COURSE NOTES: Introductory Psychology

Notes for Psychology 101: based on Myers's text, Exploring Psychology, with supplements and modifications by the instructor, Prof. Cloninger.

denotes a term that you should know how to define, and to recognize and give examples. denotes an important person. You should remember this person's name and what (s)he has done. denotes an important research finding. denotes an issue that you should be able to discuss or explain.

PERSPECTIVES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS

defining them
understanding them
classifying them

Is it abnormal to...

keep 150 cats in a house?
talk to spirits?
wash your hands 10 times every hour?
keep 150 cats in a house?

... if you breed them for substantial profit?
... if you are a medicine man in a native tribe?
... if you are a physician?

DEFINING PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS
4 criteria

1. atypical behavior
2. disturbing behavior (to others)
   in that culture
   in that time
3. maladaptive behavior
4. unjustifiable behavior

UNDERSTANDING PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS

The Medical Perspective

Pinel: mental illness, not demon possession
medical model
diagnosis
therapy
treatment

The Bio-Psycho-Social Perspective

mutual influence of biological, psychological, and social factors
cultural variations in disorders

CLASSIFYING PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS

DSM-IV: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th edition) 

LABELING PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS

• Rosenhan's study of labeling in mental institution
• stigma against the mentally ill
• stereotype of violent mentally ill

Rosenhan's study: "On being sane in insane places"

8 people posed as "pseudodopatients"
5 men (including Rosenhan himself), 3 women
1 graduate student, 3 psychologists, 1 pediatrician, 1 psychiatrist, 1 painter, 1 homemaker
Presented themselves for admission
to 12 psychological hospitals
in 5 states
both east and west coasts of US
Called hospital for appointment
on arrival, complained of hearing voices that said "empty," "hollow," and "thud"
No other symptoms! Otherwised acted completely normal and gave truthful responses to interviewer
(except changed names and occupations
All were admitted!
11 of the 12 were diagnosed with "schizophrenia."
Acted normal in the hospital
took notes
flushed medications down toilet
Even hospital staff treat "patients" strangely.
PSEUDOPATIENT: "Pardon me, Dr. _______. Could you tell me when I am eligible for grounds privileges?"
PSYCHIATRIST: "Good morning, Dave. How are you today?" [leaves immediately]

Interpretation: The power of labeling

Other studies also show stigmatizing by labeling.
seeing interviewee as "different"
refusal to rent rooms
media portrayals of violent mentally ill

ANXIETY DISORDERS:

• psychological disorders characterized by distressing, persistent anxiety or maladaptive behavior that reduce anxiety
• examples: generalized anxiety; phobias (such as fear of snakes); obsessive-compulsive disorder

GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER: an anxiety disorder in which a person is continuously tense, apprehensive, and in a state of autonomic nervous system arousal

PANIC DISORDER with PANIC ATTACKS: anxiety disorder marked by a minutes-long episode of intense dread in which a person experience terror and accompanying chest pain, choking, or other frightening sensations

• example: being overcome by panic while in a store

phobias: persistent, irrational fear of a specific object or situation

for example:

social phobias

fear of dogs

fear of snakes

fear of spiders

fear of heights

fear of flying

fear of public speaking

OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER: anxiety disorder characterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts (obsessions) and/or actions (compulsions)

• examples:
  • obsessive thinking about germs
  • compulsive hand washing
• obsessive thoughts
  • worrying about being robbed
  • fearing germs
• compulsive behaviors
  • checking the lock several times
  • washing hands repeatedly

Explaining Anxiety Disorders

The Learning Perspective

Fear Conditioning
Stimulus Generalization
Reinforcement
Observational Learning

The Biological Perspective

Natural Selection (evolution):

• prepares us to fear heights, spiders, but not bombs

Genes:

• anxiety is influenced by heredity

Physiology:

overarousal of brain areas associated with impulse control and habitual behaviors; fear circuits within the amygdala (produced by traumatic learning)

DISSOCIATIVE DISORDERS

The Wounds of War: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (Myers, 2005, pp. 480-481)

DISSOCIATIVE AMNESIA

• [graphic in lecture: stress (leads to) amnesia]

DISSOCIATIVE FUGUE
run away and establish new identity (forgetting the old)

DISSOCIATIVE IDENTITY DISORDER

• multiple personality disorder (former label)
• example: Dr. Jekyll / Mr. Hyde

controversy: Is the disorder real? or like normal multiple "selves" in different contexts (only more extreme)?

some evidence of different physiological functioning

increased incidence in North America

perhaps a reaction to trauma (including sexual trauma)

PERSONALITY DISORDERS

inflexible, enduring patterns of behavior that impair one's social functioning

• examples (types): histrionic personality disorder; narcissistic personality disorder; borderline personality disorder; antisocial personality disorder

Antisocial Personality Disorder

criminal-prone
low fear
low emotional arousal in stressful situations
genetic vulnerability (which could be channeled into heroism instead of crime)

but genetics isn't everything!

MOOD DISORDERS

Major Depressive Disorder

two or more weeks
depressed moods
feelings of worthlessness
diminished interest or pleasure in most activities
no apparent reason

famous people with mental illness:

Abraham Lincoln (16th US President)
suffered from severe, incapacitating and occasionally suicidal depressions

Bipolar Disorder

alternating mania and depression
manic episode: hyperactive, wildly optimistic state

famous people with mental illness

Virginia Woolf (British novelist)
Suffered bipolar depression, with feverish periods of writing, alternating with weeks of gloom

Ludwig von Beethoven (musical composer)
bipolar depression

Facts about mood disorders (Myers pp. 488-489)

Depression involves behavior and cognition, a well as emotion.
Depression is widespread.
Women are twice as vulnerable.
Most major depression episodes end within 3 months, even without treatment.
Stressful events can trigger depression.

Explaining Mood Disorders

The Biological Perspective

Genetic Influences: runs in families (with alcoholism and suicide)
The Depressed Brain

low levels of norepinephrine
low levels of serotonin
inactive or smaller left frontal lobe

The Social-Cognitive Perspective

self-defeating beliefs
learned helplessness

vicious cycle of negative thoughts and moods

SCHIZOPHRENIA

"split mind" (fragmented emotions, perceptions and thought)
affects 1 in 100 people

Symptoms of Schizophrenia

disorganized thinking, which may include delusions (false beliefs)
disturbed perceptions
hallucinations (false sensory experiences)
inappropriate emotions and actions

Subtypes of Schizophrenia

symptoms (positive or negative)
positive symptoms (senseless talking, laughing, etc.)
negative symptoms (apathy)

onset (gradual or sudden)
chronic (process) type
acute (reactive) type

diagnostic categories
paranoid (delusions)
disorganized (speech, behavior, emotion)
catatonic (body movement)
undifferentiated
or residual

Understanding Schizophrenia

Brain Abnormalities

dopamine (excess receptors)
brain activity: low frontal lobe; high thalamus activity during hallucinations
brain anatomy: enlarged spaces
prenatal problems, such as viral infection, is one possible cause

Genetic Risk of Schizophrenia

1/100 in general population
1/10 (roughly) in children of 1 schizophrenic
1/2 in identical twins of schizophrenics
10 of 100 children of schizophrenics are schizophrenic

Psychological factors may precipitate illness in genetically vulnerable people.

RATES OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS

Rate of disorders (by survey of representative sample of U.S.) : about 1 in 6 people

Men are more at risk for

alcoholism
antisocial personality

Women are more at risk for

anxiety
phobias
mood disorders

Blacks are more at risk for

anxiety
phobias

Web Links:

DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual), outline

Thomas S. Szasz website (myth of mental illness)

Students: You can also use resources for this text supplied by the publisher. These include a chapter overview, self-tests, and other resources.

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