exam 1 class notes Flashcards
conceptualizations of psychopathology (6)
statistical deviance (too intelligent?), maladaptive functioning (shyness?), distress and disability (how much?), social deviance (deviant from what?), “dysregulation” (voluntary and involuntary?), “harmful dysfunction” (dysfunction, as defined by evolution)
DSM vs ICD
DSM: first published in 1952; expanded and revised 5 times since first publication; organizes our conceptualization of “psychopathology;” prior conceptualizations reflected in definition; subject to revision; all the old questions remain
ICD: similar format to the DSM; evolved with the DSM; text published by the World Health Organization (WHO); covers a variety of mental and physiological issues
categories vs dimensions
categories: normal or abnormal; yes or no; someone has it or does not have it (light switch notion)
dimensions: recognition of a continuum; spectrum of pathology (shades that might be richer in some than in others); not all or none; severity of symptoms
dimensional perspective
burgeoning, though incomplete scientific validation; reflects our increasing recognition that we can make clear, scientifically-based distinctions between psychologically well or healthy and persons who are psychologically ill; specific diagnoses are “created” or “constructed”
“psychopathology”
socially constructed; subjective; under continuous revision; “social artifacts” in addition to our more noble qualities; not a rejection of “objective truth,” but rather, an appreciation of our struggle to recognize it
Albert Einstein’s view of insanity
doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results
obligation of scientists
to pursue objective truth –> conceptualization of objective truth is still in need of constant revision
categories of reasons for making a diagnosis (5)
scientific, clinical, political, financial, personal
neurotransmitters
chemical messengers, mediating transmission between neurons; operate in a localized matter (regionally and with specific receptors); unique to different regions in the brain; varied in form, composition, and function
psychotropic drugs
exert influence by altering the receptivity of neurotransmitters
neurotransmitters examples (acetylcholine, dopamine, epinephrine and norepinephrine, GABA, glutamate, serotonin)
acetylcholine: muscle contraction, attention, memory
dopamine: reward, antipsychotic drugs, drugs that treat depression
epinephrine and norepinephrine: arousal, alertness, “fight or flight”
GABA: inhibitory function, treatment for depression
glutamate: excitatory function
serotonin: behavioral and emotional regulation
right hemisphere
appears to have a special role in mediating emotion, though both the left and right are implicated and work in tandem
prosody
(in speech) the emotional charge (i.e. kind, angry)
prosopagnosia
lack of facial recognition (part of the brain that mediates recognition of faces)
amygdala
receives sensory information and relays to other portions of the brain; plays a critical role in emotional processing; activates in presence of fearful and unpleasant stimuli and triggers a response; implicated in mood disorders; exerting a reaction even before we are consciously considering it
orbitofrontal cortex
interconnected with the amygdala; implicated in emotional processing; decision-making in emotional and social situations
basal ganglia
implicated in the processing of emotions (Parkinson’s disease –> impaired emotion/recognition of emotion)
polygenic
multiple genes implicated in the expression of a disorder (most psychological disorders)
genome-wide association studies
multiple thousands of participants and advanced statistical techniques; epigenetic effects (nongenetic influences on gene expression); biomarkers; attempt to find associations between specific areas on DNA and traits
developmental psychopathology
the investigation of the processes that mediate or moderate (influence) the development of disordered behaviors with a primary focus on the origins of the behaviors and how they manifest themselves in disorder or adaptation over development
key principles of the developmental psychopathology perspective (6)
chronological age, holism, directedness, differentiation of modes and goals, mobility of behavioral function, developmental cascades
chronological age (CA) reflects… (2)
(1) cognitive and biological maturity
(2) type and duration of environmental experiences
holism
development consists of several inter-related domains that exert influence over one another on an inter-psychological and an intra-psychological plain (consider “mental age”)
directedness
children (and adults, for that matter) are actively involved in shaping their environment, not passive (i.e., development is “bidirectional”)
differentiation of modes and goals
with development, children become increasingly flexible, more organized, and differentiated regarding their approach to their world
mobility of behavioral function
earlier, more undifferentiated forms of behavior become hierarchically integrated into later forms of behavior
developmental cascades
environment + genetic endowment + prior adaptation = exerts influence over development; the experiences that we have shape on how we adapt to the demands of the setting
regression
we attempt to cope with the demands of the moment and can regress in our behaviors/reactions (i.e. smashing a window when locking keys in the car)
equifinality vs multifinality (developmental pathway)
equifinality: multiple routes
multifinality: multiple endpoints (you are a function of your experience)
assessment
measures adaptive and maladaptive patterns of behavior; function of behavior, context, duration, replacement