid (GABA) – cortical regions, feeling of sedation and relaxation; i.e. dentists * Norepinephrine – agitating, alerting, arousing component in the brain * Dopamine – associated w psychosis; too much = hallucinate, too little = Parkinson’s disease * Psychological contributions * Conditioning and cognitive process * Classical and operant conditioning (Watson, Skinner) * Learned helplessness (Seligman) * Modeling and Observational learning (Bandura) * Prepared learning – adaptive (Mineka) * Cognitive Behavioral Model (Beck, Ellis) * Thought can influence mood and behavior * Social-Psychological factors * Cultural factors: influence form and expression of “normalities” * Gender effects: gender roles influence form and expression of “normalities” * Social relationships: frequency and quality, interpersonal psychotherapy
The Diathesis-Stress Model * “Diathesis” = susceptibility to develop a disorder * Oversimplified * Ex: blood-injury-injection phobia, alcoholism, animal aggression
Reciprocal Gene-Environment Model * People with a genetic predisposition for a disorder may also have a genetic tendency to create environmental risk factors that promote it * Depression, impulsivity * Non-genomic inheritance of behavior: biology is not destiny
Assessment and DX
The DSM-IV * Basic characteristics * Five axes: I-V * Axis I: Most major disorders, ex: OCD, major depressive disorder * Axis II: stable, enduring problems, ex: antisocial personality disorder * Avis III: Medical conditions, ex: none * Axis IV: Psycho-social problems, ex: recent divorce, unemployment * Axis V: Global assessment of functioning, ex: moderate symptoms (flat affect, unable to keep job) * Clear inclusion and exclusion criteria * Categorized and empirically grounded

Somatoform Disorders – physical problems w/o organic cause Disorder | Description | Causes | Treatment | Hypochondriasis | * Physical pain but no clear cause * Severe anxiety over having disease * Strong conviction; medical reassurance useless | * Unpredictable and uncontrollable world * Overly attentive to physical sensations, misinterpreted * Trigger event, family history of sickness | * Challenge
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