Important Questions & Answers: Psychological Disorders- 1 | Psychology Class 12 - Humanities/Arts PDF Download

Very Short Answer Questions

Q.1. Why do we classify Psychological Disorders?

Classifications of Psychological Disorders are useful because they enable users like psychologists, psychiatrists and social workers to communicate with each other about the disorder and help in understanding the causes of the disorders and the processes involved in their development and maintenance.

Q.2. Distinguish between Obsessive and Compulsive behaviour giving examples.
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Explain obsessive compulsive disorder.

Obsessive Behaviour is the inability to stop thinking about a particular idea or topic.They are usable to control preoccupation with specific ideas. The person involved, often finds these thoughts to be unpleasant and shameful. Compulsive behaviour is the need to perform certain behaviours over and over again. They are unable to prevent themselves from repeatedly carrying out a particular act or series of acts that affect their ability to carry out normal activities. It involves acts such as counting, ordering,checking, touching and washing.

Q.3. What is stigma?

Stigma attached to mental illness means that people are hesitant to consult a doctor or psychologist because they are ashamed of their problems.

Q.4. What are Delusions?

Delusions are false beliefs held on inadequate grounds. For example, delusions of grandeur in which people believe themselves to be specially empowered persons.

Q.5. What are norms?

Each society has norms, which are stated or unstated rules for proper conduct.Behaviours, thoughts and emotions that break societal norms are called abnormal.

Q.6. Explain the forms of eating disorders associated with distorted body image.
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Which disorder is the cause of distorted body image? Explain its various forms.
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Describe Feeding and Eating disorders.

Children show eating disorders which are of the following three types:
(i) Anorexia Nervosa: In this, the individuals have a distorted body image that leads to consider themselves as overweight. They refuse to eat especially, in front of others,exercise compulsively and lose large amounts of weight and even starve themselves to death.
(ii) Bulimia Nervosa: In this, the individual may eat excessive amounts of food, then purge his/her body of food by using medicines or by vomiting. The person feels disgusted and ashamed when he or she binges and is relieved of tension and negative emotions after purging.
(iii) Binge Eating: In this, there are frequent episodes of out-of-control eating. Large amount of food is eaten even when the individual is not feeling hungry.

Q.7. State the salient features of dissociative amnesia.

Dissociative Amnesia involves memory loss that has no organic cause (e.g. head injury).Some people cannot remember anything about their past while others cannot recall specific events, people, places or objects while their memory for other events remains intact.

Q.8. Define Phobia with its types.

People with Phobias have irrational fears related to specific objects, people or situations.
They are of the following three types:
(i) Specific Phobias: This includes irrational fears such as intense fear of a certain type of animal or if being in an enclosed space.
(ii) Social Anxiety Disorder or Social Phobias: This involves intense and incapacitating fear and embarrassment when dealing with others.
(iii) Agoraphobia: In this, people develop a fear of entering into unfamiliar situations, e.g., they are afraid of leaving their home.

Q.9. What are the features of abnormal behaviour?

Abnormal behaviour has common features known as the four Ds:
(i) Deviance: The person shows different, extreme, unusual or bizarre behaviour.
(ii) Distressing: The behaviour shown is unpleasant and upsetting to the person and to others.
(iii) Dysfunctional: The behaviour interferes with the person’s ability to carry out daily activities in a constructive way.
(iv) Dangerous: The behaviour is dangerous to self and to others.

Q.10. State the range of IQ with different levels of Intellectual Disability.

The range of IQ of children with intellectual disability are Mild (IQ range 55-70) Moderate (IQ range 35-40 to 50-55) Severe (IQ range 20-25 to 35-40) and Profound (IQ range below 20-25).

Q.11. Describe Disruptive, Impulse-Control and Conduct Disorders.

The disorders under this category are:
(i) Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD): These children display age inappropriate amounts of stubbornness, are irritable, defiant, disobedient and behave in a hostile manner.
(ii) Conduct Disorder and Antisocial Behaviour: These children show age-inappropriate actions and attitudes that violate family expectations, societal norms and the personal and property rights of others. These include aggressive actions that cause or threaten harm to people or animals, non-aggressive conduct that cause property damage, show major deceitfulness or theft or violate rules.
(iii) Aggression: Children show many different types of aggressive behaviour such as verbal aggression (i.e. name-calling, swearing), physical aggression (i.e. hitting,fighting), hostile aggression (i.e. directed at inflicting injury to others), and proactive aggression (i.e. dominating and bullying others without provocation).

Q.12. What are Somatoform Disorders? Explain with examples.
OR
State the different types of Somatoform Disorders. Discuss conversion disorders with examples.
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What are Somatic symptoms and Related Disorder?
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What are Somatoform Disorders. Discuss conversion disorders with examples.
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Explain Somatoform Disorders. Describe any two somatoform disorders with examples.

Somatoform Disorders are the conditions in which there are physical symptoms in the absence of a physical disease or a biological cause. In these disorders, the individual has psychological difficulties and complains of physical symptoms, for which there is no biological cause. It is of the following 3 types.
(i) Somatic symptom Disorders: This involves a person having persistent body-related symptom in the absence of a serious medical condition. These people are too occupied with their symptoms, worry about their health and frequently visit doctors. They are extremely distressed and disturbed.
(ii) Illness anxiety Disorders: They are constantly worried about developing a serious illness and anxiety about one’s health.
(iii) Conversion Disorders: In this, the patient reports loss of part or all of some basic body functions. Paralysis, blindness, deafness and difficulty in walking are some of the symptoms reported especially after a stressful experience. For example a person who has lost a dear one in an earthquake has no brain injuries but reports of paralysis of one side of body.
For example:
(a) A person who has normal eye-sight may report of blindness just before the exams due to examination anxiety and may show difficulty in reading the book.
(b) A person who has lost a dear one in an earthquake has no brain injuries but reports of paralysis of one side of body.

Q.13. What is meant by mental disorders? How are they classified? Discuss the role of biological factors in abnormal behaviour.

Mental disorders are abnormal behaviours deviated from some clearly defined norms or standards. Mental disorders have certain common features called 4D’s: deviance,distress, dysfunction and danger.
The American Psychiatric Association (APS) classified mental disorders on 5 axes or dimensions popularly known as Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSMIV).World Health Organization (WHO) classified mental disorders by the classification system known as International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10).
Biological causes of abnormal behaviour are faulty genes, endocrine imbalances,malnutrition, injuries and other conditions that may interfere with normal development and functioning of the human body.
Studies indicate that abnormal activity by certain neuro-transmitters can lead to specific psychological disorders. Anxiety disorders are due to low activity of neuro-transmitter Gamma-amino-butyric acid (GABA), schizophrenia to excess activity of Dopamine and depression to low activity of Serotonin. Genetic factors have been linked to mood disorders, schizophrenia, mental disorders etc.

Q.14. Describe the neurodevelopmental disorders.

Neurodevelopmental disorders manifest in the early stage of development. Symptoms appear before the child enters school or during the early stage of schooling. These children show age-inappropriate behaviour in which social, academic and occupational functioning are disturbed. Several disorders of childhood are:
(i) Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): The main features of ADHD include inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. Common complaints of children who are inattentive are that the child does not listen, cannot concentrate, does not follow instructions, is disorganized, easily distracted, forgetful, does not finish assignments and is quick to lose interest in boring activities. Children who are impulsive find it difficult to wait or take turns, have difficulty in resisting immediate temptations or delaying gratifications. They may knock things over and sometimes more serious accidents and injuries occur. Hyperactive children fidget, squirm, climb and run around the room aimlessly.
(ii) Autism Spectrum Disorders: These disorders are characterized by severe impairments in social interaction and communication skills, and stereotyped patterns of behaviours, interests and activities. These children have marked difficulties in social interaction and communication; and strong desire for routine. About 70% of children with autism are also mentally retarded.Children with this disorder experience profound difficulties in relating to other people. They are unable to initiate social behaviour and are unresponsive to other people’s feelings. They are unable to share experiences or emotions with others.They show serious abnormalities in communication and language. Many of them never develop speech and those who do have repetitive and deviant speech patterns.These children show narrow patterns of interest and repetive behaviours such as lining up objects or stereotyped body movements such as rocking hand flapping or banging their head against the wall.
(iii) Intellectual disability: This refers to below average intellectual functioning with IQ 70 or below and deficits or impairments in adaptive behaviour i.e. in areas of communication, self-care, home living, social/interpersonal skills, functional academic skills, work; and which are manifested below the age of 18 years.
(iv) Specific learning disorder: In this, the individual experiences difficulty in perceiving or processing information efficiently and accurately. These get manifested during early school years and the individual encounters problems in basic skills in reading, writing and/or mathematics. The affected child tends to perform below average for his/her age. However, individuals may be able to reach acceptable performance levels with additional inputs and efforts. Specific learning disorder is likely to impair functioning and performance in activities/occupations dependent on the related skills.

Q.15. Identify the symptoms associated with depression and mania.

Major depressive disorder is defined as a period of depressed mood and/or loss of interest or pleasure in most activities, together with other symptoms which may include change in body weight, constant sleep problems, tiredness, inability to think clearly, agitation, greatly slowed behaviour, and thoughts of death and suicide. Other symptoms include excessive guilt or feelings of worthlessness.
Bipolar I disorder involves both mania and depression, which are alternately present and sometimes interrupted by periods of normal mood. Manic episodes rarely appear by themselves; they usually alternate with depression. Bipolar mood disorders were earlier referred to as manic-depressive disorders. Some examples of types of bipolar and related disorders include Bipolar I Disorder, Bipolar II disorder and Cyclothymic Disorder.

Q.16. Describe the characteristics of children with hyperactivity.

Hyperactivity also takes many forms. Children with ADHD are in constant motion.Sitting still through a lesson is impossible for them. The child may fidget, squirm, climb and run around the room aimlessly. Parents and teachers describe them as ‘driven by a motor’, always on the go, and talk incessantly.

Q.17. What do you understand by the term ‘Dissociation’? Explain the types of Dissociative Disorders.

Dissociation involves feelings of unreality, estrangement, depersonalisation and a loss of shift of identity. It is of the following four types:
(i) Dissociative Amnesia: This involves memory loss that has no organic cause (e.g. head injury). Some people cannot remember anything about their past while others cannot recall specific events, people, places or objects while their memory for other events remains intact.
A part of Dissociative Amnesia is Dissociative Figure. In this the patient travels away from home and workplace assuming a new identity and inability to recall the previous identity. The fugue ends when the person suddenly ‘wakes up’ with no memory of the events that occurred during the fugue.
(ii) Dissociative Identity Disorder: In this disorder, the person assumes alternate personalities that may or may not be aware of each other. It is often associated with traumatic experiences in childhood.
(iii) Depersonalisation/Derealisation disorder: This involves a dreamlike state in which the person has a sense of being separated both from self and from reality. In this there is a change of self-perception, and the person’s sense of reality is temporarily lost or changed.

Q.18. Distinguish between obsessions and compulsions.

People affected by obsessive compulsive disorder are unable to control their preoccupation with specific ideas or are unable to prevent themselves from repeatedly carrying out a particular act or series of acts that affect their ability to carry out normal activities. Obsessive behaviour is the inability to stop thinking about a particular idea or topic. The person involved, often finds these thoughts to be unpleasant and shameful.Compulsive behaviour is the need to perform certain behaviours over and over again.Many compulsions deal with counting, ordering, checking, touching and washing.Other disorders in this category include hoarding disorder, trichotillomania (hairpulling disorder), excoriation (skin-picking) disorder etc.

Q.19. What are the consequences of alcohol substance addiction?

People who abuse alcohol drink large amounts regularly and rely on it to help them face difficult situations. Eventually the drinking interferes with their social behaviour and ability to think and work. Their bodies then build up a tolerance for alcohol and they need to drink even greater amounts to feel its effects. They also experience withdrawal responses when they stop drinking. Alcoholism destroys millions of families, social relationships and careers. Intoxicated drivers are responsible for many road accidents. It also has serious effects on the children of persons with this disorder. These children have higher rates of psychological problems, particularly anxiety, depression, phobias and substance-related disorders. Excessive drinking can seriously damage physical health.