Please refer to Psychological Disorders Class 12 Psychology Important Questions given below. These solved questions for Meeting Life Challenges have been prepared based on the latest CBSE, NCERT and KVS syllabus and books issued for the current academic year. We have provided important examination questions for Class 12 Psychology all chapters.
Class 12 Psychology Psychological Disorders Important Questions
Very Short Answer Questions
Question. How does humanistic existential model explain psychological disorders?
Ans. Humanists believe that human beings are born with a natural tendency to be friendly,cooperative and constructive and are driven to self-actualise, i.e. to fulfill this potential for goodness and growth. They further believe that from birth we have total freedom to give meaning to our existence or avoid that responsibility. Those who shrink from this responsibility live empty, inauthentic and dysfunctional lives.
Question. Explain Separation Anxiety Disorder (SAD).
Ans. Separation Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is an internalising disorder unique to children where the child expresses excessive anxiety or panic at being separated from their parents. Symptoms are: The children have difficulty being in a room by themselves, going to school alone, are fearful of entering new situations, and cling to and shadow their parents’ every move. They may fuss, scream, throw severe tantrums or make suicidal gestures.
Question. What is Generalised Anxiety Disorder?
Ans. Generalised Anxiety Disorder consists of prolonged, vague, unexplained and intense fears that are not attached to any particular object. The symptoms include worry and apprehensive feelings about the future, hyper-vigilance, which involves constantly scanning the environment for dangers. In this the person is unable to relax, is restless,visibly shaky and tense.
Question. What is meant by well-being?
Ans. Well-being means to have positive health. Health is a state of complete physical, mental, social and spiritual well-being, and not merely the absence of disease.
Question. What is interactional approach of psychological disorders?
Ans. In interactional or bio-psycho-social approach, all three factors, viz. biological,psychological and social play important roles in psychological disorders. The biological approach describes that defects in various body and brain processes are linked to many types of maladaptive behaviour. The psychological approach describes that the psychological problems are caused by inadequacies in the way an individual thinks, feels or perceives the world. According to the social approach, psychological conflicts and disturbed interpersonal relationships were the causes of abnormal behaviour.
Question. What is exorcism?
Ans. Exorcism is removing the evil that resides in the individual through counter-magic and prayer.
Short Answer Questions
Question. What are Depressive Disorders? What are the factors predisposing towards depression?
Ans. Depression covers a variety of negative moods and behavioural changes. Major Depressive Disorder involves a depressed mood and a loss of interest or pleasure in most activities. Symptoms include change in body weight, constant sleep problems, tiredness, inability to think clearly, agitation, greatly slowed behaviour and thoughts of death and suicide. The factors predisposing towards depression are heredity, age,gender, negative life events and lack of social support. Women are at risk during young adulthood while men are at risk in middle age. Also, women in comparison to men are more likely to report a depressive disorder.
Question. What are Mood Disorders? Discuss in brief the types of mood disorders.
OR
Explain bipolar mood disorder?
Ans. Bipolar disorder involves both mania and depression, which are alternately present and sometimes interrupted by periods of normal mood. 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.
(i) Bipolar I Disorder or HyperMania in which a person experiences a full manic episode and may or may not experience a major depressive episode.
(ii) Bipolar II Disorder or HypoMania in which a person may experience a less severe manic episode and a major depressive episode.
(iii) Cyclothymic Disorder which is a mild mood disorder with symptoms similar to Bipolar II Disorder.
Question. How does diathesis stress model explain abnormal behaviour?
Ans. The 3 components of diathesis stress model are:
(i) Diathesis or the presence of some biological aberration which may be inherited.
(ii) The person may carry a vulnerability to develop a disorder. The person is ‘at risk’ or ‘predisposed’ to develop the disorder.
(iii) There is a presence of pathogenic stressors that may lead to psychopathology.
Question. Describe any two factors underlying abnormal behaviour.
Ans.
(i) Biological Factors: Biological factors such as faulty genes, endocrine imbalances,malnutrition and injuries interfere with normal development and functioning of the human body. When an electrical impulse reaches a neuron ending, the nerve ending is stimulated to release a chemical, called a neuro-transmitter. Abnormal activity by certain neuro-transmitters can lead to specific psychological disorders.
Anxiety disorders have been linked to low activity of the neurotransmitter gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA), schizophrenia to excess activity of dopamine and depression to low activity of serotonin.
(ii) Genetic Factors: Genetic factors have been linked to mood disorders, schizophrenia and mental retardation. No single gene is responsible for a psychological disorder.Many genes combine to bring about various dysfunctional behaviours and emotional reactions.
Question. What are Substance-use Disorders? Illustrate the two categories of substance use disorders.
OR
Differentiate between substance dependence and substance abuse.
Ans. Substance-use disorders include problems associated with using and abusing drugs such as alcohol, cocaine and heroin. In substance dependence, the person addicted shows
withdrawal symptoms and compulsive drug-taking. In substance abuse, the person addicted damage their family and social relationships, perform poorly at work and
create physical hazards.
The following are the two types of substance use disorders:
Substance dependence: Intense craving for the substance addicted to. Individuals show tolerance, withdrawal symptoms and compulsive drug taking. The substance can change mood, thinking processes and consciousness.
Substance abuse: Recurrent and significant consequences of use of substances. Damage to family, social relationship, poor work performance and physical hazards. Alcohol,cocaine, heroin are common substances abused.
Question. Explain abnormal behaviour from the perspective of socio-cultural model.
OR
Explain mental disorder from socio-cultural perspective.
Ans. There are various views to distinguish abnormal and normal behaviour. Behaviour is considered as abnormal if it is
(i) Deviated from Social Norms: Behaviour that is deviant from social expectations or norms (the stated or unstated rules for proper conduct) are classified as abnormal.
(ii) Deviant from Culture Expectations: A society whose culture values competition and assertiveness may accept aggressive behaviour, whereas one that emphasizes cooperation and family values may consider aggressive behaviour as unacceptable or even abnormal.
(iii) Maladaptive: Behaviour is seen as abnormal if it is maladaptive, i.e. if it interferes with optimal functioning and growth.
Behaviour is shaped by societal forces and hence family structure and communication, social networks, societal conditions and societal labels and roles play an important role. Socio-cultural factors such as war and violence, group prejudice and discrimination,economic and employment problems, and rapid social change, put stress on most of us and can lead to psychological problems in some individuals. People who are isolated and lack social support i.e. strong and fulfilling interpersonal relationships in their lives are likely to become more depressed.
Long Answer Questions
Question. Describe the historical background behind abnormal behaviour.
Ans. The various approaches to the causes of abnormal behaviour are:
(i) Abnormal behaviour is explained by the operation of supernatural and magical forces such as evil spirits (bhoot-pret) or the devil (shaitan).
(ii) Biological or organic approach: Defects in various body and brain processes are linked to many types of maladaptive behaviour.
(iii) Psychological approach: Psychological problems are caused by inadequacies in the way an individual thinks, feels or perceives the world.
(iv) Organismic approach: Socrates viewed disturbed behaviour as arising out of conflicts between emotion and reason. Galen elaborated four humours in personal character and temperament. According to him, the material world was made up of four elements, viz. earth, air, fire and water which combined to form four essential body fluids, viz. blood, yellow bile, black bile and phlegm. Each of these fluids are responsible for a different temperament. Imbalances between these humours were believed to cause various disorders. This is similar to the notion of three doshas of vat, pitta and kapha in Ayurvedic texts.
(v) In the Middle ages demonology, the belief that the people with mental problems were evil and superstition gained importance.
(vi) During the Renaissance period, psychological conflicts and disturbed interpersonal relationships were the causes of abnormal behaviour.
(vii) The seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were known as the age of reason and enlightenment. During this period there was a reform movement during which there was a de-institutionalisation of the mentally ill and placed emphasis on providing community care for recovered mentally ill individuals.
Question. Explain the diathesis-stress model of abnormal behaviour giving examples from daily life.
Ans. The three components of diathesis stress model are:
(i) Diathesis or the presence of some biological aberration which may be inherited.
(ii) The person may carry a vulnerability to develop a disorder. The person is ‘at risk’ or ‘predisposed’ to develop the disorder.
(iii) There is a presence of pathogenic stressors that may lead to psychopathology.
For example, Aggression refers to behaviour that is intended to cause harm to others.It is demonstrated through harsh words or criticism or hostile feelings against others.
The 3 components of diathesis stress model are explained in the case of aggression:
(i) Diathesis or the presence of some biological aberration which may be inherited is demonstrated when aggression occurs due to an inborn tendency which may be meant for self-defense.
(ii) The person may carry a vulnerability to develop a disorder. The person is ‘at risk’ or ‘predisposed’ to develop the disorder. This is observed in a general physiological state of arousal or feeling activated which might be expressed in the form of aggression.Personality factors such as people with low self-esteem and those who feel insecure are more likely to show aggression.
(iii) There is a presence of pathogenic stressors that may lead to psychopathology. This is observed in people who in frustrated situations show more aggression than those who are not frustrated. In an experiment children are frustrated by preventing them from getting attractive toys that are visible through a screen. These children are found to be more destructive than those children who are allowed to access the toys.
Question. Describe Schizophrenic Disorders.
Ans. Schizophrenia refers to a group of psychotic disorders in which personal, social and occupational functioning deteriorate as a result of disturbed thought processes, strange
perceptions, unusual emotional states and motor abnormalities. The symptoms of schizophrenia are grouped into three categories:
(i) Positive symptoms: In this, there are excesses of thought, emotion and behaviour.People develop delusions which is a false belief held on inadequate grounds. These can be of the following types:
(a) Delusions of persecution: People with this delusion believe that they are being plotted against, spied on, slandered, threatened, attacked or deliberately victimized.
(b) Delusions of reference: In this, people attach special and personal meaning to the actions of others or to objects and events.
(c) Delusions of grandeur: In this, people believe themselves to be specially empowered persons. They may believe that they are the Prime Minister or President of India or even God and hence can control the weather.
(d) Delusions of control: In this, people believe that their thoughts, feelings and actions are controlled by others.People with schizophrenia may not be able to think logically and may speak in peculiar ways. These formal thought disorders make communication extremely difficult.
These include rapidly shifting from one topic to another so that the normal structure of thinking is muddled and becomes illogical, loosening of associations (derailment),inventing new words or phrases (neologisms) and persistent and inappropriate repetition of the same thoughts (preservation).
Schizophrenics have hallucinations, i.e., perceptions that occur in the absence of external stimuli, this is of the following types:
(a) Auditory hallucinations: Patients hear sounds or voices that speak words, phrases and sentences directly to the patient (second-person hallucination) or talk to one another referring to the patient (third-person hallucination).
(b) Tactile hallucinations: These include tingling and burning sensations.
(c) Somatic hallucinations: This creates a feeling that something is happening inside the body such as a snake crawling inside one’s stomach.
(d) Visual hallucinations: These are vague perceptions of colour or distinct visions of people or objects.
(e) Gustatory hallucinations: In this, food or a drink tastes strange.
(f) Olfactory hallucinations: In this, the person gets a smell of poison or smoke.
People with schizophrenia show inappropriate affect, i.e., emotions that are unsuited to the situation.
(ii) Negative symptoms: These include the three As:
(a) Alogia: This includes poverty of speech, i.e. reduction in speech or speech content.
(b) Blunted or Flat effect: People show less anger, sadness, i.e., blunted effect or no emotions at all, a condition called flat effect.
(c) Avolition: In this, the person shows apathy or an inability to start or complete a course of action.
(iii) Psychomotor symptoms: In this, the person shows odd grimaces and gestures. The symptoms may take extreme forms known as catatonia. It is of the following types:
(a) Catatonic stupor: The person remains motionless and silent for long stretches of time.
(b) Catatonic rigidity: In this, the person maintains rigid or upright posture for long hours.
(c) Catatonic posturing: In this, the person assumes awkward or bizarre positions for long periods of time.
Question. What are phobias? If someone had an intense fear of snakes, could this simple phobia be a result of faulty learning? Analyse how this phobia could have developed.
Ans. People with phobias have irrational fears related to specific objects, people or situations.It is of the following types: Specific Phobias, Social Anxiety Disorder or Social Phobias
and Agoraphobia.Specific phobias are the most commonly occurring type of phobia. This group includes irrational fears such as intense fear of a certain type of animal, or of being in an enclosed space.
According to Social Learning theory
– Both faulty and adaptive behaviours are a result of faulty learning.
– The mechanism of reward and punishment will decide the behaviour will be learned or eliminated
– This phobia can be treated with techniques like systematic desensitisation, modeling or using methodology of behaviour therapy.
Question. Can a distorted body image lead to eating disorders? Classify the various forms of it.
Ans. Another group of disorders which are of special interest to young people are eating disorders. These include anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating. In anorexia nervosa, the individual has a distorted body image that leads her/him to see herself/himself as overweight. Often refusing to eat, exercising compulsively and developing unusual habits such as refusing to eat in front of others, the person with anorexia may lose large amounts of weight and even starve herself/himself to death.
In bulimia nervosa, the individual may eat excessive amounts of food, then purge her/his body of food by using medicines such as laxatives or diuretics or by vomiting. The person often feels disgusted and ashamed when s/he binges and is relieved of tension and negative emotions after purging. In binge eating, there are frequent episodes of out-of-control eating. The individual tends to eat at a higher speed than normal and continues eating till s/he feels uncomfortably full. In fact, large amount of food may be eaten even when the individual is not feeling hungry.
Question. “Physicians make diagnosis looking at a person’s physical symptoms”. How are psychological disorders diagnosed?
Ans. The first approach views abnormal behaviour as a deviation from social norms. Many psychologists have stated that ‘abnormal’ is simply a label that is given to a behaviour which is deviant from social expectations. Abnormal behaviour, thoughts and emotions are those that differ markedly from a society’s ideas of proper functioning. Each society has norms, which are stated or unstated rules for proper conduct. Behaviours, thoughts and emotions that break societal norms are called abnormal. A society’s norms grow from its particular culture — its history, values, institutions, habits, skills, technology,and arts. Thus, a society whose culture values competition and assertiveness may accept aggressive behaviour, whereas one that emphasises cooperation and family values (such as in India) may consider aggressive behaviour as unacceptable or even abnormal.
A society’s values may change over time, causing its views of what is psychologically abnormal to change as well. Serious questions have been raised about this definition. It is based on the assumption that socially accepted behaviour is not abnormal, and that normality is nothing more than conformity to social norms. The second approach views abnormal behaviour as maladaptive. Many psychologists believe that the best criterion for determining the normality of behaviour is not whether society accepts it but whether it fosters the well-being of the individual and eventually of the group to which s/he belongs. Well-being is not simply maintenance and survival but also includes growth and fulfilment, i.e. the actualisation of potential, which you must have studied in Maslow’s need hierarchy theory. According to this criterion, conforming behaviour can be seen as abnormal if it is maladaptive, i.e. if it interferes with optimal functioning and growth. For example, a student in the class prefers to remain silent even when s/he has questions in her/his mind. Describing behaviour as maladaptive implies that a problem exists; it also suggests that vulnerability in the individual, inability to cope, or exceptional stress in the environment have led to problems in life.
Question. While speaking in public the patient changes topics frequently, is this a positive or a negative symptom of schizophrenia? Describe the other symptoms of schizophrenia.
Ans. Positive symptoms are ‘pathological excesses’ or ‘bizarre additions’ to a person’s behaviour. Delusions, disorganised thinking and speech, heightened perception and hallucinations, and inappropriate affect are the ones most often found in schizophrenia.People with schizophrenia may not be able to think logically and may speak in peculiar ways. These formal thought disorders can make communication extremely difficult.
These include rapidly shifting from one topic to another so that the normal structure of thinking is muddled and becomes illogical (loosening of associations, derailment), inventing new words or phrases (neologisms), and persistent and inappropriate repetition of the same thoughts (perseveration).
Schizophrenics show positive symptoms (i.e. excesses of thought, emotion, and behaviour), negative symptoms (i.e. deficits of thought, emotion, and behaviour), and psychomotor symptoms. Positive symptoms are ‘pathological excesses’ or ‘bizarre additions’ to a person’s behaviour. Delusions, disorganised thinking and speech, heightened perception and hallucinations, and inappropriate affect are the ones most often found in schizophrenia.
Many people with schizophrenia develop delusions. A delusion is a false belief that is firmly held on inadequate grounds. It is not affected by rational argument, and has no basis in reality. Delusions of persecution are the most common in schizophrenia. People with this delusion believe that they are being plotted against, spied on, slandered, threatened, attacked or deliberately victimised. People with schizophrenia may also experience delusions of reference in which they attach special and personal meaning to the actions of others or to objects and events. In delusions of grandeur, people believe themselves to be specially empowered persons and in delusions of control, they believe that their feelings, thoughts and actions are controlled by others. People with schizophrenia may have hallucinations, i.e. perceptions that occur in the absence of external stimuli. Auditory hallucinations are most common in schizophrenia. Patients hear sounds or voices that speak words, phrases and sentences directly to the patient (second-person hallucination) or talk to one another referring to the patient as s/he (third-person hallucination). Hallucinations can also involve the other senses. These include tactile hallucinations (i.e. forms of tingling, burning), somatic hallucinations
(i.e. something happening inside the body such as a snake crawling inside one’s stomach), visual hallucinations (i.e. vague perceptions of colour or distinct visions of people or objects), gustatory hallucinations (i.e. food or drink taste strange), and olfactory hallucinations (i.e. smell of poison or smoke). People with schizophrenia also show inappropriate affect, i.e. emotions that are unsuited to the situation.
Negative symptoms are ‘pathological deficits’ and include poverty of speech, blunted and flat affect, loss of volition, and social withdrawal. People with schizophrenia show alogia or poverty of speech, i.e. a reduction in speech and speech content. Many people with schizophrenia show less anger, sadness, joy, and other feelings than most people do. Thus they have blunted affect. Some show no emotions at all, a condition known as flat affect. Also patients with schizophrenia experience avolition, or apathy and an inability to start or complete a course of action. People with this disorder may withdraw socially and become totally focused on their own ideas and fantasies.
People with schizophrenia also show psychomotor symptoms. They move less spontaneously or make odd grimaces and gestures. These symptoms may take extreme forms known as catatonia. People in a catatonic stupor remain motionless and silent for long stretches of time. Some show catatonic rigidity, i.e. maintaining a rigid, upright posture for hours. Others exhibit catatonic posturing, i.e. assuming awkward, bizarre positions for long periods of time.
