Chapter 14
Psychological disorders
How are psychological disorders conceptualizes and classified
Those who have psychological disorders display symptoms of psychopathology. This means illness or
disorder in the mind. To understand any disorder, psychologists investigate its etiology: factors that
contribute to the development of a disorder.
14.1 Views in psychopathology have changed over time
In the middle ages, trough the renaissance, and intro the nineteenth century, people with
psychopathology were imprisoned in institutions called asylums.
Philippe Pinel → believed that medical treatments should be based on empirical observations.
Jean-Baptiste Pussin → treated his patients with kindness and care rather then violence.
Impressed by the positive therapeutic results, Pinel removed patients from their chains and banished
physical punishment. He instituted what come to be known as moral treatment, a therapy that
involved close contact whit and careful observation of patients.
As far back as ancient Greece, some people believed that there was a physical basis to
psychopathology.
Hippocrates → classified psychopathologies into mania, melancholia and phrenitis, the latter
characterized by mental confusion. Hippocrates believed that such disorders result from the relative
amount of “humors” or bodily fluids, a person possessed.
As with many topics in psychology, the modern view is that environment and biology interact to
produce psychological disorders. Both factors affect all psychological disorders to some extent.
However, disorder vary in how strongly they are influenced by biological or environmental factors.
- Psychological disorders are maladaptive
In determining whether behavior represents psychopathology, certain criteria should be considered:
1. Does the person act in a way that deviates from cultural norms for acceptable behavior?
2. Is the behavior maladaptive (Does the behavior interfere with the person’s ability to respond
appropriately in some situations)
3. Is the behavior self-destructive, does it cause the individual personal distress, or does it
threaten other people in the community?
4. Does the behavior cause discomfort and concern to other, thus impairing a person’s social
relationships?
The current diagnostic criteria for all the major disorder categories state that the symptoms of the
disorder must interfere with at least one aspect of the person’s life, such as work, social relations, or
self-care. This component is critical in determining whether given thoughts, emotions or behaviors
represent psychopathology or any simply unusual.
, - Psychopathology is common in contemporary society
Psychopathology disorders are common around the globe, in all countries and all societies. These
disorders account for the greatest proportion of disability in develop countries.
Question
Why is the Maladaptiveness of a condition considered more important than its atypicality in deciding
whether a person has a psychopathology?
Maladaptiveness is considered most important in defining psychopathology because it is hard to
distinguish between psychopathological behavior and merely unusual behavior.
, 14.2 Psychological disorders are classified into categories
Emil Kraepelin → separated disorders into categories based on that he could observe: groups
symptoms that occur together. He called the latter disorder dementia praecox. It is now known as
schizophrenia. The practice of diagnosis by putting a label on a loose cluster of symptoms remains
essentially unchanged today.
In 1952 the American Psychiatric Association published the first edition of the Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder (DSM). The main purpose of the MSD is description. Another
purpose of the DSM is to allow care providers to bill health insurance companies for treatment. It is a
system for diagnosing psychological disorders.
- Dimensional nature of psychopathology
One problem with the DSM is that is takes a categorical approach, which implies that a person either
has a psychological disorder of does not. It misleadingly implies that there is a distinct cutoff
between the absence and precense of psychopathology.
An alternative type of evaluation that addresses this issue is called a dimensional approach, which
considers psychological disorders along a continuum on which people vary in degree rather than in
kind. A dimensional approach recognizes that many psychological disorders are extreme versions of
normal feelings. In a dimensional approach, diagnosis is relatively easy at the extremes but more
ambiguous in between.
Whereas the DMS approach classified disorders by observable symptoms, the Research Domain
Criteria (RDoC) method defines basic domains of functioning and considers them across mutable
levels of analysis, from genes to brain systems to behavior. The RDoC initiative is meant to guide
research rather that classify disorders for treatment. The goal of the initiative is to understand the
processes that give rise to disordered thoughts, emotions, and behavior.
- Comorbidity
Another problem whit the DSM approach is that people
seldom fit neatly into the precise categories provided.
Indeed, many psychological disorders occur together
even though the DSM-5 treats them as separate
disorders. This site is known as comorbidity.
Through people may be diagnosed with two of more
disorders, a deal diagnosis offers no advantages in terms
of treatment because the diagnoses are each merely
descriptive and therefore do not indicate whether the
disorders are best treated separately or together.
Psychological disorders
How are psychological disorders conceptualizes and classified
Those who have psychological disorders display symptoms of psychopathology. This means illness or
disorder in the mind. To understand any disorder, psychologists investigate its etiology: factors that
contribute to the development of a disorder.
14.1 Views in psychopathology have changed over time
In the middle ages, trough the renaissance, and intro the nineteenth century, people with
psychopathology were imprisoned in institutions called asylums.
Philippe Pinel → believed that medical treatments should be based on empirical observations.
Jean-Baptiste Pussin → treated his patients with kindness and care rather then violence.
Impressed by the positive therapeutic results, Pinel removed patients from their chains and banished
physical punishment. He instituted what come to be known as moral treatment, a therapy that
involved close contact whit and careful observation of patients.
As far back as ancient Greece, some people believed that there was a physical basis to
psychopathology.
Hippocrates → classified psychopathologies into mania, melancholia and phrenitis, the latter
characterized by mental confusion. Hippocrates believed that such disorders result from the relative
amount of “humors” or bodily fluids, a person possessed.
As with many topics in psychology, the modern view is that environment and biology interact to
produce psychological disorders. Both factors affect all psychological disorders to some extent.
However, disorder vary in how strongly they are influenced by biological or environmental factors.
- Psychological disorders are maladaptive
In determining whether behavior represents psychopathology, certain criteria should be considered:
1. Does the person act in a way that deviates from cultural norms for acceptable behavior?
2. Is the behavior maladaptive (Does the behavior interfere with the person’s ability to respond
appropriately in some situations)
3. Is the behavior self-destructive, does it cause the individual personal distress, or does it
threaten other people in the community?
4. Does the behavior cause discomfort and concern to other, thus impairing a person’s social
relationships?
The current diagnostic criteria for all the major disorder categories state that the symptoms of the
disorder must interfere with at least one aspect of the person’s life, such as work, social relations, or
self-care. This component is critical in determining whether given thoughts, emotions or behaviors
represent psychopathology or any simply unusual.
, - Psychopathology is common in contemporary society
Psychopathology disorders are common around the globe, in all countries and all societies. These
disorders account for the greatest proportion of disability in develop countries.
Question
Why is the Maladaptiveness of a condition considered more important than its atypicality in deciding
whether a person has a psychopathology?
Maladaptiveness is considered most important in defining psychopathology because it is hard to
distinguish between psychopathological behavior and merely unusual behavior.
, 14.2 Psychological disorders are classified into categories
Emil Kraepelin → separated disorders into categories based on that he could observe: groups
symptoms that occur together. He called the latter disorder dementia praecox. It is now known as
schizophrenia. The practice of diagnosis by putting a label on a loose cluster of symptoms remains
essentially unchanged today.
In 1952 the American Psychiatric Association published the first edition of the Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder (DSM). The main purpose of the MSD is description. Another
purpose of the DSM is to allow care providers to bill health insurance companies for treatment. It is a
system for diagnosing psychological disorders.
- Dimensional nature of psychopathology
One problem with the DSM is that is takes a categorical approach, which implies that a person either
has a psychological disorder of does not. It misleadingly implies that there is a distinct cutoff
between the absence and precense of psychopathology.
An alternative type of evaluation that addresses this issue is called a dimensional approach, which
considers psychological disorders along a continuum on which people vary in degree rather than in
kind. A dimensional approach recognizes that many psychological disorders are extreme versions of
normal feelings. In a dimensional approach, diagnosis is relatively easy at the extremes but more
ambiguous in between.
Whereas the DMS approach classified disorders by observable symptoms, the Research Domain
Criteria (RDoC) method defines basic domains of functioning and considers them across mutable
levels of analysis, from genes to brain systems to behavior. The RDoC initiative is meant to guide
research rather that classify disorders for treatment. The goal of the initiative is to understand the
processes that give rise to disordered thoughts, emotions, and behavior.
- Comorbidity
Another problem whit the DSM approach is that people
seldom fit neatly into the precise categories provided.
Indeed, many psychological disorders occur together
even though the DSM-5 treats them as separate
disorders. This site is known as comorbidity.
Through people may be diagnosed with two of more
disorders, a deal diagnosis offers no advantages in terms
of treatment because the diagnoses are each merely
descriptive and therefore do not indicate whether the
disorders are best treated separately or together.
