Chapter-4

Psychological disorders

Concept of Abnormality and Psychological Disorders

Before we begin our notes on Psychological Disorders Class 12, let’s understand the concept of
abnormality and psychological disorders. Meaning of Abnormality can be aptly described with
the help of 4Ds :

1. Deviance: Psychological disorders are characterized by Deviance, Unusual, Bizarre,

Strange
2. Dysfunction: Interferes with the normal functioning of an individual.
3. Distress: It implies behaviour that is unpleasant and distressing to oneself and to others.
4. Danger It means behaviour that is harmful and dangerous to the person concerned and
others.

Approaches to Study Abnormality and Psychological Disorders

Psychological Disorders Class 12 also covers the different approaches to the study of
abnormality and mental disorders:

 First Approach views abnormal behaviour as deviation from social norms and those who
are not able to fit in the society are viewed as deviants
 The second Approach is the maladaptive approach according to which behaviour that
does not help the other person in leading a fulfilling life should be viewed as abnormal.

Factors underlying Abnormal Behaviour

There are various factors underlying Abnormal Behaviour according to Psychological Disorders

Biological Model

A wide range of biological factors like hormonal imbalances, faulty genes, and other factors
may have repercussions on the normal functioning and development of individuals. As per
various researches and studies, Abnormal activity by various neurotransmitters may lead to
abnormal behaviour and Psychological disorders like schizophrenia may happen because of the
high activity of dopamine and depression may be due to the low activity of serotonin.

Genetic Model

A lot of Psychological Disorders like Schizophrenia, Depression, Anxiety Happen because of

hereditary factors and genetic mapping of individuals. These may be regressive in nature but
can be triggered in an individual life to external stimuli.
Psychological Model

According to Psychological Disorders Class 12, there are several Psychological factors due to
which the development of Psychological Disorders may happen and some of those factors are
Maladaptive Family Structure, Faulty Parent-Child relationship, severe stress, maternal
deprivation etc. Various other psychological models which provide a substantial explanation of
Psychological disorders are explained as follows:

 Psychodynamic Model focus on the fact that human behaviour whether normal or
Abnormal is a result of Psychological forces (Id, Ego, Superego) in the unconscious mind
and the relative strength of Id, Ego and Superego determines a person’s personality.
 Behavioural Model states that human behaviour whether normal or Abnormal can be
learnt and unlearnt. Abnormal behaviour is a result of learning Maladaptive ways of
Behaving. There are three most eminent theories of the behavioural model are classical
conditioning, operant conditioning and social learning.
 Cognitive Model states that Abnormal Behaviour is a consequence of faulty thinking and
negative and irrational beliefs about one self and others and drawing broad negative
conclusions on the basis of insignificant event results in abnormal behaviour.
 Humanistic-Existential Model-This model views human beings in a positive light and
believes that human beings are inherently positive, cooperative and can self-actualize.
Those who lack meaning in their lives tend to leave empty, depressed and dysfunctional
lives.
 Socio-cultural model: Various socio-cultural factors like employment conditions, war,
prejudice, discrimination, culture(collectivistic or individualistic) explain human
behaviour whether normal or Abnormal in the best possible manner.
 Diathesis Stress Model: As per this model Psychological Disorders develop when a
Diathesis (biological predisposition to the disorder) is set off by a stressful situation.

Major Psychological Disorders

According to Psychological Disorders Class 12, some major psychological disorders are covered
by DSM5 are:

Anxiety Disorders

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Anxiety is defined as a vague and unpleasant feeling of fear and apprehension and some of its
symptoms are rapid heart rate, fainting, dizziness, sweating etc. The main types of anxiety
disorders are described as follows:

Generalised Anxiety Disorders

 Consists of vague, intense and inexplicable that is not attributed to any particular object
or cause.
  Its symptoms are frequent worry, apprehension, hypervigilance that involves continuous
scanning of dangers in the environment and motor tension. A person finds it pretty
difficult to stay at ease and relax.

Panic Disorder

 Comprising frequent anxiety attacks in which the person experiences intense terror and
here, anxious thoughts are experienced due to a specific cause or stimuli.
 Symptoms include shortness of breath, choking, nausea, fear of going crazy or death,
chest pain etc.

Phobias

According to Psychological Disorders Class 12, Phobias are defined as irrational fears related to
a particular object, person or situation. Three types of Phobias are

1. Specific Phobias highly irrational fears such as fear of a specific type of animal or being
enclosed into enclosed spaces
2. Social Phobias is defined as a feeling of intense fear and embarrassment when dealing
with others in public
3. Agoraphobia is the fear of entering unfamiliar situations and people with agoraphobia
have problems in leaving their home as well and thus due to which they are not able to
carry out their normal activities as well.

Separation Anxiety Disorders

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It is defined as an intense fear of being separated from attachment figures to such an extent
that it hinders their development as well. Children with Separation Anxiety Disorder show the
following symptoms are reluctant to go to school alone, shadow every move of their parents
and throw tantrums when they are away from their parents even for a little while.

Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders

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 People who suffer from OCD are preoccupied with a certain idea or a thought and they
are unable to prevent themselves from carrying out a particular activity that hinders
their normal day to day functioning.
 Obsessive Behaviour means the inability to stop thinking about a particular Behaviour or
a thought.
 Compulsive Behaviour is the need to perform certain behaviours over and over again.

Also Read: Social Influence and Group Processes Class 12 Notes

Trauma and Stress- Related Disorder

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 People who have been victims of bomb blasts, terrorist attacks often experience Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
 Some of its key symptoms are mentioned below are
o Recurrent Dreams
o Frequent flashbacks
o Emotional distress

Somatic Symptom and Related Disorder

These are defined as conditions in which the client feels some of the physical symptoms and
Psychological difficulties without any biological and medical cause. Main types of somatic
symptom and related disorders are explained as follows-

Somatic Symptom Disorder

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 Persistent body Related symptoms are seen in this disorder which does not have a
definite medical cause.
 People with this disorder are preoccupied with their Symptoms, worry about their
health and thus, make frequent visits to doctors.

Illness Anxiety Disorder

As the name suggests, people with illness Anxiety Disorder are preoccupied about the thought
of developing a serious illness.

Conversion Disorder

Clients with conversion Disorder report loss of a body part or bodily function like deafness,
blindness, difficulty in walking etc.

Dissociative Disorders

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Dissociation is defined as a feeling of estrangement, unreality or depersonalisation etc. Some of
the major Dissociative Disorders mentioned in the psychological disorders class 12 chapter are-

Dissociative Amnesia
  Its main characteristic feature is extensive but selective memory loss where people fail
to remember either a particular incident, phase of life or cannot remember anything
about their past. It is associated with high stress.

Dissociative Identity Disorder

 Its main root lies in Traumatic childhood experiences and it is also known as multiple
personality disorder. A person assumes alternate or different personalities which may or
may not be aware of each other.

Depersonalisation

 This involves a dream-like state in which there is a sense of being separated from self
and reality.
 A person’s sense of reality is temporarily lost.

Dissociative Fugue

 New identity formation happens because of an unexpected travel away from the
workplace and home.
 People with Dissociative Fugue experience inability to recall the previous identity.

Depression

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Depression is defined as one of the most widely recognized mental disorders and it usually
indicates a range of negative emotions and behavioural changes. Depression is usually
experienced either after a fallout in a relationship or our failure to attain a significant goal.

Major Depressive Disorder

It is characterised by loss of interest and enthusiasm in most of the activities in our life and
along with that other symptoms include irregular sleep patterns, change in body weight,
irritability, withdrawal from social relationships, etc. Factors predisposing to Depression are
mentioned below-

1. Age: Women are likely to get depressed in young adulthood and men are likely to get
depressed during middle age either due to midlife crisis.
2. Genetics: It is a crucial factor that determines an individual’s proneness to depression.
3. Other factors: Significant bad phase in life or lack of desired social support can cause
depression as well.

Bipolar And Related Disorders

People who suffer from mania are highly euphoric, talkative and easily distractible and episodes
of mania are accompanied alternatively by depression. In bipolar mood disorder, both mania
and depression happen alternatively and in between, there are periods of normal mood as well.

Suicide

Suicide is a major concern as the suicide rate has increased and some of the symptoms of
suicide are mentioned below

 Difficulty in maintaining concentration.

 A drastic change in personality.
 Change in eating and sleep pattern
 Cut off from family and friends
 Drug and alcohol abuse.

Factors leading to suicide are given below-

1. The last attempt of suicide is the strongest factor.

2. Significant problems in the family, peer group, work-life, and inability to deal with them
may lead to suicide.
3. Culture also is an important factor determining suicide.

Some measures suggested by WHO to reduce Suicide

1. Care for people who attempted suicide and providing them much needed support
2. Limiting access to suicide.
3. Early identification, treatment and prevention of people who are at risk

Schizophrenia Disorders

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It is the descriptive term for a group of psychotic disorders in which functioning in personal,
social and work life deteriorates and the causes behind that can be motor abnormalities,
unusual emotional states and strange perceptions. Psychological disorders class 12 states the
symptoms of Schizophrenia is classified into three categories:

Positive Symptoms

They are defined as bizarre additions to a person’s behaviour and they are mentioned below
and are basically excess of thought, emotion and behaviour.

Delusion

It is defined as a false belief that is firmly held on inadequate grounds and they are of various
types –
 1. Delusion Of Persecution -People believe that they are being plotted against, spied upon
and threatened.
2. Delusion Of Reference-People attach special and personal meaning to actions and
events of others
3. Delusion Of Grandeur-People believes themselves to be highly empowered.
4. Delusion Of Control-People believes that their thoughts, emotions, feelings are in the
hands of others.

Hallucination

Perceptions that occur in absence of stimuli are defined as hallucination and various types of
Hallucination are described as follows-

1. Auditory Hallucination: Patients hear sounds or voices that speak sounds, phrases,
words etc.
2. Tactile Hallucination-People experience tingling and burning sensation.
3. Olfactory Hallucination-People experience the smell of poison or smoke.

Negative Symptoms

They are pathological deficits and include poverty of speech, blunted and flat affect and social
withdrawal.

 Alogia-People show a reduction in speech content

 Blunted Effect– People show less anger, sadness, joy etc.
 Flat effect-People at times exhibit no emotion at all.
 Avolition– Inability to start or complete a course of action.

Psychomotor Symptoms

They move less spontaneously and make odd gestures.

 Catatonic Stupor-People remain motionless and silent for long stretches of time.
 Catatonic Rigidity-People maintain rigid postures for hours.
 Catatonic Posturing-People maintain awkward and bizarre positions for long stretches
of time.

Formal Thought Disorders

In the chapter, Psychological disorders class 12, there are formal thought disorders wherein
people are not able to think rationally, communicate properly, quickly switch from one topic to
another and at times invent their own phrases too.

Neurodevelopmental Disorders
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According to Psychological Disorders Class 12, there are neurodevelopmental disorders
manifest during early childhood and impact academic and personal development. They are
characterised as excesses or deficits in a particular behaviour. Several neurodevelopmental
disorders are discussed as follows-

Attention-Deficit /Hyperactivity Disorder

Main features of ADHD are-

 Inattention is defined as the ability to sustain attention in academics or play. Children

who are inattentive quickly lose interest in boring activities, are disorganized and find it
difficult to follow instructions.
 Impulsivity is defined as the inability to control their immediate reaction to the stimulus
in the environment and they are habitual of instant gratification and they find it difficult
to delay their gratification.
 Hyperactivity Children who are hyperactive have difficulty sitting still through class and
are in constant motion. Boys are four times more likely to get diagnosed with ADHD as
compared to girls.

Autism Spectrum Disorder

This disorder is characterised by difficulty in social communication, interaction and restricted

categories of interests. Children with autism are unresponsive to others in social situations, face
problems in communication and are intellectually deficient as well.

Specific Learning Disorder

The individual experiences problems in processing information accurately and efficiently and in
reading, writing. In the early years of childhood, academic performance is usually below
average but with efforts and inputs, it can be improved.

Disruptive, Impulse-Control and Conduct Disorders

Various disorders under this category according to the chapter on Psychological Disorders Class
12-

1. Oppositional Defiant Disorder(ODD)

1. People exhibit an age-inappropriate amount of stubbornness and are defiant.
2. People behave in a hostile manner.
2. Conduct Disorder and Antisocial Behaviour Actions which are not appropriate as per
family expectations and societal norms. Behaviours in conduct disorder are of aggressive
nature and include those actions which cause harm to others. Types of aggressive
behaviour include
1. Verbal Aggression includes actions like name-calling, swearing etc.
2. Physical Aggression includes hitting, fighting with others.
3. Proactive Aggression includes bullying and dominating others without being
provoked.
4. Hostile Aggression is aimed at inflicting injury to others.

Feeding and Eating Disorders

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According to Psychological Disorders Class 12 chapter, there are various eating disorders:

Anorexia Nervosa

People with Anorexia Nervosa see themselves as overweight and thus due to their self-image,
they exercise extensively and refuse to eat. They can starve themselves to death as well at
times.

Bulimia Nervosa

People with Bulimia Nervosa may over-eat and then purge their body by vomiting or using
laxatives and thus, feel relieved.

Binge Eating

Binge Eating is characterized by frequent episodes of out-of-control eating. The erratic eating
patterns can be harmful to the health and well-being of the individual.

Substance Related and Addictive Disorder

Disorders which are related to maladaptive Behaviours resulting from regular and consistent
use of substance involved are included under substance-related and Addictive disorders and
some of the frequently used substances are explained below-

Alcohol

 People who abuse alcohol and rely on it to handle severe situations and this addiction
interfere with their ability to function well in their social, personal, and work lives.
 Due to excessive consumption of alcohol, the body of alcoholics develops a tolerance for
alcohol which means that they have to consume it to feel normal.
 Withdrawal of alcohol results in a huge range of Psychological problems like anxiety,
depression and other health problems as well.

Heroin

 It impacts our social and occupational functioning.

 People develop a tolerance for it and experience withdrawal when they stop consuming
Heroin
 It paralyzes breath and may lead to death as well.

Cocaine

 May cause problems in short term memory and attention.

 People develop a tolerance for it and experience withdrawal when they stop consuming
Cocaine
 People who are Cocaine addicts may function poorly in their work-life and social life.
 It has serious repercussions on Psychological and physical well-being.

Important Questions for Psychological Disorders Class 12

Important question and answers for Psychological Disorders Class 12-

Q. Identify the symptoms associated with depression and mania.

Ans. Symptoms of Mania are highly euphoric, talkative and easily distractible and symptoms of
depression are loss of interest in all the activities which they like, change in eating and sleeping
patterns, cut off from family and friends etc.

Q. Describe the characteristics of hyperactive children.

Ans. Children who are hyperactive have difficulty sitting still through class and are in constant
motion.

Q. Distinguish between obsessions and compulsions.

Ans. Obsessive Behaviour means the inability to stop thinking about a particular Behaviour or a
thought. Compulsive Behaviour is the need to perform certain behaviours over and over again.
Psychological Disorders Class 12 NCERT PDF

Psychological Disorders Class 12 NCERT PDFDownload

Must Read: Entrance Exams for Psychology after 12th

FAQs

What is a Genetic Model?

A lot of Psychological Disorders like Schizophrenia, Depression, Anxiety Happen because of
hereditary factors and genetic mapping of individuals.

What does Anxiety mean?

Anxiety is defined as a vague and unpleasant feeling of fear and apprehension and some of its
symptoms are rapid heart rate, fainting, dizziness, sweating etc.

What are Hallucinations?

Perceptions that occur in absence of stimuli are defined as hallucination.

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