Psychological Disorders & Treatment
Exam 2 |100% Correct Answers|
Antisocial Personality Disorder *Ans*✨Characterized by lack of conscience for wrongdoing, even
toward family and friends—extreme disregard for feelings and rights of others
¤ Lifetime prevalence: 2-3.5%
¤ More common in men
¤ May present as aggressive and ruthless, or a clever con artist
¤ No remorse
¨ Symptoms: self-centeredness, lack of empathy or remorse, shallow, superficial emotions,
deceitfulness, manipulative behavior, disregard for rules, impulsivity
¤ Strong genetic component
¤ Blunted heart rate and perspiration response, and less amygdala activity when shown negative
emotional, threatening stimuli (e.g., photos of murder scene)
¤ Experience less anxiety in general
Anxiety Disorder Development: Biological Perspective: *Ans*✨¤ Natural selection - fear preserves the
species
¤ Genetics - identical twins more likely to share phobias
¤ Malfunctioning brain circuitry (e.g., OCD - elevated activity in anterior cingulate cortex, involved in
action monitoring and error checking
Anxiety Disorder Development: Learning Perspective: *Ans*✨¤ Fear conditioning - through stimulus
generalization and reinforcement
¤ Observational learning - learn what to fear by observing others
Anxiety Disorders *Ans*✨People with Anxiety Disorders suffer such disabling levels of fear and
anxiety that they cannot lead a normal life
Collectively the most common mental disorders in the US
¤ Each year, ~18% of adult population suffer from an anxiety disorder
, Behavior Therapies, Psychotherapy *Ans*✨Rooted in behaviorism - views conditioned, learned
responses as the primary explanation for behavior
¤ Problem behaviors (e.g., phobias) are learned behaviors that can be extinguished and replaced by
adaptive ones by applying learning principles
¤ Goal: change problem behaviors, not focused on exploring feelings
*Counterconditioning* - using classical conditioning to evoke new associations, to replace unwanted
responses
--*Exposure Therapies*-expose people to what they normally avoid or escape
...*Systematic desensitization* - type of exposure therapy that associates a pleasant relaxed state with
gradually increasing anxiety-triggering stimuli
--*Aversion Therapies* Associates an unpleasant state (e.g., nausea) with an unwanted behavior (e.g.,
drinking alcohol) Transforming the person's reaction from positive to negative (positive punishment)
Bipolar Disorder *Ans*✨Mood Disorder
Person alternates between depression and mania
¤ Mania - euphoric, hyperactive, wildly optimistic state
¤ Symptoms - over-talkative, over-active, elated (although also easily irritate if crossed); little need for
sleep; loud, flighty speech; poor judgment (reckless spending, risky investments, unsafe sex - fewer
inhibitions).
¨ Bipolor disorder is less common than depression, but often more dysfunctional (lifetime risk ~ 2.6%)
Body Dysmorphic Disorder Somatoform Disorders *Ans*✨Persistent and intrusive preoccupation with
an imagined or slight defect in one's appearance
¤ May avoid contact with others or go to great lengths to hide defect
Borderline Personality Disorder *Ans*✨severe instability in emotion and self concepts and high levels
of volatility.
Symptoms: major mood shifts (depressive, anxious, irritable, angry), unstable self-image, impulsivity,
unstable relationships, sometimes physically aggressive towards self or others and/or suicidal thoughts
Cause not well understood, perhaps improper emotional regulation coupled with an environment that
teaches one to ignore intense emotions
Exam 2 |100% Correct Answers|
Antisocial Personality Disorder *Ans*✨Characterized by lack of conscience for wrongdoing, even
toward family and friends—extreme disregard for feelings and rights of others
¤ Lifetime prevalence: 2-3.5%
¤ More common in men
¤ May present as aggressive and ruthless, or a clever con artist
¤ No remorse
¨ Symptoms: self-centeredness, lack of empathy or remorse, shallow, superficial emotions,
deceitfulness, manipulative behavior, disregard for rules, impulsivity
¤ Strong genetic component
¤ Blunted heart rate and perspiration response, and less amygdala activity when shown negative
emotional, threatening stimuli (e.g., photos of murder scene)
¤ Experience less anxiety in general
Anxiety Disorder Development: Biological Perspective: *Ans*✨¤ Natural selection - fear preserves the
species
¤ Genetics - identical twins more likely to share phobias
¤ Malfunctioning brain circuitry (e.g., OCD - elevated activity in anterior cingulate cortex, involved in
action monitoring and error checking
Anxiety Disorder Development: Learning Perspective: *Ans*✨¤ Fear conditioning - through stimulus
generalization and reinforcement
¤ Observational learning - learn what to fear by observing others
Anxiety Disorders *Ans*✨People with Anxiety Disorders suffer such disabling levels of fear and
anxiety that they cannot lead a normal life
Collectively the most common mental disorders in the US
¤ Each year, ~18% of adult population suffer from an anxiety disorder
, Behavior Therapies, Psychotherapy *Ans*✨Rooted in behaviorism - views conditioned, learned
responses as the primary explanation for behavior
¤ Problem behaviors (e.g., phobias) are learned behaviors that can be extinguished and replaced by
adaptive ones by applying learning principles
¤ Goal: change problem behaviors, not focused on exploring feelings
*Counterconditioning* - using classical conditioning to evoke new associations, to replace unwanted
responses
--*Exposure Therapies*-expose people to what they normally avoid or escape
...*Systematic desensitization* - type of exposure therapy that associates a pleasant relaxed state with
gradually increasing anxiety-triggering stimuli
--*Aversion Therapies* Associates an unpleasant state (e.g., nausea) with an unwanted behavior (e.g.,
drinking alcohol) Transforming the person's reaction from positive to negative (positive punishment)
Bipolar Disorder *Ans*✨Mood Disorder
Person alternates between depression and mania
¤ Mania - euphoric, hyperactive, wildly optimistic state
¤ Symptoms - over-talkative, over-active, elated (although also easily irritate if crossed); little need for
sleep; loud, flighty speech; poor judgment (reckless spending, risky investments, unsafe sex - fewer
inhibitions).
¨ Bipolor disorder is less common than depression, but often more dysfunctional (lifetime risk ~ 2.6%)
Body Dysmorphic Disorder Somatoform Disorders *Ans*✨Persistent and intrusive preoccupation with
an imagined or slight defect in one's appearance
¤ May avoid contact with others or go to great lengths to hide defect
Borderline Personality Disorder *Ans*✨severe instability in emotion and self concepts and high levels
of volatility.
Symptoms: major mood shifts (depressive, anxious, irritable, angry), unstable self-image, impulsivity,
unstable relationships, sometimes physically aggressive towards self or others and/or suicidal thoughts
Cause not well understood, perhaps improper emotional regulation coupled with an environment that
teaches one to ignore intense emotions
