Abnormal BehaviorPertemuan 22

Matakuliah : L0014/Psikologi UmumTahun : 2007

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Definition of Abnormal Behavior (1)

• Actions, thoughts and feelings that are harmful to the person or to others

• Harmful :– Experiencing discomfort feeling (as in feeling anxious or depressed)– Not being able to function in a job– Not being able to relate to people well enough to have enduring

friendship or family relationship– Having physical health problems that result from abnormal behavior

• The definition of abnormality requires subjective judgment1. It must be decide whether an individual’s problems are severe

enough to be considered “harmful”2. Subjectivity – the decision reflects the value of the person making

the determination and values differ greatly from one culture to another

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Definition of Abnormal Behavior (2)

Psychologist have been unable to agree on how abnormal behavior differs from normal behavior ?

• Continuity hypothesis– The view that abnormal behavior is just a more severe

form of normal psychological problems

• Discontinuity hypothesis– The view that abnormal behavior is fundamentally

different from normal psychological problems

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Historical Views of Abnormal Behavior

• Supernatural Theories• Biological Theories• Psychological Theories

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Contemporary Views of Abnormal Behavior

The DSM IV• DSM : Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental

Disorders• Definitions & terminology of the American Psychiatric

Association• DSM IV = version 4.• Multi-axial system : the mental health professional can

give more than one diagnosis and provide additional relevant information

• The 5 axes of DSM IVI. Clinical DisordersII. Personality Disorders and mental retardationIII. General medical conditionsIV. Psychosocial and environmental problemsV. Global assessment of funtioning

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The problem of Stigma

• We have very negative perceptions of people with such problems

• People with mental health problems make us uncomfortable and frightened, dangerous and trustworthy

• Consequences of stigma :1. Make mental problems worse2. Prevent persons with mental health problems from

seeking help

• The best solution for stigma is education

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The Concept of Insanity

• A legal definition concerning a person’s inability to tell right from wrong, ability to understand the trial proceedings or whether the person is a direct danger to self or others

• 3 different legal meanings :1. Not guilty by reason of insanity2. Competence to stand trial3. Involuntary commitment

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Abnormal Behavior

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Anxiety DisordersPsychological Disorders that involve excessive levels of negative

emotions, such as nervousness, tension, worry, fright, and anxiety

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PHOBIASPhobia is an intense, irrational fear

• 3 types of phobias :– Specific phobia

a phobic fear of one relatively specific thing– Social phobia

a phobic fear of social interaction, particularly those with strangers and those in which the person might be viewed negatively

– Agoraphobiaan intense fear of leaving one’s home or other familiar places

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Generalized Anxiety DisorderAn uneasy sense of general tension and apprehension for

no apparent reason that makes the individual highly uncomfortable because of its prolonged presence

Panic Anxiety DisorderA pattern of anxiety in which long periods of calm are

broken by an intensely uncomfortable attack of anxiety

Obsessive – Compulsive DisordersDisorder that involve obsessions (anxiety – provoking

thoughts that will not go away) and/or compulsions (irritable urges to engage in specific irrational behaviors)

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Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)The condition caused by extremely stressful experiences in which the

person later experiences anxiety and irritability; has upsetting memories, dreams, and realistic flashbacks of the experience; and tries to avoid anything that reminds him or her of the experience

PTSD in person who experienced highly stressful events is defined as following :1. Recollections of stressful event that intrude into their walking consciousness

and fill in their dreams with horror. At times, the person feels and acts as if the stressful event was happening again

2. Intense emotional and autonomic reactions to stimuli that remind them of the event

3. An avoidance of stimuli associated with the event4. Feeling numbed to the ordinary emotions and pleasures of life5. Difficulty sleeping, hyper arousal, irritability and difficulty concentrating

4 factors that determines who develops PTSD following stress :1. Severity of stress2. Characteristic of the person before traumatic event3. Social Support4. Sex of the victim

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Somatoform DisordersDisorders in which the individual experiences the symptoms of physical health problems that have psychological rather than

physical causes

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Somatization DisordersIntensely and Chronically uncomfortable psychological

conditions that involve numerous symptoms of somatic (body) illnesses without physical cause

HypochondiasisA mild form of somatization disorder characterized by

excessive concern about one’s health

Conversion DisordersSomatoform disorders in which individuals experience serious

somatic symptoms such as functional blindness, deafness,and paralysis

Somatoform pain DisordersIn which individual experiences a relatively specific and chronic

pain that has a psychological rather than physical cause

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Dissociative DisordersA category of conditions involving sudden cognitive changes, such as

sudden loss of memory or loss of one’s identity

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• Broad category of loosely related conditions

• Four kinds– Depersonalization – distorted, unreal feelings

the perceptual experience of one’s body or surroundings becoming distorted or unreal in someway

– Dissociative amnesia – psychological cause

involves a loss of memory that has a psychological rather than a physical cause

– Dissociative fugue – complete loss of memory

a period of “wandering” that involves a loss of memory and a change in identity

– Dissociative identity disorder – once known as multiple personality disorder; very controversial issue

the individual appears to shift abruptly and repeatedly from one “personality” to another

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Mood DisordersPsychological disorders involving depression and /or abnormal elation

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• Two forms– Major Depression

• Major depression - episodic disorder, quite common, often mild but takes its toll

– Rare to have psychotic distortion of reality

• Bipolar disorder (depression and mania) • Caused by high levels of anxiety; genetic influences• Cognitive factors – negative views of self

– Bipolar Disorder• Alternating irregular periods of severe depression and mania• Mania – mood disturbance in which person experiences a high,

intense euphoria• High self-esteem, unrealistic optimism• Psychotic distortion during episodes; damaging or extreme

behavior• Occurs in multiple episodes; cause unknown

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Human Diversity

• Ethnic and gender differences in depression and suicide– Women more at risk for depression

– Depressed persons more at risk for suicide

– American Indians have highest rate of suicide

– African Americans have lowest rate and Hispanic groups have second lowest rate (rates vary among Hispanic subgroups)

– White women have highest rate of females

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Personality Disorders

Schizophrenia

• Uncommon disorder affecting more men than women– Can appear gradually or with sudden break– Characterized by 3 types of serious problems

•Delusions and hallucinations•Disorganized thinking, emotions,

behavior•Reduced enjoyment and interests

– Causes: genetic and environment

Abnormal Behavior

Schizophrenia

• A psychological disorder involving cognitive disturbance (delusions and hallucinations), disorganization and reduced enjoyment and interests

• Subtypes– Paranoid schizophrenia

• False beliefs, delusions (grandeur, paranoia, persecution), hallucinations

– Disorganized schizophrenia

• Delusions, hallucinations, cognitive processes highly disorganized or fragmented

• Extreme social withdrawal

Abnormal Behavior

Schizophrenia

• Subtypes– Catatonic schizophrenia

• May have delusions and hallucinations; most abnormalities in social interaction, body posture and movement (waxy flexibility in stupors)

Abnormal Behavior

Delusional Disorder

• Characterized by paranoid delusions of grandeur and persecution– Dangerous because of believability of delusions– Reverand Jim Jones and Jonestown deaths– David Koresh and Waco (TX) deaths

Abnormal Behavior

Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

– Does not listen– Dislikes/avoids focused

tasks– Often forgetful– Disorganized

Abnormal Behavior

• Inattention symptoms

– Cannot focus– Fails to see details– Careless mistakes– Highly distractible– Incomplete tasks– Often loses items

Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

– Often on-the-go; driven like a motor

– Talks excessively– Blurts out answers

before question is finished

– Can’t wait for turn

Abnormal Behavior

• Hyperactivity-impulsivity

– Often fidgets or squirms when seated

– Often leaves seat when should remain seated

– Runs/climbs excessively– Difficulty engaging in

play/leisure quietly– Often interrupts/intrudes

Personality Disorders

• Schizoid personality disorder– Blunted emotions, social withdrawal, but no serious

cognitive disturbances

• Antisocial personality disorder– Feel little guilt, exploit others, frequent violation of

social rules and laws– Difficulty with personal relationships– Low tolerance for frustration, lie easily/skillfully

Abnormal Behavior

Other Personality Disorders

Schizotypal personality disorder

Paranoid personality disorder

Histrionic personality disorder

Narcissistic personality disorder

Borderline personality disorder

Avoidant personality disorder

Dependent personality disorder

Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder

Abnormal Behavior