REVIEW Schizophrenia and Other Disorders

Learning Objectives

Test Yourself by taking a moment to answer each of these Learning Objective Questions (repeated here from within the module). Research suggests that trying to answer these questions on your own will improve your long-term memory of the concepts (McDaniel et al., 2009).

Question

43-1 What patterns of perceiving, thinking, and feeling characterize schizophrenia?

ANSWER: Symptoms of schizophrenia include disturbed perceptions, disorganized thinking and speech, and diminished, inappropriate emotions. Delusions are false beliefs; hallucinations are sensory experiences without sensory stimulation. Schizophrenia symptoms may be positive (the presence of inappropriate behaviors) or negative (the absence of appropriate behaviors).

Question

43-2 How do chronic and acute schizophrenia differ?

ANSWER: Schizophrenia typically strikes during late adolescence, affects men slightly more than women, and seems to occur in all cultures. In chronic (or process) schizophrenia, the disorder develops gradually and recovery is doubtful. In acute (or reactive) schizophrenia, the onset is sudden, in reaction to stress, and the prospects for recovery are brighter.

Question

43-3 What brain abnormalities are associated with schizophrenia?

ANSWER: People with schizophrenia have increased dopamine receptors, which may intensify brain signals, creating positive symptoms such as hallucinations and paranoia. Brain abnormalities associated with schizophrenia include enlarged, fluid-filled cerebral cavities and corresponding decreases in the cortex. Brain scans reveal abnormal activity in the frontal lobes, thalamus, and amygdala. Interacting malfunctions in multiple brain regions and their connections may produce schizophrenia's symptoms.

Question

43-4 What prenatal events are associated with increased risk of developing schizophrenia?

ANSWER: Possible contributing factors include viral infections or famine conditions during the mother's pregnancy; low weight or oxygen deprivation at birth; and maternal diabetes or older paternal age.

Question

43-5 How do genes influence schizophrenia?

ANSWER: Twin and adoption studies indicate that the predisposition to schizophrenia is inherited. Multiple genes probably interact to produce schizophrenia. No environmental causes invariably produce schizophrenia, but environmental events (such as prenatal viruses or maternal stress) may “turn on” genes for this disorder in those who are predisposed to it.

Question

43-6 What are dissociative disorders, and why are they controversial?

ANSWER: Dissociative disorders are conditions in which conscious awareness seems to become separated from previous memories, thoughts, and feelings. Skeptics note that dissociative identity disorder, formerly known as multiple personality disorder, increased dramatically in the late twentieth century; is rarely found outside North America; and may reflect role playing by people who are vulnerable to therapists' suggestions. Others view this disorder as a manifestation of feelings of anxiety, or as a response learned when behaviors are reinforced by anxiety-reduction.

Question

43-7 What are the three clusters of personality disorders? What behaviors and brain activity characterize the antisocial personality?

ANSWER: Personality disorders are disruptive, inflexible, and enduring behavior patterns that impair social functioning. These disorders form three clusters, characterized by (1) anxiety, (2) eccentric or odd behaviors, and (3) dramatic or impulsive behaviors. Antisocial personality disorder (one of those in the third cluster) is characterized by a lack of conscience and, sometimes, by aggressive and fearless behavior. Genetic predispositions may interact with the environment to produce the altered brain activity associated with antisocial personality disorder.

Question

43-8 What are the three main eating disorders, and how do biological, psychological, and social-cultural influences make people more vulnerable to them?

ANSWER: In those with eating disorders (most often women or gay men), psychological factors can overwhelm the body's tendency to maintain a normal weight. Despite being significantly underweight, people with anorexia nervosa (usually adolescent females) continue to diet and exercise excessively because they view themselves as fat. Those with bulimia nervosa (usually females in their teens and twenties) secretly binge and then compensate by purging, fasting, or excessive exercise. Those with binge-eating disorder binge but do not follow with purging, fasting, and exercise. Cultural pressures, low self-esteem, and negative emotions interact with stressful life experiences and genetics to produce eating disorders.

Terms and Concepts to Remember

Test yourself on these terms.

Question

schizophrenia (p. 556)
psychotic disorders (p. 556)
delusion (p. 556)
chronic schizophrenia (p. 557)
acute schizophrenia (p. 557)
dissociative disorders (p. 561)
dissociative identity disorder (DID) (p. 561)
personality disorders (p. 563)
antisocial personality disorder (p. 563)
anorexia nervosa (p. 565)
bulimia nervosa (p. 565)
binge-eating disorder (p. 565)
significant binge-eating episodes, followed by distress, disgust, or guilt, but without the compensatory purging or fasting that marks bulimia nervosa.
controversial, rare disorders in which conscious awareness becomes separated (dissociated) from previous memories, thoughts, and feelings.
a rare dissociative disorder in which a person exhibits two or more distinct and alternating personalities. Formerly called multiple personality disorder.
a personality disorder in which a person (usually a man) exhibits a lack of conscience for wrongdoing, even toward friends and family members; may be aggressive and ruthless or a clever con artist.
a psychological disorder characterized by delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, and/or diminished, inappropriate emotional expression.
an eating disorder in which a person alternates binge eating (usually of high-calorie foods) with purging (by vomiting or laxative use) or fasting.
a false belief, often of persecution or grandeur, that may accompany psychotic disorders.
a group of psychological disorders marked by irrational ideas, distorted perceptions, and a loss of contact with reality.
(also called process schizophrenia) a form of schizophrenia in which symptoms usually appear by late adolescence or early adulthood. As people age, psychotic episodes last longer and recovery periods shorten.
an eating disorder in which a person (usually an adolescent female) maintains a starvation diet despite being significantly underweight; sometimes accompanied by excessive exercise.
inflexible and enduring behavior patterns that impair social functioning.
(also called reactive schizophrenia) a form of schizophrenia that can begin at any age, frequently occurs in response to an emotionally traumatic event, and has extended recovery periods.

Experience the Testing Effect

Test yourself repeatedly throughout your studies. This will not only help you figure out what you know and don’t know; the testing itself will help you learn and remember the information more effectively thanks to the testing effect.

Question 14.17

1. Victor exclaimed, “The weather has been so schizophrenic lately: It's hot one day and freezing the next!” Is this an accurate comparison? Why or why not?

ANSWER: No. Schizophrenia involves the altered perceptions, emotions, and behaviors of a mind split from reality. It does not involve the rapid changes in mood or identity suggested by this comparison.

Question 14.18

2. A person with positive symptoms of schizophrenia is most likely to experience

A.
B.
C.
D.

Question 14.19

3. People with schizophrenia may hear voices urging self-destruction, an example of a(n) .

Question 14.20

4. Chances for recovery from schizophrenia are best when

A.
B.
C.
D.

Question 14.21

5. Dissociative identity disorder is controversial because

A.
B.
C.
D.

Question 14.22

6. A personality disorder, such as antisocial personality, is characterized by

A.
B.
C.
D.

Question 14.23

7. PET scans of murderers' brains have revealed

A.
B.
C.
D.

Question 14.24

8. Which of the following statements is true of bulimia nervosa?

A.
B.
C.
D.

Use image to create your personalized study plan, which will direct you to the resources that will help you most in image .

[Leave] [Close]