Lecture 1

Clinical psychology

understanding, explaining, and predicting clinical phenomenon

Taxonomies systems

behavioural syndrome within individual —> operationalised in terms of diagnostics(predefnined)

Deviation and the norm standard

Psychopathology is defined by a culture and society i.e hysteria and homosexuality

US Mortality rate phenomenon

rising morbidity and mortality in the US of white middle class, 85% of increase due to liver, accidents, addictions, overdose, and suicide.

lose your job -> no healthcare -> no education -> no hope -> suicide

Illness VS Diseases

Illness: subjective experience of symptoms

Disease: pathology/biology from clinical's perspective using theory of illness. Explantion through casual knowledge

Holism

Allignment/encapsualtions of illness, disease, and verstehen (understanding of inter-subjective meaning)

Two-factor Theory of anxiety by Mowrer

-Emergence: classical conditioning: an earlier neural stimulus get meaning

- Maintenance: operant conditioning: avoidance of stimulus comes with relief of negative emotions

Two accounts of MDD

cogntive account: exposure to stressful experience --> can lead to vulnerability in the form or latent dysfunctional schemas --> if exposed to similar or pother stressful events, these schemas can be awoken --> this negative cognitive bias can lead to depression

A neurotrophin account: stressful experience in development --> can create vulnerability in a low expression of neurotrophic factors --> leading to poor neural functioning such as neurogenesis and apoptosis --> poor cognitive functioning, memory, and concentration --> depression

Scientific approach

- Data: Raw observations, used as evidence of the phenomenon

- Phenomenon: relatively stable features of the world/ or observations

- Theory: a description of how phenomenon come about