PSY 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Dissociative Identity Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder
29 Apr 2018
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Chapter 15 Notes: Psychological Disorders
-What is abnormal behavior?
●Abnormal behavior can be difficult to define
○No single common aspect shared by all forms
○No clear boundary exists between normal and abnormal
●Three main common definitions of abnormal behavior
○Conformity to norms
○Experiencing subjective distress
○Disability or dysfunction
-Conformity to Norms:
●Abnormal behavior does not conform to norms (like when a person’s behavior is deviant,
outrageous or otherwise non-conformist)
●Pros:
○Cutoff points
○Intuitive appeal
●Cons:
○Choice of cutoff points
○Number of deviations
○Cultural relativity (what’s normal in the U.S. might not be normal in other
countries)
-Experiencing Subjective Distress:
●Subjective distress
○Degree to which the afflicted individual subjectively reports negative experiences
●Pros:
○Reasonable to expect that people would be their own best judges of their
behavior/emotions
○Lack of diagnostic burden on therapist
●Cons:
○Lack of objective criteria
○Not all disordered people report distress
○Amount of subjective distress to be considered abnormal
-Disability or Dysfunction:
●Dysfunction: for a behavior to be considered abnormal, it must cause some level of
social/occupational problems for the individual (you feel like you can’t go to school or
work, etc)
●Pros:
○Less interference from therapist
●Cons:
○Who should establish definition of normality and may be difficult to achieve
consensus from multiple sources
-Classification of Psychological Disorders:
●DSM-V (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders): used for classifying
psychological disorders
○No explanation of causes but descriptions of disorders
-Anxiety Disorders:
●Characterized by distressing, persistent anxiety or maladaptive behaviors that reduce
anxiety
●Generalized anxiety disorder:
○Continually tense and apprehensive
○Can’t identify the cause of anxiety
○Autonomic nervous system arousal
●Panic disorder:
○Episodes of intense dread
○In 1 person of 75, this escalates into panic attacks
○Terror, chest pain, choking, trembling, dizziness
○Feels intense/severe, can be mistaken for a heart attack
●Phobia:
○Persistent, irrational fear and avoidance of a specific object or situation
○Examples: snakes, heights, spiders, flying in a plane, being closed in, thunder and
lightning
○Social phobia: intense fear of being scrutinized by others
○Agoraphobia: fear of situations in which escape might be difficult or help
unavailable when panic strikes (avoid being outside the home, in crowds, or close
to others)
●OCD:
○Unwanted repetitive thoughts (obsessions) and/or actions (compulsions)
○Obsessions: persistent thoughts, ideas, impulses, or images that seem to invade a
person’s consciousness
○Compulsions: repeated and rigid behaviors or mental acts that people feel they
must perform to prevent or reduce anxiety
○Obsessions cause anxiety, while compulsions are aimed at preventing or reducing
anxiety
○Anxiety rises if obsessions or compulsions are avoided
○People typically have small-scale obsessions/compulsions but becomes a disorder
when it interferes with normal functioning
○Compulsive thoughts and rituals become time-consuming
○Examples: excessive hand-washing, obsessions that something terrible will
happen
○Minor obsessions/compulsions are adaptive (relieve stress through rituals,
comfort from religious routine)
●PTSD:
○Reliving a traumatic event repeatedly through haunting memories, nightmares,
social withdrawal, anxiety, insomnia
○These symptoms are typically present for at least 4 weeks after the traumatic
experience
-Dissociative Disorders:
●Dissociation: significant aspects of experience are kept separate and distinct
●Individual experiences disruptions in consciousness, memory, sense of identity, or
perception typically in response to a traumatic event
○Most common: periods of amnesia
-Dissociative Identity Disorder:
●When a person exhibits two or more distinct and alternating personalities
●Each personality or “alter” has its own voice and mannerisms
●Alters often display dramatically different characteristics in:
○Vital statistics (age, sex, race, family history)
○Abilities and preferences: encyclopedic knowledge is affected in DID. Not
uncommon for alters to have different areas of expertise or abilities, including
driving a car, speaking foreign languages, or playing an instrument
●Person develops two or more distinct personalities each with a unique set of memories,
behaviors, thoughts, and emotions
●At any given time, one of the alters dominates the person’s functioning
●Usually one of these alters (called the primary, or the host, personality) appears more
often than the others
●The transition from one alter to the next (“switching”) is usually sudden and may be
dramatic
●Dissociatives can have up to 100 alters
●Typical types of alters:
○A depressed, exhausted host
○A strong, angry protector
○A scared, hurt child
○A helper
○An internal persecutor who blames one or more of the alters for the abuse they
have endured
●Some alters may not be aware that the other(s) exist
Document Summary
Abnormal behavior can be difficult to define. No single common aspect shared by all forms. No clear boundary exists between normal and abnormal. Three main common definitions of abnormal behavior. Abnormal behavior does not conform to norms (like when a person"s behavior is deviant, outrageous or otherwise non-conformist) Cultural relativity (what"s normal in the u. s. might not be normal in other countries) Degree to which the afflicted individual subjectively reports negative experiences. Reasonable to expect that people would be their own best judges of their behavior/emotions. Amount of subjective distress to be considered abnormal. Dysfunction: for a behavior to be considered abnormal, it must cause some level of social/occupational problems for the individual (you feel like you can"t go to school or work, etc) Who should establish definition of normality and may be difficult to achieve consensus from multiple sources. Dsm-v (diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders): used for classifying psychological disorders.
