Term Paper on "Abnormal Psychology Psychopathology"

Term Paper 9 pages (2962 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Abnormal Psychology

Psychopathology

Discuss the criteria for abnormality and the meanings of psychological disorders, psychological dysfunction and "culturally expected" behaviors.

Abnormal psychology is the area devoted to the study of causes of mental dysfunction such as mental illness, psychopathology, maladjustment, emotional disturbance. Abnormal behavior brought about because of psychological dysfunction can have features of deviance depending on the culture, distress, and possible injury to self or others (Abnormal Psychology, 2010). The criterion that often defines abnormality includes: unusual behavior, socially unacceptable behavior, faulty perception of reality, significant personal distress, and behavior is maladaptive or self-defeating and behavior is dangerous to self or others (Criteria for Abnormality, n.d.)

A psychological disorder, which is also known as a mental disorder, is a pattern of behavioral or psychological symptoms that impact multiple life areas and/or create distress for the person who is experiencing these symptoms. Psychological disorders generate a maladaptive pattern of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that lead to detriments in relationships and other life areas (Cherry, 2010). A person who has a psychological disorder often exhibits one or more of the criterion that defines abnormality.

Culturally expected behaviors are the behaviors or ways in which people are expected to act by the generally public. These are the behaviors that are generally accepted as normal behavior throughout society. If a person deviates from these normal behaviors then they are said to have a psychological dysfunction. It is the deviation from the normal standards that society has set down that result in a person being known as having an abnormality or psychological dysfunction. It is then this psychological dysfunction that leads to a person being diagnosed with a psychological disorder. These people exhibit symptoms that are not accepted by society and that is the reason they are considered abnormal and labeled as having a physiological disorder.

2. The DSM-IV is based on a multiaxial system. Explain the content of each axis and its contribution to understanding the patient.

Mental disorders are identified according to a manual published by the American Psychiatric Association called the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). A DSM-IV diagnosis has five parts. Each part, called an axis, which gives a different type of information about the diagnosis.

Axis I contains information about clinical disorders. Any mental health conditions besides personality disorders or mental retardation would be included here.

Axis II presents information about personality disorders and mental retardation.

Axis III provides information about medical conditions that are present.

Axis IV is used to explain psychosocial and environmental factors affecting the person.

Axis V is a ranking scale called the Global Assessment of Functioning. The GAF goes from 0 to 100 and provides a way to sum up in a single number just how well the person is functioning overall (Schimelpfening, 2010).

The DSM -- IV is used by professionals to diagnose psychiatric illnesses. The DSM-IV TR is put out by the American Psychiatric Association and includes all categories of mental health disorders for both adults and children. The manual is non-theoretical and focuses mostly on describing symptoms as well as statistics that concern which gender is most affected by the illness, the typical age of onset, the effects of treatment, and common treatment approaches. This multiaxial approach helps clinicians and psychiatrists to make a more comprehensive evaluation of a client's level of functioning, because mental illnesses often impact many different areas of life. The DSM-IV was first published in 1994 and listed more than 250 mental disorders. An updated version, called the DSM-IV TR, was in print in 2000 and contains minor text revision in the descriptions of each disorder (Cherry, 2010).

3. Describe the major objectives and typical activities and the intended outcomes of the process.

A mental health diagnosis consists of many steps that begin with an evaluation by a doctor to see if symptoms of mental illness are present. The assessment will begin with the doctor asking questions about your symptoms, medical history, and performing a physical exam. Even though there are no laboratory tests to specifically diagnose mental illness, the doctor may use various tests to make sure something else isn't causing the symptoms. If no other illness is present, then a person may be referred to a psychiatrist or psychologist, mental health professionals who are specially trained to diagnose and treat mental illnesses (Diagnosing Mental Illness, 2010).

Psychiatrists and psychologists use particularly designed interview and assessment tools to evaluate a person for a mental illness. The doctor bases their diagnosis on the person's report of symptoms including any social or functional problems caused by the symptoms and his or her observation of the person's attitudes and behavior. The doctor then decides if the person's symptoms and degree of disability point to a diagnosis of a specific disorder. The standard tool that is used by experts for the diagnosis of recognized mental illness is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder (DSM), which is assembled by the American Psychiatric Association (Diagnosing Mental Illness, 2010).

The outcome of this process is for the psychiatrist or psychologist to be able to determine the best diagnosis for the patient. This will allow the patient to be treated with the best possible tools in order to work towards recovery. The overall point is to treat the patient so that they can once again become a functioning and productive member of society.

4. Describe each of the four components of informed consent for research participants. Explain why it may be difficult to satisfy informed consent when the research participants are mentally retarded adults.

An informed consent is a self-directed authorization by an individual regarding a medical intervention or involvement in research. A person must do more than articulate agreement or comply with a proposal for this to be considered informed consent. Informed consent is a process between physician or researcher and patient that must contain an information component and a consent component. The information element refers to the disclosure of information and comprehension of what is disclosed. The consent component refers to a voluntary choice and agreement to undergo a recommended procedure. Legal, regulatory, philosophical, medical, and psychological literature tends to favor the following elements as the necessary components of informed consent: (1) competence, (2) disclosure, (3) understanding, (4) voluntariness and (5) consent (Informed Consent, 2010).

If a person is competent to act, receives thorough disclosure, has an understanding, and is voluntary in their consent, then informed consent has occurred. This is where a problem comes in to play when the research participants are mentally retarded adults. Many people argue that mentally retarded adults are not capable of understanding and may lack competence and thus would not be able to give viable consent. They would more than likely not able to understand both the informed consent process as well as the research process so could not be expected to consent voluntarily.

Because of this there are several issues that arise when research containing mentally retarded adults is trying to be preformed. Using this people as subjects can lead to great advances within the field but obtaining voluntary informed consent if often very hard to do. This makes this area of research a very sensitive one as well as often very hard to do at all.

5. Name the important neurotransmitters and describe what impact each one is thought to have on human experience.

Electrical signals that occur within neurons are converted at synapses into chemical signals which then extract electrical signals on the other side of the synapse. These chemical signals are called neurotransmitters. There are two chief kinds of molecules that serve the function of neurotransmitters: small molecules, some quite well-known, with names such as dopamine, serotonin, or norepinephrine, and larger molecules, which are essentially protein chains, called peptides. These consist of the endogenous opiates, Substance P, and corticotropin releasing factor (CRF), among others. Altogether there appear to be more than 100 different neurotransmitters in the brain (Diagnosis and Treatment of Mental Disorders, n.d.).

A neurotransmitter can bring out a biological effect in the postsynaptic neuron by binding to a protein called a neurotransmitter receptor. Its function is to pass the information contained in the neurotransmitter message from the synapse to the inside of the receiving cell. It is thought that almost every known neurotransmitter has more than one different kind of receptor that can confer rather different signals on the receiving neuron (Diagnosis and Treatment of Mental Disorders, n.d.).

If neurotransmitters of either type are in small supply, or if they are blocked from reaching their proper receptors cell function tends to be abnormal. The lack of neurotransmitter function often results in maladaptive behavior. The human brain is very able of automatically manufacturing the quantity of chemicals it needs if it is given the raw materials such as nutrients from foods to do so. but, a person's normal diet does not supply enough of the raw materials the brain needs to manufacture the needed level of neurotransmitters. In addition, stress, worry, chemical use, poor nutrition, pollution… READ MORE

How to Reference "Abnormal Psychology Psychopathology" Term Paper in a Bibliography

Related Term Papers:

Abnormal Psychology: OCD Diagnosis and Treatment Term Paper

Abnormal Psychology: OCD Diagnosis and Treatment

In this case, the reader is asked to evaluate the case of "Jake," who has an obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) which has reemerged after the… read more

Term Paper 5 pages (1474 words) Sources: 3 Topic: Psychology / Behavior / Psychiatry

---

Example of Abnormal Behavior in Media Term Paper

Abnormal Psych in Media

Disorganized Schizophrenia in Cronenberg's Spider

Wedding, Boyd, and Niemiec (2005) write about David Cronenberg's film Spider (2002) that "This dark and dreary film maps out the… read more

Term Paper 7 pages (2856 words) Sources: 6 Topic: Psychology / Behavior / Psychiatry

---

Psychopathology in Popular Film Movie as Good Thesis

Portrayal of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in the Popular Film as Good as it Gets

While many movies achieve their popularity because of an ability to take viewers away to far-off… read more

Thesis 9 pages (2764 words) Sources: 4 Style: APA Topic: Psychology / Behavior / Psychiatry

---

To Diagnose Essay

Diagnose or Not to Diagnose

Differentiate among the various types of mental illness described in case examples

People suffering with mental illness experience limitations in their cognitive and behavior skills… read more

Essay 7 pages (2826 words) Sources: 3 Topic: Psychology / Behavior / Psychiatry

---

Risk Assessment the Science of Dangerousness Essay

Risk Assessment

The Science of Dangerousness

Dangerousness refers to the likelihood that a mentally ill person, or criminal will participate in an act that harms themselves or others. The prediction… read more

Essay 8 pages (2724 words) Sources: 11 Style: Harvard Topic: Psychology / Behavior / Psychiatry

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>