Psych 121 Exam Study Guide

Psychology Final Exam Study Guide Questions & Answers

Chapter 13
 What is a psychological disorder?
Ongoing patterns of thoughts, feelings, and actions that are deviant, distressful, and dysfunctional.
 Understand the medical model of psychological disorders
A mental illness needs to be diagnosed on the basis of its symptoms and cured through therapy, which may include treatment in a psychiatric hospital.
 Know who Philippe Pinel is
Opposed brutal treatments.
Insisted madness is not demon possessions but a sickness of the mind caused by severe stresses and inhumane conditions.
“Moral Treatment”
 Understand the biopsychosocial approach to understanding psychological disorders
Studies how biological, psychological, and social-cultural factors interact to produce specific psychological disorders.
 How do we classify psychological disorders?
By their symptoms
DSM-IV-TR (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)
 What is the DSM?
A manual used to diagnose mental illnesses.
 What are some good things about labeling disorders? What are some bad things?
Pros: It helps in ordering and defining dysfunctions, helps health professionals communicate about their cases, to comprehend underlying causes, and to figure out effective treatment programs.
Cons: Once a person is labeled, they are viewed differently, certain behaviors become expected.
 What is an anxiety disorder?
Marked by distressing, persistent anxiety or dysfunctional anxiety-reducing behaviors.
 Know the symptoms of and be able to differentiate between the different anxiety disorders: GAD, Panic disorder, phobias, OCD, PTSD
GAD – (Generalized anxiety disorder) A person is unexplainably and continually tense and uneasy.
Panic Disorder – a person experiences sudden episodes of intense dread
Phobias – a person feels irrationally and intensely afraid of a specific object or situation.
OCD – (Obsessive compulsive disorder) a person is troubled by repetitive