Week 1

Question 1

Explain the aims of the developmental psychopathology approach

Answer 1

How is normative development related to psychopathology?
» How can child psychopathology be explained?
» How can child psychopathology be prevented?
» How can positive, healthy development be promoted?

Question 2

Explain the developmental framework that guides research and practice in developmental psychopathology

Answer 2

General Developmental Framework (Kerig, et al., 2012, pp. 3-4, PLUS Chapter 2)

Five contexts:
1. Biological (middle of the circle)
» Genetics, biochemistry, brainstructure, neurological functioning, neuropsychological functioning

2. Individual (second most inner layer)
   »Personality characteristics, thought processes, emotions, internalized expectations about relationships
3. Family (third layer)
   » Parent-child relationship, family system
4. Social (fourth layer)
   » Peer relations, extra-familial adults
5. Cultural (fifth and most outer layer)
   » Social class, poverty, ethnicity, immigration,
   acculturation

Five contexts are in constant interaction with one
another

Question 3

Define Developmental Psychopathology

Answer 3

Developmental psychopathology is the study of developmental processesthatcontributeto,orprotect against, psychopathology” (Kerig, et al., 2012, p. 17)

Child psychopathology can be understood as normal development gone awry” (Kerig, et al., 2012, p. 1)

Question 4

Domains of Development

Answer 4

Physical
»Perceptual and motor

Cognitive
»Language

Psychosocial
»Social
»Emotional
»Personality

Question 5

Developmental Psychology: Theoretical Approaches

Answer 5

Psychodynamic
»Freud, Erickson

Behavioural Learning and Social-Cognitive Learning
»Pavlov, Skinner, Bandura

Humanistic
Cognitive
»Piaget, Information Processing, Vygotsky

Systems/ Contextual theories
»Bronfenbrenner, Gottleib

Ethological theory
»Evolutionary theory, Attachment theory, Behaviour genetics
»Lifespan Perspective

Question 6

Developmental Psychopathology:

Theoretical Approaches

Answer 6

A variety of theories provide model of the aetiology (origins or cause) of childhood psychopathology:

»Medical 
»Behavioural/Learning 
»Cognitive
»Psychoanalytic 
»Family systems

Question 7

Medical model

Answer 7

Psychopathologies result from organic dysfunction
»Results in diagnostic model that sees disorder as residing
within the individual
»Recent understanding highlights the reciprocal nature between psychological processes and biology

Question 8

Behavioural model

Answer 8

Focus on observable behaviour
Focus on empirical research
Learning principles

Question 9

Operant Conditioning

Answer 9

Apply stimulus, Increase likelihood of behaviour => Positive Reinforcement. Apply stimulus, Decrease likelihood of behaviour => Punishment

Withdraw stimulus, Increase likelihood of behaviour => Negative Reinforcement. Withdraw stimulus, Decrease
likelihood of behaviour => Extinction, Response Cost (negative punishment), Time Out

Question 10

Social learning theory

Answer 10

Albert Bandura
»Observational learning
»Vicarious reinforcement

Question 11

Cognitive model

Answer 11

Cognitive Developmental Theory (Piaget)
»Schemas: model to understand and predict the environment
»Development as a balance (equilibration) of assimilation and accommodation
»Assimilation: incorporation of new information into existing schemas
»Accommodation: alteration of a schema to take into account new information

Social Cognitive theory (Dodge)
»Application of schema to the interpersonal domain
»e.g., pessimistic cognitive style, hostile attribution bias

Question 12

Psychoanalytic model

Answer 12

Classical psychoanalysis (Freud)

• > Conscious level: Ego (rational, mediates superego and id)
• > Preconscious level: Superego (morals)
• > Unconscious level: id (sex and aggression etc)

Ego psychology (Erikson)
-> life stages and psychosexual tasks

Object Relations theory
»Importance of affectionate attachments
»Internal representations of relationships

Defence mechanisms, e.g., regression

Question 13

Freud’s Psychosexual stages

Answer 13

Oral - Birth - 1
Anal 1-3
Phallic 3-6
Latency 6-12
Genital 12-adulthood

Question 14

Erikson Life stages and psychosocial tasks

Answer 14

Infancy -> Basic trust vs mistrust
Toddlerhood -> Autonomy vs shame and doubt
Early childhood -> Initiative vs guilt
Middle childhood -> Industry vs inferiority
Adolescence -> Identity vs role confusion
Young adulthood -> Intimacy vs isolation
Middle adulthood -> Generativity vs stagnation
Late adulthood -> Integrity vs despair

Question 15

Family systems model

Answer 15

Family is conceptualised as a system
»Like other systems, have self-righting tendency termed
homeostasis
»Failure to maintain boundaries between subsystems leads to dysfunction

Problematic family systems (Salvador Minuchin, 1974)
»Parent-child coalition (against the other parent)
»Triangulation
»Detouring (parents unable to resolve conflict between them focus attention on the child)