NCERT solutions for Psychology [English] Class 12 chapter 4 - Psychological Disorders [Latest edition]

Talk to three people: one of your friends, a friend of your parents, and your neighbour.

Ask them if they have seen someone who is mentally ill or who has mental problems. Try to understand why they find this behaviour abnormal, what are the signs and symptoms shown by this person, what caused this behaviour and can this person be helped.

Share the information you elicited in class and see if there are some common features, which make us label others as ‘abnormal’.

Certain behaviours like eating sand would be considered abnormal. But not if it was done after being stranded on a beach in a plane crash.

Listed below are ‘abnormal’ behaviours followed by situations where the behaviours might be considered normal.

1. talking to yourself - you are praying.
2. standing in the middle of the street waving your arms wildly - you are a traffic policeman.

Think about it and list similar examples.

Recall how you felt before your Class X Board examination. How did you feel when the examinations were drawing near (one month before the examinations; one week before the examinations; on the day of the examination, and when you were entering the examination hall)? Also try to recollect what you felt when you were awaiting your results. Write down your experiences in terms of bodily symptoms (e.g. ‘butterflies in the stomach’, clammy hands, excessive perspiration, etc.) as well as mental experiences (e.g. tension, worry, pressure, etc.). Compare your symptoms with those of your classmates and classify them as Mild, Moderate, or Severe.

You may have got some bad news in the family (for example, death of a close relative) or watched your favourite character dying in a film or got less marks than you hoped for or lost your pet. This may have made you sad and depressed and hopeless about the future. Try and recall such incidents in your life. List the situations that led to this reaction. Compare your list and reactions with those of others in class.

Can you list some characters in films you have seen or books you have read who suffered from any of the disorders we have studied here like depression or schizophrenia showing some of these delusions?

Can you identify which kind of delusion each of these is?

1. A person who believes that s/he is going to be the next President of India.
2. One who believes that the intelligence agencies/police are conspiring to trap her/him in a spy scandal.
3. One who believes that s/he is the incarnation of God and can make things happen.
4. One who believes that the tsunami occurred to prevent her/him from enjoying her/his holidays.
5. One who believes that her/his actions are controlled by the satellite through a chip implanted in her/his brain by some extraterrestrial beings.

Identify the symptoms associated with depression and mania.

Describe the characteristics of children with hyperactivity.

What are the consequences of alcohol substance addiction?

Can a distorted body image lead to eating disorders? Classify the various forms of it.

“Physicians make diagnosis looking at a person’s physical symptoms.” How are psychological disorders diagnosed?

Distinguish between obsessions and compulsions.

Can a long-standing pattern of deviant behaviour be considered abnormal? Elaborate.

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.

What do you understand by the term ‘dissociation’?

Explain various forms of dissociation. 

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.

Anxiety has been called the “butterflies in the stomach feeling”. At what stage does anxiety become a disorder? Discuss its types.

All of us have changes in mood or mood swings all day. Keep a small diary or notebook with you and jot down your emotional experiences over 3–4 days. As you go through the day (for instance, when you wake up, go to school/college, meet your friends, return home), you will observe that there are many highs and lows, ups and downs in your moods. Note down when you felt happy or unhappy, felt joy or sadness, felt anger, irritation and other commonly experienced emotions. Also note down the situations which elicited these various emotions. After collecting this information, you will have a better understanding of your own moods and how they fluctuate through the day.

Studies have shown that current standards of physical attractiveness have contributed to eating disorders. Thinness is valued in fashion models, actors, and dancers. To study this, observe the people around you. Select at least 10 people (they may include your family, friends and other acquaintances), and rate them in terms of Large, Average and Thin. Then pick up any fashion or film magazine. Look at the pictures of models, winners of beauty competitions, and film stars. Write a paragraph or two describing the magazine’s message to its readers about the normal or acceptable male or female body. Does this view match what you see as normal body types in the general population?

Make a list of movies, TV shows, or plays you have seen where a particular psychological disorder has been highlighted. Match the symptoms shown to the ones you have read. Prepare a report.