PSYC Exam notes
LO1: Define the key concepts for this learning unit in your own words (all terminology in Chapter 14).
Theme 1: What is a Psychological Disorder?
LO2: Analyse the definition of a psychological disorder and discuss its application in the Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5)
When behaviour violates social and cultural norms of how people are supposed to behave it may
be considered abnormal.
“a syndrome characterized by clinically significant disturbance in an individual’s cognition,
emotion regulation, or behaviour that reflects a dysfunction in the psychological, biological, or
development processes underlying mental functioning”
The study of psychological disorders is called abnormal psychology
Deciding that an individual’s behaviours & mental processes are abnormal is the first step in
labelling them with a psychological disorder
What is abnormal?
- Latin prefix ab means “away from” and norma means “the rule”
- behaviours that most people do are normal, whereas behaviours that characterize a minority
of people are abnormal
How are psychological disorders diagnosed?
- Purely on the basis of observable behaviours
- To promote consistency in the diagnoses of mental disorders, mental health professionals
typically refer to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)
Perspectives on the causes of disorders:
- Biological
- Psychological
- Sociocultural
- Biopsychosocial
A Multipath Approach
- Biological dimension: genetics, epigenetics, brain, anatomy, biochemical processes, central
nervous system functioning, autonomic nervous system reactivity, etc...
- Psychological dimension: personality, cognition, emotions, learning, coping skills, self-
esteem, self-efficacy, values, early experiences, etc…
- Sociocultural dimension: race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, socioeconomic status,
ethnicity, culture, etc...
- Social dimension: family, interpersonal relationships, social support, belonging, love, marital
status, community, etc…
Behavior may be viewed on a continuum from normal to psychological disorder
Normal→ Mild→ Moderate→ Psychological disorder (less severe) → Psychological disorder (more
severe)
,Theme 2: Neurodevelopmental Disorders
LO3: Describe the nature, causes and diagnostic criteria for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
DSM-5 uses the term neurodevelopmental disorders to refer to disorders that are diagnosed
typically in childhood yet often continue throughout the lifespan
• In 1943, psychiatrist Leo Kanner identified three major areas of disturbance in a group of
children: social relatedness, communication, and ritualistic behavior.
Kanner’s observations form the basis of our current diagnostic criteria for autism spectrum
disorder.
Autism Spectrum Disorder: (ASD)
- Autism literally means “within oneself”
- Autism represents a spectrum because the severity of the observed deficits can vary widely
from individual to individual.
- Adjustment can range from relatively normal, allowing independent living, to intellectual
disability, requiring living with parents or in institutional settings
- Problems with social relatedness are at the core of this disorder, regardless of the individual’s
level of intelligence and adjustment.
- Beginning in infancy, most children with autism do not make eye contact or take pleasure in
reciprocal games like “peek-a-boo.”
- Insight into the thoughts and points of view of others is particularly lacking.
- Language skills of individuals with autism can vary widely, from having no language abilities at
all to delayed acquisition of language to normal skills
- object to changes in the environment and show a high level of repetitive, routine behavior.
- Rituals may include repetitive movements, such as rocking, handflapping, head-banging, and
twirling (a general dysfunction in sensory networks)
- May engage in extremely limited preoccupations, such as learning all models of cars ever
made by Ford.
- Show unusually increased or decreased sensitivity to stimuli.
CAUSES:
- Remain mysterious, and show variable patterns from case to case, scientists are making
progress.
- Parental age appears to provide one risk factor, with older parents more likely than younger
parents to give birth to a child with autism.
- Family and twin studies provide strong evidence that autism is influenced by genetics.
- Abnormalities in cortical development
- Environmental factors undoubtedly play a part in autism.
The introduction of the DSM-5 in 2013 led to a change in how some developmental
disorders were classified.
Individuals that were previously diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome now fall under the
umbrella of Autism Spectrum Disorder.
These changes were implemented to produce greater consistency in how diagnoses are
made and allow clinicians to better describe the specific symptoms observed
, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Characterised by either unusual inattentiveness, hyperactivity with impulsivity or both
- The criteria for the disorder are difficult to distinguish from the behaviours of many typical
young children.
- Most children diagnosed with ADHD will be treated with medication, the stakes for accurately
diagnosing the condition are high indeed.
- ADHD involves inattention and hyperactivity.
- Some show both inattention and hyperactivity, but a large number of inattentive people show
no hyperactivity at all
- The core feature of inattention is the inability to maintain sustained attention, or on-task
behaviour, for an age appropriate length of time.
- Children with hyperactivity express a high level of motor activity and find engaging in structured
activities, such as waiting in line or sitting quietly in class, very challenging.
- These children are noisy, active, and boisterous, and often appear to take action without
thinking it through.
- Even as adults, individuals who were diagnosed with ADHD as children have more traffic
accidents than people without the disorder
Causes:
- The National Institutes of Health concluded that “scientists are not sure what causes ADHD.”
- Studies support a significant role for genetics in the development of ADHD.
- Heritability may be as high as 70% or more
- Environmental factors might interact with genetic risk
- Known environmental risks for ADHD are:
- lead contamination
- Low birth weight
- Prenatal exposure to tobacco, alcohol, other drugs
- The frontal lobes may be underactive in cases of ADHD
- Because the frontal lobes inhibit unwanted behaviour, lower activity in this part of the brain
may lead to hyperactivity and impulsivity.
- The frontal lobes, and the prefrontal areas in particular, appear to mature more slowly in
children with ADHD than in healthy controls.
- Peak cortical thickness, a measure of brain maturity, occurred in healthy controls around the
age of 7.5 years, but not until the age of 10.5 years in children with ADHD.
- The caudate nucleus, part of the basal ganglia, also shows delayed development in ADHD.
- White matter circuits connecting the basal ganglia and the frontal lobes appear to mature
differently in people with and without ADHD.
- The parts of the brain implicated in ADHD, such as the prefrontal cortex and the basal ganglia,
feature large amounts of dopamine activity.
- Most of the medications used to treat ADHD, such as Ritalin or Adderall, act by boosting the
activity of dopamine, suggesting that dopamine activity might be lower than usual in cases of
ADHD.
