1. Explain which approach to psychological disorders you think is better: the medical model or the biopsychosocial model.
2. Describe how psychological disorders are diagnosed. Describe the labeling effects of diagnosis.
3. Describe the differences between each of the anxiety disorders in term of their symptoms and theoretical explanations.
4. Describe a person with a substance use disorder . Also describe a person who uses a substance (e.g., alcohol, marijuana) who does NOT have a substance use disorder. Why is addiction alone not a disorder? Which drug has the most addicts ? Describe the psychological and physiological effects of a drug in each of the three categories: depressants, stimulants, hallucinogens ).
Why are biological factors not sufficient in understanding substance use disorders? Given the risks and benefits associated with various psychoactive drugs, as well as the reasons why people use drugs, describe a government policy to decrease the risks and increase the benefits of a particular drug described in the text.
5. Describe the different mood disorders. How do their symptoms and courses differ? Describe the theoretical explanations of the mood disorders. What do differences in the prevalence and risk factors for depression (e.g., gender and generational differences) suggest about the role of culture in depression?
6. Describe the symptoms of schizophrenia, and its onset and course. Describe the various explanations for schizophrenia, including genetics, prenatal environment, brain abnormality and neurochemical dysfunction. Why do genetic studies suggest environmental factors influence the onset and course of schizophrenia?
7. Describe the eating disorders and the cultural factors that affect their prevalence.
8. Describe the dissociative disorders. Do you believe that Dissociative Identity Disorder is really epidemic, or is it being misdiagnosed and induced by therapy? How are true cases of DID explained?
9. Describe the basic idea of a personality disorder. Describe the causes of antisocial personality disorder (. What role do you think the environment plays in influencing this disorder? Given these causes, what should be done with people who have this disorder?
*10. Describe a behavior pattern, or syndrome, that you consider a problem, but which is NOT included in the chapter as a psychological disorder. Give reasons why you think this behavior pattern is a disorder (specify the dysfunction, distress, deviance or dangers associated with this behavior pattern). Is it a ‘disease'?
Indicate the likely physical causes, if any that would lead you to think of the behavior as a disease? Also indicate the likely social and psychological causes of this behavior pattern, if any. What are the possible problems associated with society labeling someone as having this psychological disorder? What are benefits of doing so? Do the benefits outweigh the risks? Explain why or why not.