Abnormal Psychology: Exploring Mental Disorders 225
Dementia of the Alzheimer’s typeis characterized by a progressive decline
in mental functioning. The ability to remember, learn, understand ideas, make
decisions, and control one’s muscles is lost. In the latter stages of the disorder the
victim becomes weak and emaciated. In clinical work, the term dementia of the
Alzheimer’s typeis somewhat preferred over the more popular term Alzheimer’s
disease,because an actual diagnosis based on signs and symptoms alone is difficult.
On the other hand, a post-mortem examination can determine if the degeneration
of neurons in the brain in fact follows the pattern of the actual disease. This pattern
includes tangles of fibers within nerve cells, the loss of nerve cells within certain
areas of the brain, and amyloid plaques. Amyloid plaquesare excessive protein
deposits between nerve cells. The syndrome was first studied by the German neu-
rologist Alois Alzheimer in the early part of the twentieth century.
General paresisis characterized by both dementia and paralysis. It is linked
to syphilis, a sexually transmitted disease. The primary cause of the disorder is
destruction of the brain and nervous system by the corkscrew-shaped bacterium
that causes syphilis.
(a) Dementia of the type is characterized by a progressive decline in mental
functioning.
(b) What organic mental disorder is linked to syphilis?
Answers: (a) Alzheimer’s; (b) General paresis.
Viewpoints: Ways to Explain Abnormal Behavior
When an individual’s behavior is abnormal and pathological, as it is in the case of
the mental disorders, one of the first questions that comes to mind is why. We are
curious and want an explanation of the deviant actions.
For centuries, a popular explanation of aberrant behavior was demonology,
the view that Satan’s agents had taken possession of the troubled person’s soul.
This explanation is not the one favored by psychology and psychiatry. Instead,
these fields of study tend to subscribe to viewpoints based on an understanding
of natural law. Five such viewpoints will be identified: (1) biological, (2) psycho-
dynamic, (3) learning, (4) humanistic, and (5) sociocultural.
The biological viewpointassumes that pathological behavior is caused by
an organic factor. A genetic tendency, a biochemical imbalance, a brain injury, or
an infection can all play roles in mental disorders. For example, there is much
evidence to support the hypothesis that schizophrenia is a biogenetic disorder,
one that is strongly influenced by a genetic tendency. This genetic tendency is
probably the principal cause of a difficulty in the way in which the brain employs
dopamine,one of the nervous system’s neurotransmitters (see chapter 3).
The psychodynamic viewpointassumes that pathological behavior arises
because of repressed emotional conflicts. For example, Theresa, a highly tradi-
