Abnormal Psychology Lecture Notes

2/17/99

monism à mind and body are the same

dualism à mind and body are separate

interactive dualism à interaction between mind and body – connection, but not the same

epiphenomenal monism (dualism) à mental activity is unrelated/orthogonal to body and vice versa, relationship is accidental at best

• author of text is trying to be a monist
• Renee desCartes – famous interactive dualist – seat of interaction was the pineal gland

stress – therapists did not have any long term effects on the organic disorder

traditional view (occurrence, maintenance, prevention)

1. emotional caused disorder
2. if you cured disorder and stress came along, could lead to renewal of disorder
3. disorder made worse by stress

modern view: stress is a risk factor for disorder

risk factors:

1. modifiable
2. non-modifiable

ex. of risk factor for cardiovascular disease à hypothetically the number of telephone poles, not necessarily a cause, but more of a predictor or correlation

modifiable – amount of exercise, hours of relaxation

non-modifiable – age, sex, parents

how do you connect stress to a specific disorder?

why does a person come down with one disorder over another?

-organ-system specificity

ex. Why does someone with hypertension only get hypertension, not asthma, ulcers, ezcema?

-post stress affects the weaker system

-combination of psychosocial factors and biological environments

-there’s a weakness somewhere, stress reduces the body’s ability to fight off biological factors

-problem with determining what organ system will be the one to breakdown

Psychoanalytic explanations:

1. Ulcer – strongly ambitious on the surface, underneath wants rest, comfort, support, tender loving care, feels shame of highly dependent urges, cause of tension is lack of loving care, receiving food activates GI system, patient will recover if you let them
2. Essential hypertension – inward boiling with rage, anger is inhibited, anger can’t be repressed or expressed, psychosocial history à dominating parents, patient is submissive and dependent, hostile, unsuccessful rebellion
3. Asthma – experienced temptation with threatened to estrange from mother (sexual in nature), gave rise to childhood anxiety, urge to confess, cry, but confession would bring rejection from mother, wheezing is blocked crying

Cannon à stress is a physiological response in terms of autonomic nervous system = flight or fight

• fear activates hollow organs in a specific way – transient relief from activation from parasympathetic nervous system – rest, repair, repose
• system was a preparation for a physical threat

Selyea à cold, infection, burn, injury à sustained responses of the endocrine system, adrenal gland and hypertrophe in sustained physical stress

early studies – certain responses to certain stressors

globus hystericus – tightening, shortness of breath

Central problem: how do you select the organ? Due to weakness early in life – constitutional?

addiction (according to World Health Organization, must have all of the following):

1. psychological dependence
2. physiological dependence
3. tolerance
4. destruction of social fabric