Critical Thinking Exercise

 

�        How do you determine whether something is �Abnormal Behavior�?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Defining Abnormal Behavior

 

Five Definitional Criteria:

 

�    Statistical Frequency - is it ______________ in that not very many people engage in it?

�    Social Norm Deviance - does it ______________ social and cultural norms?

�    Personal Distress - is the person _______________ by it in any way?

�    Impairment of Functioning - does it _______________ any area of functioning?

�    Danger - is it ______________ to one�s self or others?

 

Explaining Abnormal Behavior

 

Biological Model: Medical Problems

 

�    Psychological disorders are caused by __________________________, genetic problems, brain damage and dysfunction, or some combination of these factors (Gamwell & Tomes, 1995).

 

Psychoanalytic Model: Hiding Problems

 

�    Psychological disorders are caused by repressing one�s threatening thoughts, memories, and concerns into the ___________________ mind (Carducci, 1998).

 

Behaviorist Model: Learning Problems

 

�    Psychological disorders are caused by ________________ maladaptive behavior patterns through classical and operant conditioning (Skinner, 1971; Watson, 1913).

 

Cognitive Model: Thinking Problems

 

�    Psychological disorders are caused by maladaptive and irrational _________________ patterns (Mora, 1985).

 

Documenting Abnormal Behavior

 

Statistical Prevalence in the United States
(Adapted from NIMH, 2001)

 

�    Approximately 22% of individuals over age 18 (about 44 million) suffer from a psychological disorder in any given year.

�    Anxiety Disorders and ____________ Disorders are the most common.

�    Approximately 5% (9.9 million) suffer from Major Depressive Disorder.

�    Approximately 1.7% (2.4 million) suffer from Panic Disorder.

�    Approximately 1.1% (2.2 million) suffer from Schizophrenia.

 

Categorizing Abnormal Behavior

 

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition,

Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR)

 

�    A system for classifying, describing, and ___________________ various psychological disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 2000).

 

Five Axial System

 

�    Axis I - Clinical Disorders and Other Conditions That May Be a Focus of Clinical Attention.

�  Psychological disorders and other factors that impair ______________ and are stressful.

�    Axis II - Personality Disorders and Mental Retardation.

�  ________________, enduring, maladaptive patterns.

�    Axis III - General Medical Conditions.

�  Chronic and acute illnesses and medical conditions that might affect ___________________________.

�    Axis IV - Psychosocial and Environmental Problems.

�  Significant ________________________ that might impact diagnosis, treatment, and outcome.

�    Axis V - Global Assessment of Functioning.

�  __________________ judgment of current functioning rated on a scale of 0 - 100.

 

Anxiety Disorders

 

�    Anxiety Disorders - disorders in which the main symptom is excessive or unrealistic anxiety or _____________________.

 

�    Generalized Anxiety Disorder - excessive anxiety and _______________ occur more days than not for at least six months.

� Anxiety seems to be about everything or _________________ at all.

� People with this disorder are just plain worriers (Ruscio et al., 2001).

�    Panic Disorder - _________________________ occur frequently enough to compromise life functioning.

�  Panic Attack - sudden onset of intense panic, including a racing heart, rapid breathing, a sensation of being �out of one�s body�, dulled hearing and vision, sweating, dry mouth, and feelings that one is _________________ (Kumar & Oakley-Browne, 2002).

�  Range from a few minutes to � hour, but most peak within 10 - 15 minutes.

�    Agoraphobia - excessive fear of being in a place or situation from which ______________ is difficult or impossible if something should go wrong.

�    Social Anxiety Disorder - excessive fear of ________________________ or being in social situations that might lead to a negative evaluation.

�    Specific Phobia - irrational fear of some specific ___________________, situation, or event.

�  Claustrophobia - small, enclosed __________________.

�  Acrophobia - heights.

�  Mysophobia - dirt and germs.

�  Ablutophobia - ________________ or bathing.

�  Nyctophobia - darkness.

�  Ophidiophobia - snakes.

�  Arachnophobia - spiders.

�  Xenophobia - foreigners or _________________.

�    Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) - recurring thoughts or obsessions create anxiety that is relieved by performing a repetitive, ritualistic __________________ (compulsion) (Soomro, 2001).

�  Usually causes significant ______________________________ and impairment of functioning.

 

Somatoform Disorders

 

�    Somatoform Disorders - disorders that take the form of ______________ _______________ and symptoms, but for which there are no real physical disorders.

 

�    Hypochondriasis - excessive and almost constant worry about ________ ________, along with preoccupation of bodily symptoms (Phillips, 2001).

�    Somatization Disorder - ___________________ complaints of a specific symptom, such as pain, nausea, difficulty swallowing, or catching one�s breath (Kellner, 1986).

�    Conversion Disorder - loss of ______________ and/or _____________ functions for which there is no real physical cause.

� Examples include blindness, paralysis, deafness, or numbness of certain body parts.

 

Dissociative Disorders

 

�    Dissociative Disorders - disorders in which there is a break in conscious awareness, memory, the sense of ____________, or some combination.

 

�    Dissociative Identity Disorder - person seems to have two or more distinct identities or _____________________ within one body.

�  Formerly Multiple Personality Disorder.

�  May be a �_____________� personality who usually knows nothing about the other personalities and experiences �blackouts� or losses of memory and time (Kluft, 1984).

�    Depersonalization Disorder - person feels _____________________ and disconnected from themselves, their bodies, and their surroundings.

�    Dissociative Amnesia - loss of ______________ for personal information, either partial or complete.

�  Dissociative Amnesia is usually caused by ______________________ factors, such as stress or emotional trauma (Chu et al., 1999), whereas Retrograde Amnesia is usually caused by _______________ ______________ or brain trauma.

�    Dissociative Fugue - traveling away from familiar surroundings with amnesia for the trip and possible amnesia for personal information. �

�  Person may become confused about ______________ and even take on a whole new identity in a new place (Nijenhuis, 2000).�

�  Usually triggered by extreme stress or emotional trauma.

 

Mood Disorders

 

�    Mood Disorders - disorders in which mood is severely ______________.

 

�    Major Depressive Disorder - at least two weeks of depressed mood or _____________________ in nearly all activities.

�  Sleep or ______________ disturbances.

�  Loss of energy.

�  Feelings of _____________________ or worthlessness.

�  Potential suicidal thoughts or tendencies.

�    Dysthymic Disorder - a less ________________, but longer lasting form of depression.

�  Usually lasts for 2 years or more.

�    Bipolar Disorder - severe _________________________ between major depressive episodes and manic episodes.

�  Depressive Episode - symptoms similar to those of major depression.

�  Manic Episode - symptoms include excessive energy, excitement, or elation; _________________________; irritability or aggressiveness; impulsivity (e.g., shopping sprees).

�    Cyclothymic Disorder - disorder that consists of mood swings from moderate depression to hypomania and lasts two years or more.

�  Less intense version of __________________ Disorder.

 

Schizophrenia

 

�    Schizophrenia - severe disorder in which the person suffers from ___________________________, bizarre behavior, hallucinations, and is unable to distinguish between fantasy and reality.�

 

Symptoms of Schizophrenia

 

�    Positive Symptoms - excess or distortion of normal functions.�

�  Hallucinations - false ________________ perceptions, such as hearing or seeing things that do not exist.

�  Auditory Hallucinations - hearing voices, etc.

�  Visual Hallucinations - seeing objects or people that are not really there.

�  Delusions - false _____________________ strongly held in spite of invalidating evidence.

�  Delusions of ________________ - belief that others are out to get them or hurt them.

�  Delusions of Grandeur - person believes he or she is some powerful person who can save the world or who has a special mission.

�  Delusions of Reference - person believes that other people, television characters, and even books are specifically talking to them.

�  Delusions of _________________ - person believes they are being controlled by external forces, such as the devil or aliens.

�  Disorganized Speech/Thinking - tangential, loose ________________.

�  Word Salad - ongoing or disjointed _______________ monologues.

�  Neologism - a made up or nonsensical word.

�    Negative Symptoms - reduction or ______________ of normal functions.�

�  Affect Flattening - reduction in the range and intensity of ___________ expression.

�  Avolition - reduction, difficulty, or inability to pursue meaningful goals.

�  Alogia - poverty of ______________ fluency and productivity.

 

Categories of Schizophrenia

 

�    Paranoid Schizophrenia - person suffers from delusions of _______________, grandeur, and jealousy, together with hallucinations.

�    Disorganized Schizophrenia - person exhibits _____________________ and thinking, such as disorganized speech and inappropriate affect.

�    Catatonic Schizophrenia - person experiences periods of ____________ ____________ immobility mixed with occasional bursts of energetic, frantic movement and talking.

�    Undifferentiated Schizophrenia - person shows no particular __________ or shifts from one pattern to another, but various symptoms are evident.�

 

Personality Disorders

 

�    Personality Disorders � disorders in which a person has an excessively persistent, rigid, and maladaptive pattern of behavior and ways of _________________________________.

 

Clinical Disorders vs. Personality Disorders

 

�    Clinical disorders are usually _____________________ (e.g., the person is usually distressed by his or her symptoms) and less pervasive.

�    Personality disorders are usually __________________ (e.g., the person is �comfortable� with their symptoms and usually doesn�t think there is a problem) and more pervasive.

 

Three Major Categories of Personality Disorders

 

�    Odd or Eccentric Types - people are seen as _____________ or ________________ by others.

�    Dramatic or Erratic Types - _______________ is very dramatic or erratic.

�    Anxious or Fearful Types - main ____________ is anxiety or fearfulness.

 

Examples of Personality Disorders

 

�    Antisocial Personality Disorder � person has very little _______________ or conscience and often behaves in an impulsive manner without regard for the consequences of that behavior.

� Manipulative and feels no ____________________ for lying, cheating, stealing, or even murder.

� 3 - 6 times more common in ____________ than _______________ (APA, 2000; Paris, 2004).

�    Borderline Personality Disorder - person is moody, unstable, lacks a clear sense of identity, and often clings to others.

�  Manipulative, distrusting, and usually has intense and unstable relationships with others (may even use ______________ as a means of manipulating others).�

�  Splitting - thinking in _____________________, such as idealization and devaluation.

�  Excessive and inappropriate emotions.

�  2 - 3 times more common in ________________ than ____________ (APA, 2000; Swartz et al., 1990).