Abnormal Psychology Class Notes

1/11/99

psychopathology ßà abnormal psychology

What is abnormal?

classic study of "faking" symptoms at a psychiatric unit; author of study suggests that you can’t tell who’s normal
professor’s example of actress giving performance – is she abnormal? Issues: who teaches patients how to act abnormal?

definitions

medical model of abnormality – disease paradigm and uses vocabulary of medicine, etiology, prognosis, premorbid, prodromal

History:

little was understood before 1800’s
1800-1900 – some differentiation of symptoms and illnesses
1900-1950 – beginning of empirical data; some medical therapies (shock treatment, psychosurgery)
1950-present – psychopharmacological treatments, some rational treatment

empirical à it works; no theory behind it

rational à theory based

diagnosis à categorize abnormality

DSM IV – made to standardize; reliability and validity (major issue)

Why diagnose? Payment, treatment, research possibilities and professional communication

DSM IV Axes

Primary Diagnosis
Personality Disorders and cognitive deficits
Medical Diagnoses
Psychosocial Environment and Stressors
Global Functioning – professor thinks most important from personal and social standpoints

Abnormal Psychology Class Notes

1/13/99

Organic vs. Psychogenic Etiology (cause or origin)

General Paresis

affects nervous system
3 types (expansive, affective, demented)
caused by syphilis
in 19^th century, risk factors were found to be male, veterans of Napoleon Wars, urbanites, cigar smokers; stress of city living
1910: showed bacteria in brains of patients; development of chemical treatment for syphilis
1940’s: development of appropriate antibiotics
symptoms include: inappropriate or blunted affect, nonsensical beliefs, carelessness, inattentiveness, slovenly, irritable, overly sentimental, tactless, amnesia

organic etiology à psychiatric disorder due to a physical condition

psychogenic etiology à something in the social environment or patient’s past

Issues with organic etiology:

whether extent of psychopathology problem is correlated with magnitude of organic disorder or disease
are they psychopathologies or interference with cognitive functioning

premorbid personality à patient’s personality before onset of illness

prodromal à sickness has begun, but no significant manifestations yet

Why do some people get a disease?

diathesis-stress model: suggests that the mind and body can only handle so much stress

most organic disorders are irreversible; treatment can only arrest the process

symptoms are different for organic and psychogenic etiologies; personality changes in organic disorders

Some Examples of Organic Etiologies:

Consequences of strokes include aphasia (language), apraxia (organizing movement), agnosia (perceptual), and lability (easy change of emotions).

Abnormal Psychology Class Notes

1/20/99

Organic Etiology – primarily cognitive deficits

Symptoms:

Risk Factors:

head injuries:

petechial: hemorrhages – small circumscribed bleeding on the brain; common in boxers; leads to "punch drunk" (appear drunk but aren’t)

Prognosis: depends upon environment, motivation, and premorbid personality