Chapter 15
● Psychopathology is the study of psychological disorders, including their
symptoms, etiology (i.e., their causes), and treatment. The term
psychopathology can also refer to the manifestation of a psychological disorder.
● Certain patterns of behavior and inner experience can easily be labeled as
abnormal and clearly signify some kind of psychological disturbance.
● Mental health issues are often incorrectly viewed as less important than physical
illnesses, and sometimes people are blamed or otherwise stigmatized for their
condition.
-People with mental illnesses did not choose or create their illness, and cannot simply
manage it through positive thinking or other attitudinal changes.
Definition of Psychological Disorder
● Perhaps the simplest approach to conceptualizing psychological disorders is to
label behaviors, thoughts, and inner experiences that are atypical, distressful,
dysfunctional, and sometimes even dangerous, as signs of a disorder
Perhaps the simplest approach to conceptualizing psychological disorders is to label
behaviors, thoughts, and inner experiences that are atypical, distressful, dysfunctional,
and sometimes even dangerous, as signs of a disorder
Cultural Expectations
● Violating cultural expectations is not, in and of itself, a satisfactory means of
identifying the presence of a psychological disorder. Since behavior varies from
one culture to another, what may be expected and considered appropriate in one
culture may not be viewed as such in other cultures.
● Cultural expectations in Japan involve showing reserve, restraint, and a concern
for maintaining privacy around strangers. Japanese people are generally
unresponsive to smiles from strangers
● Hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that are not physically present) in
Western societies is a violation of cultural expectations, and a person who
reports such inner experiences is readily labeled as psychologically disordered.
Harmful Dysfunction
,However, one of the more influential conceptualizations was proposed by Wakefield
(1992), who defined psychological disorder as a harmful dysfunction. Wakefield
argued that natural internal mechanisms—that is, psychological processes honed by
evolution, such as cognition, perception, and learning—have important functions, such
as enabling us to experience the world the way others do and to engage in rational
thought, problem solving, and communication.
The American Psychiatric Association (APA) Definition
According to the APA (2013), a psychological disorder is a condition that is said to
consist of the following:
-There are significant disturbances in thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
-The disturbances reflect some kind of biological, psychological, or
developmental dysfunction
-The disturbances lead to significant distress or disability in one’s life
-The disturbances do not reflect expected or culturally approved responses to
certain events
15.2
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)
● Although a number of classification systems have been developed over time, the
one that is used by most mental health professionals in the United States is the
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5)
● The first edition of the DSM, published in 1952, classified psychological disorders
according to a format developed by the U.S. Army during World War II
● The most recent edition, published in 2013, is the DSM-5 (APA, 2013). The
DSM-5 includes many categories of disorders (e.g., anxiety disorders, depressive
disorders, and dissociative disorders).
,● The DSM-5 also provides information about comorbidity; the co-occurrence of
two disorders. For example, the DSM-5 mentions that 41% of people with
obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) also meet the diagnostic criteria for major
depressive disorder
, ● Co-occurrence and comorbidity of psychological disorders are quite common,
and some of the most pervasive comorbidities involve substance use disorders
that co-occur with psychological disorders.
● The DSM has changed considerably in the half-century since it was originally
published. The first two editions of the DSM, for example, listed homosexuality as
a disorder; however, in 1973, the APA voted to remove it from the manual
(Silverstein, 2009). While the DSM-III did not list homosexuality as a disorder, it
introduced a new diagnosis, ego-dystonic homosexuality, which emphasized
same-sex arousal that the patient viewed as interfering with desired heterosexual
relationships and causing distress for the individual.
-This new diagnosis was considered by many as a compromise to appease those who
viewed homosexuality as a mental illness. Other professionals questioned how
appropriate it was to have a separate diagnosis that described the content of an
individual's distress. In 1986, the diagnosis was removed from the DSM-III-R
● Psychopathology is the study of psychological disorders, including their
symptoms, etiology (i.e., their causes), and treatment. The term
psychopathology can also refer to the manifestation of a psychological disorder.
● Certain patterns of behavior and inner experience can easily be labeled as
abnormal and clearly signify some kind of psychological disturbance.
● Mental health issues are often incorrectly viewed as less important than physical
illnesses, and sometimes people are blamed or otherwise stigmatized for their
condition.
-People with mental illnesses did not choose or create their illness, and cannot simply
manage it through positive thinking or other attitudinal changes.
Definition of Psychological Disorder
● Perhaps the simplest approach to conceptualizing psychological disorders is to
label behaviors, thoughts, and inner experiences that are atypical, distressful,
dysfunctional, and sometimes even dangerous, as signs of a disorder
Perhaps the simplest approach to conceptualizing psychological disorders is to label
behaviors, thoughts, and inner experiences that are atypical, distressful, dysfunctional,
and sometimes even dangerous, as signs of a disorder
Cultural Expectations
● Violating cultural expectations is not, in and of itself, a satisfactory means of
identifying the presence of a psychological disorder. Since behavior varies from
one culture to another, what may be expected and considered appropriate in one
culture may not be viewed as such in other cultures.
● Cultural expectations in Japan involve showing reserve, restraint, and a concern
for maintaining privacy around strangers. Japanese people are generally
unresponsive to smiles from strangers
● Hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that are not physically present) in
Western societies is a violation of cultural expectations, and a person who
reports such inner experiences is readily labeled as psychologically disordered.
Harmful Dysfunction
,However, one of the more influential conceptualizations was proposed by Wakefield
(1992), who defined psychological disorder as a harmful dysfunction. Wakefield
argued that natural internal mechanisms—that is, psychological processes honed by
evolution, such as cognition, perception, and learning—have important functions, such
as enabling us to experience the world the way others do and to engage in rational
thought, problem solving, and communication.
The American Psychiatric Association (APA) Definition
According to the APA (2013), a psychological disorder is a condition that is said to
consist of the following:
-There are significant disturbances in thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
-The disturbances reflect some kind of biological, psychological, or
developmental dysfunction
-The disturbances lead to significant distress or disability in one’s life
-The disturbances do not reflect expected or culturally approved responses to
certain events
15.2
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)
● Although a number of classification systems have been developed over time, the
one that is used by most mental health professionals in the United States is the
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5)
● The first edition of the DSM, published in 1952, classified psychological disorders
according to a format developed by the U.S. Army during World War II
● The most recent edition, published in 2013, is the DSM-5 (APA, 2013). The
DSM-5 includes many categories of disorders (e.g., anxiety disorders, depressive
disorders, and dissociative disorders).
,● The DSM-5 also provides information about comorbidity; the co-occurrence of
two disorders. For example, the DSM-5 mentions that 41% of people with
obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) also meet the diagnostic criteria for major
depressive disorder
, ● Co-occurrence and comorbidity of psychological disorders are quite common,
and some of the most pervasive comorbidities involve substance use disorders
that co-occur with psychological disorders.
● The DSM has changed considerably in the half-century since it was originally
published. The first two editions of the DSM, for example, listed homosexuality as
a disorder; however, in 1973, the APA voted to remove it from the manual
(Silverstein, 2009). While the DSM-III did not list homosexuality as a disorder, it
introduced a new diagnosis, ego-dystonic homosexuality, which emphasized
same-sex arousal that the patient viewed as interfering with desired heterosexual
relationships and causing distress for the individual.
-This new diagnosis was considered by many as a compromise to appease those who
viewed homosexuality as a mental illness. Other professionals questioned how
appropriate it was to have a separate diagnosis that described the content of an
individual's distress. In 1986, the diagnosis was removed from the DSM-III-R
