Introduction to Psychopathology and Personality

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Introduction to Psychopathology and Personality
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Outline

• Definitions of abnormal
• Psychopathology research and practice
• Theoretical perspectives
• Personality

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Internet Search for Abnormal
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Internet Search for Abnormal
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Internet Search for Abnormal

• While eating outside, I saw this guy walking
  toward the door, so I stopped mid-sentence and
  said, "Oh my god, awesome." While he was inside
  ordering, there was much discussion about how one
  goes about putting spikes in one's head every
  day. I decided I had never wanted to take a photo
  of something more. So I went in with a
  smooth-talking co-worker. Turns out he's a
  hairdresser. Every morning, he shaves his head
  around the metal screws that are embedded in his
  scalp and then twists on the spikes. This is the
  nicest guy (presumably) who ever put spikes in
  his head.

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Criteria for Abnormality

• Criteria
• 1) Psychological Dysfunction
• 2) Distress
• 3) Atypicality/contrary to societal norms
• 4) Maladaptiveness
• 5) Irrationality
• 6) Infrequency

• Limitations (counter-examples)

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DSM-IV-TR

• Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
  Disorders, 4th edition (text revision)
• Widely accepted system for classifying
  psychological problems and disorders

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DSM-IV-TR

• DSM-IV-TR contains diagnostic criteria for
  categories of symptoms that
• Are grouped together under categorical labels
• Often occur together

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DSMIVs Definition

• Each mental disorder is conceptualized as a
  clinically significant behavioral or
  psychological syndrome or pattern that occurs in
  an individual and that is associated with present
  distress (e.g., a painful symptom) or disability
  (i.e., impairment in one or more important areas
  of functioning) or with a significantly increased
  risk of suffering death, pain, disability, or an
  important loss of freedom. In addition, this
  syndrome or pattern must not be merely an
  expectable and culturally sanctioned response to
  a particular event, for example, the death of a
  loved one.

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DSMIVs Definition

• Some additional considerations
• Dyscontrol, disadvantage, inflexibility,
  irrationality, statistical deviation
• Mental health community reaches judgment
• Judgments are contextually/culturally specific
• Have changed and will change
• E.g., homosexuality

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Diagnosing Pros Cons

• Pros

• Cons

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In-Class Exercise What is Abnormal?

• Imagine youre a psychologist and a new patient
  enters your office for the first time
• Case examples
• Discuss
• Disorder or not?
• Need more info?

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Case 1 Lisa

• 19 years old
• Strong religious beliefs forbid participation in
  much of contemporary pop culture
• Contrary to her religious teachings, Lisa
  believes strongly that the stars and planets
  control her destiny and that she is able to
  communicate with the spirits of the dead.
  Sometimes these communications distract her. She
  thinks she could be more productive at work
  without these communications but she still gets a
  lot of work done.
• Lisas church believes that the end of the world
  is imminent she has been peacefully preparing
  for Armageddon.

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Case 2 Paul

• 25 years old
• History of becoming sexually aroused by the sight
  of womens underwear
• In past, was very concerned about being ridiculed
  if others discovered his secret desires
• Recently, he has attended fetish nights at
  local clubs and met likeminded individuals
• Currently dating a woman who is comfortable with
  his sexual desires
• He can speak and behave openly in his current
  relationship

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Case 3 Jane

• 43 year-old Chinese-American
• Physically abused by father
• Complaints weak nerves, physical pain, fatigue
• History of crushes on celebrity rock stars
• Considerable time and money spent on crushes and
  fantasies
• Newest crush has coincided with increased
  physical symptoms and impairments in ability to
  perform job
• Sometimes enjoys feelings of overwhelming love
  that she experiences when she thinks about her
  newest crush

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Diagnoses
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A few key points

• Subjectivity/shades of gray
• Continuous rather than categorical nature of
  symptoms

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Lifetime prevalence of types of mental disorders
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Three Foci of Psychopathology
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The Scientific Study of Psychopathology Example

• Specific phobias Clinical description
• Fear around stimulus
• Physiological, cognitive, behavioral

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Specific Phobia

• Causes
• Genes, neurotransmitter dysfunction
• Parenting/family/peers
• Modeling, conditioning
• Cognitive style
• Personality
• Life stress

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Specific Phobia

• Common treatment
• Medication
• Behavioral
• Repeated, prolonged exposure ?habituation
• Modeling
• Cognitive

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Theories of Psychopathology/Personality

• Psychoanalytic
• Humanistic
• Behavioral
• Cognitive
• Trait
• Self

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Trait Paradigm Personality

• Personality is the system of enduring, inner
  characteristics of individuals that contributes
  to consistency in their thoughts, feelings, and
  behavior (Leary, 2005).

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Personality and Environment

• Kurt Lewin (1951)
• Personality is a determinant of behavior
• B f(P,E)
• Behavior is a function of the environment and
  personality
• Importance of the strength of the situation
• Differences between the classes
• Personality is internal (inside the skin)
• Environment is external

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Psychoanalysis Freudian Slips

• Freudian Slips
• "A Freudian slip is like saying one thing, but
  meaning your mother."
• People of Detroit

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Freuds Psychoanalytic Theory
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Freud and the Unconscious
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Psychoanalytic Defense Mechanisms

• Displacement
• Denial
• Intellectualization
• Suppression
• Repression

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A Few Examples

• Bobby Knight
• Senator Larry Craig

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Psychoanalytic Defense Mechanisms

• Defense mechanisms
• Unhealthy
• Require energy
• Avoid real problem

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Psychoanalysis

• Unearth hidden intrapsychic conflicts
• Free association dream analysis

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Psychoanalysis

• Strengths
• Highly influential
• Role of unconscious
• Automatic processes
• Defense mechanisms
• Modern coping research

• Weaknesses
• Long, time-consuming
• Mixed evidence for efficacy
• Case studies
• Untestable ideas

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Humanistic Tradition

• Early-mid 20th century
• Carl Rogers
• Major Themes
• People are basically good, free
• Self-actualization
• Unconditional positive regard

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Humanistic Tradition Comments

• Strengths

• Weaknesses

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The Behavioral Model

• Emphasizes scientific approach to psychopathology
• Abnormal behavior is learned and can be unlearned
• Classical conditioning Pavlov and Watson
• Pairing neutral stimulus with unconditioned
  stimulus
• Systematic desensitization
• Relaxation training
• Gradual exposure

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The Behavioral Model

• Operant conditioning Thorndike and B. F. Skinner
• Most voluntary behavior is controlled by the
  consequences that follow behavior
• Punishment vs. reinforcement
• Relevance to ______?
• Observational learning Bandura

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The Behavioral Model

• People are products of their environments
• Behavior therapy time-limited, direct, and
  focused on skills acquisition and symptom
  reduction

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Strengths Limitations

• Strengths

• Limitations