Chapter 14 Flashcards
mental disorder
a persistent disturbance or dysfunction in behavior, thoughts, or emotions that causes significant distress or impairment. People have problems with their perception, memory, learning, emotion, motivation, thinking, and social processes.
medical model
abnormal psychological experiences are conceptualized as illnesses that, like physical illnesses, have biological and environmental causes, defined symptoms, and possible cures.
diagnosis
a determination as to whether a disorder or disease is present. clinicians seek to determine the nature of a person’s mental disorder by assessing signs (objectively observed indicators of a disorder) and symptoms (subjectively reported behaviors, thoughts, and emotions) that suggest an underlying illness.
disorder
refers to a common set of signs and symptoms.
disease
a known pathological process affecting the body.
knowing that a disorder is present
doesn’t necessarily mean that we know what the underlying disease process in the body that gives rise to the signs and symptoms of the disorder.
criticisms of the medical model
some psychologists argue that it is inappropriate to use clients’ subjective self report, rather than physical tests of pathology to determine the underlying illness. Others argue that the model often “medicalizes” or “pathologizes” normal human behavior.
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)
a classification system that describes the features used to diagnose each recognized mental disorder and indicates how the disorder can be distinguished from other, similar problems.
diagnostic criteria
detailed lists of symptoms.
DSM-5
released by the American Psychiatric Association in May 2013; describes 22 major categories containing more than 200 different mental disorders, along with the specific criteria that must be met in order for a person to be diagnosed with that disorder. Also a section devoted to cultural considerations in diagnosing mental disorders. NIMH will not provide funding to experiments using this guide.
comorbidity
the co-occurrence of two or more disorders in a single individual.
etiology
specifiable pattern of causes.
prognosis
typical course over time and susceptibility to treatment and cure.
medical model of mental disorder
etiology may exist for different psychological disorders and also suggests that each category of mental disorder is likely to have a common prognosis. Usually an oversimplification: it is rarely useful to focus on a single cause this is internal to the person and that suggest a single cure.
biopyschosocial perspective
explains mental disorders as the result of interactions among biological, psychological, and social factors.
biological perspective (biopsychosocial perspective)
focus is on genetic and epigenetic influences, biochemical imbalances, and abnormalities in brain structure and function. The complexity of causation suggests that individuals can experience a similar mental disorder (e.g. depression) for different reasons.
Psychological perspective (biopsychosocial perspective)
focuses on maladaptive learning and copying, cognitive biases, dysfunctional attitudes, and interpersonal problems.
Social factors (biopsychosocial perspective)
include poor socialization, stressful life experiences, and cultural and social inequities.
Diathesis-stress model
È suggests that a person may be predisposed for a psychological disorder that remains unexpressed until triggered by stress. The diathesis is the internal predisposition and the stress is the external trigger.
Research Domain Criteria Project (RDoC)
created by the National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH); a new initiative that aims to guide the classification and understanding of mental disorders by revealing the basic processes that give rise to them. Not intended to replace DSM, but to inform future revisions to it. Focus on biological domains, such as arousal, sleep patterns; psychological domains such as learning, attention, and memory; and social domains such as attachment and self-perception. Each domain can be approached by studying “units of analysis” – from genes, cells, behavior.
RDoC approach
NIMH would like to shift researchers away from studying currently defined DSM categories and toward the study of the dimensional biopsychosocial processes believed, at the extreme end of the continuum, to lead to mental disorders. Goal to better understand what abnormalities cause different disorders, and to classify disorders based on those underlying causes, rather than on observed symptoms. Aims to shift the focus away from surface symptoms and toward an understanding of the processes that give rise to disordered behavior.
DRD2
variations in this gene that codes for dopamine receptors are associated with abnormalities in connectivity between parts of the frontal lobe and the striatum. The lack of connectivity is related to impulsiveness and responsiveness to rewards associated with a range of addictive behavior disorders.
the focus of the RDoC approach
overall emphasis on neuroscience, with specific focuses on abnormalities in emotional and motivation systems, cognitive systems such as memory, learning, language, and cognition, social processes, and stress and arousal.
Stigma associated with mental disorders
may explain why most people with diagnosable psychological disorders (~60%) do not seek treatment.
