Psychology 001Introduction to Psychology

Christopher Gade, PhDOffice: 621 Heafey

Office hours: F 3-6 and by apt. Email: gadecj@gmail.com

Class WF 7:00-8:30 Heafey 650

The remaining classes… In the final two

classes of the course, we’ll be discussing three major disorder groups.– Anxiety

disorders– Mood disorders– Schizophrenia

Anxiety Disorders Anxiety disorders involve an intense

experience of anxiety and a series of efforts to deal with it

Four major categories of anxiety disorders:– Generalized Anxiety Disorder– Panic Disorder– Phobias– Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Is found in 5-6% of the population Involves a pervasive and free floating

anxiety Affected people feel continuously tense

and jittery, worried, and suffer from sleeplessness

Antidepressant medication & relaxation training have been shown to be effective treatments

Panic Disorder 1-3% of the population are diagnosed with this

disorder at some time in their life Identified by the occurrence of frequent panic

attacks– Panic attacks: minutes-long episodes of intense fear

that something awful is going to happen. These attacks feature… heart palpitations shortness of breath choking sensations trembling

Repeated incidences lead to fear of ‘panic attack’, and thus a panic disorder and associated phobias, i.e. agoraphobia

Antidepressants and behavior therapy are common treatments

Age and time also are associated with a decrease in panic disorder occurrence rates

Phobias Afflicts 11% of the population during their lifetime

and 5-6% at any time Fears are identified as a phobia when anxiety or

irrational fear of a particular object or situation are extreme enough to interfere with everyday living

There is evidence for a genetic link in the predisposition for developing phobias, (some life experience usually must occur to cause the phobia)

Behavioral therapy that have been shown to ameliorate phobias – systematic desensitization and flooding– Video

Pharmacological therapy for phobias include tranquilizers and antidepressant drugs

Phobias (cont)

Some theories for the cause of phobias:– We might be

evolutionarily ‘primed’ for fear of some and situations Snakes versus electricity

– Our fears of certain objects or situations are based on amount of safe vs. scary exposures Airplanes versus

automobiles

– people are more prone to develop phobias of objects or situations that they cannot predict or control Shark attacks

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Found in 2-3% of the population Repetitive, irresistible acts (compulsions)

performed to alleviate an ongoing anxious stream of thought (obsessions) with such persistence that they interfere with normal life activities

Typically found in average, hard working perfectionists

Some evidence for genetic contribution to OCD, especially in patients that develop OCD before 18 yrs

Most OCD individuals improve with or without treatment over time

Exposure therapy is often used: present the OCD person with a situation which facilitates the obsessions and prevent them from performing the compulsions to demonstrate that nothing catastrophic will occur

Overview All of the different disorders

discussed in this portion all classified under the anxiety disorders category in the DSM

Each has its own prevalence, defining characteristics, and causes/solutions

However, when looking at these disorders, they are all considered very similar by most clinical psychologists

Mood Disorders Mood disorders all involve long-term

problems with basic emotions All but one of the most prevalent mood

disorders are associated with a negative, unpleasant mood

There are a number of mood disorders that exist, with one being the most prevalent and well known– Depression– Seasonal Affective Disorder– Dysthymia– Bipolar Disorder

Depression 5% of population is diagnosed in a given

year, 10-20% in their lifetime Multiple symptoms associated with the

diagnosis of this disorder– feeling little interest in anything (including food

and sex)– little pleasure derived from any activity– little motivation to be productive for an extended

period of time (at least 2 weeks)

Also associated with – A feeling of powerlessness, guilt and

worthlessness– Suicidal ideation and attempts– sleep abnormalities

Depression (cont.) Depression is a family and genetic linked disorder Life events contribute to the emergence of

depression Women are diagnosed with depression about twice

as much Cognitions are associated with depression:

– pessimistic vs. optimistic– internal vs. external– global vs. singular– stable vs. dynamic

Treatments for depression: – regular sleep and exercise for mild to moderate depression– ECT (no statistical proof of efficacy, but used for major

depression)– placebo– drug interventions– psychotherapies

Few people remain permanently depressed

Moving on… In the next class, we’ll revisit the

topic of mood disorders

We’ll also examine a third common type of disorder, schizophrenia

See you then