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Abnormal Psychology
A.K.A. Psychological Disorders
A “harmful dysfunction” in which behavior
is judged to be atypical, disturbing,
maladaptive and unjustifiable.
Perspectives and Disorders
Psychological School/Perspective
Psychoanalytic/Psychodynamic
Humanistic
Behavioral
Cognitive
Sociocultural
Biomedical/Neuroscience
Two Major Classifications in the
DSM
Neurotic Disorders
•  Distressing but one can
still function in society
and act rationally.
Early Theories
•  Abnormal behavior was evil
spirits trying to get out.
•  Trephining was often used.
DSM IV
Cause of the Disorder •  Diagnostic
Internal, unconscious drives
Statistical Manual of
Failure to strive to one’s potential or
Mental Disorders:
being out of touch with one’s feelings. the big book of
disorders.
Reinforcement history, the •  DSM will classify
environment. disorders and
Irrational, dysfunctional thoughts or describe the
ways of thinking.
symptoms.
Dysfunctional Society •  DSM will NOT explain
Organic problems, biochemical the causes or possible
imbalances, genetic predispositions.
cures.
Anxiety Disorders
Psychotic Disorders
•  a group of conditions
where the primary
•  Person loses contact symptoms are anxiety
with reality, or defenses against
experiences distorted anxiety.
perceptions. •  the patient fears
something awful will
happen to them.
•  They are in a state of
intense apprehension,
uneasiness,
uncertainty, or fear.
John Wayne Gacy
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Phobias Generalized Anxiety Disorder

•  A person experiences GAD  
sudden episodes of •  An anxiety disorder in
intense dread. which a person is
•  Must be an irrational continuously tense,
apprehensive and in a
fear. state of autonomic
•  Phobia List nervous system arousal.
•  The patient is
constantly tense and
worried, feels
inadequate, is
oversensitive, can’t
concentrate and
suffers from insomnia.

Panic Disorder   Obsessive-compulsive disorder

•  Persistent unwanted
•  An anxiety disorder thoughts
marked by a minutes- (obsessions) cause
someone to feel the
long episode of need (compulsion) to
intense dread in which engage in a
a person experiences particular action.
terror and •  Obsession about
accompanying chest dirt and germs may
pain, choking and lead to compulsive
hand washing.
other frightening
sensations.

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

Somatoform Disorders
a.k.a. PTSD
•  Flashbacks or •  Occur when a person
nightmares following manifests a
a person’s psychological
involvement in or problem through a
observation of an physiological
extremely stressful symptom.
event. •  Two types……
•  Memories of the
even cause anxiety.

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Hypochondriasis Conversion Disorder

•  Report the existence
•  Has frequent
physical complaints of severe physical
for which medical problems with no
doctors are unable biological reason.
to locate the cause. •  Like blindness or
•  They usually believe paralysis.
that the minor
issues (headache,
upset stomach) are
indicative are more
severe illnesses.

Pol  Pot  

Dissociative Disorders Psychogenic Amnesia

•  These disorders •  A person cannot

involve a disruption remember things with
in the conscious no physiological basis
process. for the disruption in
memory.
•  Three types….
•  Retrograde Amnesia
•  NOT organic amnesia.
•  Organic amnesia can
be retrograde or
antrograde.

Dissociative Fugue Dissociative Identity Disorder

•  People with •  Used to be known as
psychogenic amnesia Multiple Personality
that find themselves Disorder.
in an unfamiliar •  A person has several
environment. rather than one
integrated
The image cannot
personality.
•  People with DID
be displayed.
Your computer

commonly have a
may not have
enough memory

history of childhood
to open the
image, or the
image may have
been corrupted.
Restart your
abuse or trauma.
computer, and

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Mood Disorders Major Depression

•  Experience extreme or inappropriate •  A.K.A. unipolar
emotion. depression
•  Unhappy for at least
two weeks with no
apparent cause.
•  Depression is the
common cold of
psychological
disorders.

Seasonal Affective Disorder Bipolar Disorder

•  Experience •  Formally manic
depression during depression.
the winter months. •  Involves periods of
depression and manic
•  Based not on episodes.
temperature, but on •  Manic episodes involve
amount of sunlight. feelings of high energy
•  Treated with light (but they tend to differ
a lot…some get confident
therapy. and some get irritable).
•  Engage in risky behavior
during the manic episode.

Personality Disorders Antisocial Personality Disorder

•  Well-established, •  Lack of empathy.
maladaptive ways of •  Little regard for
behaving that other’s feelings.
negatively affect •  View the world as
people’s ability to hostile and look out
function. for themselves.
•  Dominates their
personality.

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Dependent Personality Disorder Histrionic Personality Disorder

•  Rely too much on the •  Needs to be the
attention and help of center of attention.
others. •  Whether acting silly
or dressing
provocatively.

Obsessive –Compulsive
Narcissistic Personality Disorder
Personality Disorder
•  Having an •  Overly concerned
unwarranted sense with certain
of self-importance. thoughts and
•  Thinking that you performing certain
are the center of behaviors.
the universe. •  Not as extreme as
OCD anxiety.

Schizophrenic Disorders Disorganized Thinking

•  About  1  in  every  100   •  The thinking of a
people  are  diagnosed  with   person with
Schizophrenia is
schizophrenia.   fragmented and
Symptoms of bizarre and distorted
Schizophrenia with false beliefs.
1.  Disorganized thinking. •  Disorganized thinking
comes from a
2.  Disturbed Perceptions breakdown in selective
3.  Inappropriate attention.- they
Emotions and Actions cannot filter out
information.

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Delusions (false beliefs)   Disturbed Perceptions  

•  Delusions of •  Delusions of •  hallucinations-
Persecution Grandeur sensory experiences
without sensory
stimulation.

Inappropriate Emotions and

Positive v. Negative Symptoms  
Actions  
•  Laugh at
inappropriate times.
•  Flat Effect
•  Senseless,
compulsive acts.
•  Catatonia-
motionless Waxy
Flexibility
Positive Symptoms Negative Symptoms
• Presence of • Absence of
inappropriate symptoms appropriate ones.

Types of Schizophrenia Disorganized Schizophrenia

•  disorganized  speech  or  
behavior,  or  flat  or  
inappropriate  emo>on.  
•  Clang  associa>ons    
•  "Imagine  the  worst  
Systema>c,  sympathe>c  
Quite  pathe>c,  
apologe>c,  paramedic  
Your  heart  is  
prosthe>c"  
 
 

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Paranoid Schizophrenia Catatonic Schizophrenia

•  preoccupation with •  Flat effect
delusions or •  Waxy Flexibility
hallucinations. •  parrot like repeating
•  Somebody is out to of another’s speech
get me!!!! and movements

Undifferentiated Schizophrenia Other Disorders

•  Many and •  Paraphilias
varied (pedophilia,
Symptoms. zoophilia,
hybristophilia)
•  Fetishism
•  sadist, masochist
•  Eating Disorders
•  Substance use
disorders
•  ADHD

The Rosenhan Study Therapy

•  Rosenhan’s associates •  It used to be that if
were Malingering
symptoms of hearing someone exhibited
voices. abnormal behavior,
•  They were ALL admitted they were
for schizophrenia.
•  None were exposed as institutionalized.
imposters. •  Because of new drugs
•  They all left diagnosed
with schizophrenia in and better therapy,
remission. the U.S. went to a
•  What are some of the policy of
questions raised by this
study? deinstitutionalization.

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Psychoanalytic Therapy Humanistic Therapy

•  Client-Centered Therapy
•  Psychoanalysis (manifest by Carl Rogers
and latent content •  These are non-directive
through…. hypnosis free therapies and use active
association, dream, listening.
interpretation). •  Self-actualization, free-
•  Unconscious will and unconditional
positive regard.
•  Transference
•  Gestalt Therapy by Fritz
•  Other therapies will Perls encourage clients to
result in symptom get in touch with whole
substitution. self.

Behavioral Therapies Cognitive Therapy

Counterconditioning •  Change the way we
•  Classical Conditioning view the world
1.  Aversive Conditioning (change our
schemas)
2.  Systematic
desensitization •  Aaron Beck
3.  Flooding •  Albert Ellis and
Rational Emotive
Operant Conditioning Therapy
•  Token Economy

Somatic Therapies Somatic Therapy

Psychopharmacology •  Electroconvulsive
•  Antipsychotics Therapy (ECT)- for
(thorazine, haldol) depression.
•  Anti-anxiety (valium, •  Psychosurgury
barbiturates, Xanax) 1.  Prefontal lobotomy
•  Mood Disorders
(serotonin reuptake
inhibitors)
•  Bipolar (lithium)

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Group Therapy