week 1 Flashcards
psychopathology
the study of abnormal thoughts behaviour and feelings
equifinality
the same outcome can come from different origins
multifinality
the same origin can end up at different outcomes
abnormal
deviating from social norms, not all unusual behaviour is abnormal
dysfunction (DSM-5)
does the behaviour impair an individuals ability to function in life
distress (DSM-5)
social, occupational or other important activities
deviance (DSM-5)
different from the norm, uncommon, rare
danger (DSM-5)
an individual may be of danger to her/himself or others
why do we diagnose?
- accurate description
- prediction
- intervention
classification of mental disorders (cons)
- typologies can hide basic dimensions
- confusion description and explanation
- losing information due to labels
- stigmatizing due to labeling
classification of mental disorders (pros)
- communication
- Organization and reduction of information
- efficient transfer of information
- basis for the accumulation of knowledge
- instructions for clinical diagnostics and therapy
validity
the ability of an instrument to measure what it is supposed to measure
reliabilty
consistency in measuring what it is supposed to measure
face validity
when the items seem to measure what the test is intended to
content validity
when the test assess all important aspects of a phenomenon
concurrent validity
when a test gives similar results as compared to established test of the same phenomenon
predicitve validity
when a test predicts well future thoughts, feelings and behaviours
construct validity
when a test measures the psychological construct it is supposed to measure
test-retest reliability
consistency over time internal reliability, when splitting a test in 2 each half gives similar results
inter-rater reliability
when a test administered by two different people gives similar results
unstructured interview
the clinician aks mostly open questions
structured interview
the clinician aks prepared questions, often based on a published interview
goal of an interview
- a therapeutic decision must be based on knowledge of the disorders and change
- the steps in the therapy should have a plan and a goal
- the professional psychotherapist is critical evaluation of the own procedure
- therapeutic decisions must be scientifically justified.
development of mental disorders (dispositional factores)
vulnerability are things that happen in the very first two years and before conception
development of mental disorders (provoking factors)
are triggering the disorder
development of mental disorders (maintaining factors)
these are the factors we work on to change for treatment
high risk studies (research design)
discovery of premorbid deviations
family studies (research designs)
different types of family relations come with different rations of shared genes
twin studies (research designs)
helps to distangle gene environment interactions
adoption studies (research designs)
helps to get a somewhat better grip on the influence of environment
4 rules of behaviour of genetics
- all human behavioural traits are heritable
- the effect of being raised in the same family is smaller than the effect of genes
- a substantial portion of the variation in complex human behavioural traits is not accounted for by the effects of genes or families
- a typical human behavioural trait is associated with very many genetic variants, each of which accounts for a very small percentage of the behavioural variability
serotonin
travels through many key areas of the brain, affecting the function of those areas. Implicated in depression, anxiety, aggressive impulses.
dopamine
found in areas of the brain associated with the experience of reinforcement and rewards. Affected by substances and behaviours that are pleasurable
norepinephrine
- produced by neurons in the brain stem
- cocaine and amphetamine, prolong the action of norepinephrine by slowing it’s re uptake process
- it is linked to stress and joy
GAMMA-aminobutyric acid (GABA)
- inhibits the action of other neurotransmitters
- tranquilizing effects of some drugs is because they increase the inhibitory activity of GABA => linked to anxiety
hormones
- cortisol = stress hormone
- testosteron = reason for aggression
- oxytocin = laugh hormone, makes you more aggressive towards an outgroup
mental disorders can be found in the social environment of the person
- deprivation in the early development
- trauma
- marital problems/divorce
- parenting styles
- mental disorders of parents
culture relativism
is the view that there are no universal standards or rules for labeling a behaviour abnormal