LESSON 3.
DISORDERS IN HUMAN BEHAVIOR
Psychological disorders
these are the pattern of thoughts, feelings or
behaviors that causes personal distress,
impairment in daily life and risk of harm to an
individual (Rosenberg&Kosslyn,2011).
Personal distress
refers to a suffering that could be experienced
by a person. E.g. crying in front of others;
crying when alone; showing others she’s okay
but the real thing is not.
Impairment
refers to decrease of capacity to function. E.g.
A person having psychological disorder may
be unproductive with school; or a person who
is an alcohol dependent may not fulfill her job.
What is the difference between Disorders and Abnormalities?
Abnormalities are the indicators of Psychological disorders. Thus, Disorders can be a
combination of different attributes of being abnormal.
TYPES OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDER
NEUROSIS PSYCHOPATHIC PSYCHOSIS
NEUROSIS
Also called “Psychoneurotic behavior”.
These are the group of disorder by which a person has no personality disorganization,
and that is still in contact with reality.
The only problem here is Emotion.
The person here is called Neurotic who is in the middle of being normal and abnormal.
This is categorized into four: Anxiety disorder, somatoform, dissociative and mood
disorder.
NEUROSIS
ANXIETY SOMATOFORM DISSOCIATIVE MOOD
WHAT IS ANXIETY DISORDER?
This is commonly known as “neurotic fear”.
When it is occasional but intense, it is called “panic”. When it is continuous, it is called
“worry” which is usually accompanied by physiological symptoms such as sustained
muscular tension, increased blood pressure, insomnia, etc. they are considered as the
central feature of all neurotic patterns.
These disorders are characterized by mild depressions, fear and tensions, and mild
stresses.
This is where fear from an object or situation is being developed or experienced without
reason. This could be divided into three:
ANXIETY
Obsessive- Phobic Panic Generalized
compulsive Anxiety
Classification of Anxiety Disorders
1. Obsessive compulsive anxiety disorder
a disorder by which a person experiences a repetitive thoughts (obsessive) and being
pushed to do things against his will (compulsion). This makes a person get a thought
running to their head that is like stagnant, it cannot be put away unless it will be
gratified.
Compulsion on the other hand resulted from repetitive acts.
An obsessive – compulsive disorder is characterized by the following: when an
individual is compelled to think about something that he do not want to think about or
carry some actions against his will, and the experience of persistent thoughts that we
cannot seem to get out of our minds such as thoughts about haunting situations.
Ex.1 Experiences intense stress when objects are not in order or arranged in its
proper way so repeatedly arranging it.
2. Panic disorder
a fear that is experienced occasionally accompanied by the following symptoms:
increase of heart rate, increase of breath, sweating, dry mouth, blurring of vision etc.
This may happen usually with triggering occasions that could last within 10 to 15
minutes.
3. Phobic disorder
these refers to the persistent fear on some objects or situation that present no actual
danger to the person
Examples of phobia are :
PHOBIA OBJECTS OF FEAR
Achrophobia High places
Agoraphobia Open places
Algophobia Pain
Asthrophobia Storms/lightning
Claustrophobia Closed places
Hematophobia Blood
Mysophobia Contamination/germs
Hydrophobia Water
Monophobia Being alone
Nyctophobia Darkness
Ocholophobia Crowds
Patholophobia Disease
Pyrophobia Fire
Syphilophobia Syphilis
Zoophobia Animals
Hydrophobia Water
Monophobia Being alone
Gamophobia Fear of marriage
Androphobia Fear of men
Gynophobia Fear of women
Cacophobia Fear of ugliness
Venustraphobia Fear of beautiful women
Oneirogmophobia Fear of wet dreams
Parthenophobia Fear of virgins or young girls
Philophobia Fear of being in love
Ablutophobia Washing and bathing
4. Generalized Anxiety disorder
also referred to as free-floating anxiety wherein fear is being experienced without
specific reason or object to be fear of. Worries here could be experienced for about 6
months. Individual worry too much with everything such as with their family, dogs,
children, etc.
Fear is random and is accompanied by being tensed, problem with sleeping or trouble
in concentration.
What Causes Anxiety disorders?
Causes of anxiety disorder is explained into different approaches: biological, behaviorism and
by cognitive psychology.
Biological approach
Some anxiety disorders like Generalized Anxiety disorder are caused by
imbalances in the neurotransmitters. This includes low reproduction of serotonin
and GABA which are the chemicals responsible to individual’s calmness in spite of
stress.
Panic disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder and phobia can be inherited.
According to some studies, risk of passing agoraphobia to the child is about 39
percent, 44 percent in panic disorders while 30 percent in generalized anxiety.
Learned behaviorism approach
Approach believing that anxiety can be developed as a response from classical
conditioning.
Cognitive Psychological approach
According to some cognitive psychologists, anxiety is caused by irrational
thinking wherein an individual can be observed interpreting situations in a
magnified sense.
Like for instance, thinking situation in a more fearing or more embarrassing that
what they actually are. E.g. thinking about chasing breath as like already
experiencing asthma.
WHAT IS SOMATOFORM DISORDER?
This is a disorder characterized by bodily symptoms of physical problem but upon
diagnosis, there is no organic problem being found.
Complaints of bodily symptoms that suggest the presence of physical problem but no
organic basis can be found.
The individual is pre occupied with his state of health or diseases.
SOMATOFORM
HYPOCHONDRIASIS PSYCHOGENIC PAIN CONVERSION
1. Hypochondriasis (multiplicity about illness)
bound by too much concern with health.
a hypochondriacal person tends to seek medical advises, but his fear is not
lessened by his doctors reassurances, and he/she maybe disappointed when
no physical problem is found.
2. Psychogenic pain disorder
person feels severe and consistent pain.
characterized by the report of severe and lasting pain.
the person be diagnosed, there will be a problem found but the problem is
greater or in excess of what the subject is expecting.
3. Conversion disorder (hysteria)
a disorder that is bound by malfunction or loss of control.
loss of function is not caused by organic basis but by emotional disturbance.
refers to neurotic pattern in which symptoms of some physical malfunction or
loss of control without any underlying organic abnormality.
SYMPTOMS OF HYSTERIA
Sensory Motor Visceral
a. Anaesthesia a. Paralysis a. Choking
loss of sensitivity selective loss of sensation
function b. Coughing
b. Hyperesthesia spells
excessive sensitivity b. Astasia – abasia c. Difficulty in
inability to control leg breathing
c. Hypesthesia when standing d. Cold
partial loss of sensitivity to clammy
pain c. Aphonia extremities
partial inability to speak e. Nausea
d. Analgesia
loss of sensitivity to pain d. Mutism
total inability to speak
e. Paresthesia
exceptional sensation
WHAT IS DISSOCIATIVE DISORDER?
This is a break or splitting of memory, consciousness, or person’s identity usually in
response to stressful or traumatic events.
This is divided in to four types: Psychogenic Amnesia, Dissociative Fugue,
Depersonalization and Dissociative Identity Disorder.
DISSOCIATIVE
Amnesia Dissociative Depersonalization Dissociative
Fugue Identity Disorder
1. Amnesia
refers to the partial or total inability to recall or identify past experiences following
a traumatic incident.
a. Brain pathology amnesia – total loss of memory and I cannot be retrieved by
simple means. It requires long period of medication.
b. Psychogenic amnesia – failure to recall stored information and still they are
beneath the level of consciousness but “forgotten material”.
2. Dissociative Fugue
a condition by which a person loses awareness of their identity. Individual here
travels away from home (flight) and later on forget his trip together with his/her
identity. Flight usually happen after traumatic events or war.
3. Depersonalization
bound by feeling of being disconnected with society or one’s environment, feeling
like a robot by which there is a feeling of flat emotion, observing oneself outside
their body or world.
4. Dissociative Identity Disorder (Multiple Personality disorder)
the person here explicit two or more personalities that are different with each other
in one body. There is a main personality who experiences loss of memory during
show up of other personalities.
WHAT IS MOOD DISORDER?
Referred to as affective disorders however the critical pathology in these disorders
is one of mood which is the internal state of a person, not of affect, the external
expression of emotional content.
This is a continuous emotional state that affects person’s thoughts, feelings and
behavior
These disorders always result in impaired interpersonal, social and occupational
functioning.
This is divided into two: Depression and Bipolar disorder
MOOD
DEPRESSION BIPOLAR
1. Depression
a mood disorder that is bound by an illness accompanied by lowness in self-
esteem, loss of interest with enjoyable activities.
2. Bipolar disorder
bound by fluctuations of emotions. A person would feel extreme happiness in
a period of time and eventually divert to become sad for no reason.
