Chapter 2: Theoretical Perspectives

What are the five biological assumptions(Raskin)?

• Experience can be simplified and explained in biological terms

• Mental disorders are brain disease

• Studying the brain will give understanding mental ill ness

• Biological process are central in understanding mental illness, but social and contextual factors have a secondary intluence.

• Mental disorders can be caused by malfunctions in brain chemistry, brain structures, genetics, and even viruses.
  understanding mental

What are neurotransmitter?

Involved in mood and cognition

What are the neurotransmitters?

• Serotonin

• Dopamine

• Norepinephrine

What is brain chemistry?

It is extraordinarily complex: hundred of chemicals, feedback loops, second messengers

Is “ideal chemical balance” identified?

No

Is antidepressants work through mechanism we understand?

No never fully

Brain ≠ simple plumbing system with 'high' or 'low' levels — means?

Human brain and its functions are vastly more complex than the simplistic "hydraulic" or "imbalance"

When did scientists noticed some drugs affecting neurotransmitters also affected mood?

1960s

What “chemical imbalance” theory was reasoned backward?

“Drug increases serotonin and treats depression → depression must be low serotonin”

What year did pharmaceutical marketing turned tentative hypothesis into public “fact”

on 1990s

What is the 2022 major review for chemical imbalance theory?

There is no clear evidence depression is caused by seratonin abnormalities

What is the percentage of public that still believes the chemical imbalance theory?

85-90% of public

What does brain imaging reveals?

Reveals structural differences in some mental health conditions

Why structural differences don’t equal “broken brain”?

Because brain is plastic and changes with experience

Structural findings can result from?

Medication, stress, substance use, or disorder itself

What is neuroplasticity?

Brain structured changed by therapy and life experience literally

Does structural difference cause malfunction and disorders? and why?

It does not and many disorders shows normal structure

What is cross-sectional study?

Compare different groups at one point in time

What is prospective(Longitudinal) study?

Follow the same individuals over time

What is misconception about the heredity?

Heredity is population statistic, not individual prediction

Why heredity is not fixed?

• Changes across population

• Changes overtime

• Depends on context

Why environmental influence still matters even for highly heritable traits

Because high heritability does not mean immutable, environment can change it

What is Relative Risk(RR)?

Risk in relatives or risk in general population

In depression theres 10% of population affected and someone’s RR is 2-3(affected siblings), what is the actual risk percentage?

10% x 2.5 = 25% actual risk

What is cross-disorder risk?

Having parent with schizophrenia increases risk for mood disorders, anxiety, etc.

What contributes to familial clustering?

Shared environment

What is evolutionary perspectives?

Uses Darwin's evolutionary theory to understand how presenting problems evolved, seeing them as both genetically inherited and adaptive in early human history.

What is depression in evolutionary perspectives?

May have evolved as “analytical rumination” for complex social problems

What is anxiety principle in evolutionary perspective?

• Smoke-detector principle

• Better to have false alarms than miss real threats

What is evolutionary mismatch?

Adaptations for ancestral environment may malfunction in modern world

Why more people have spider phobias than automobiles although more people die on car accidents?

Because of our evolutionary heritage/ evolutionary mismatch

What is high prevalence paradox?

Asks why traits that reduce functioning or well-being persist at high rates instead of being eliminated by evolution

Why mot all biological causes are genetic or neurotransmitter-based

Because the body and brain are complex systems, and many physical processes can affect behavior and mental health.

Why treating general paresis with psychotherapy is pointless?

Because its psychological symptoms are not caused by irrational beliefs or childhood conflicts

What is maternal immune activation?

Viral infections during pregnancy increases risk for schizophrenia

What is neuroinflammation?

When the brain stays inflamed for a long time, it can change how a person feels, thinks, and behaves

What is psychological perspective?

Stresses thoughts, feelings, and behaviours in explaining psychopathology and mental distress

What are the five psychodynamic assumptions(Raskin)?

1. The centrality of unconscious

2. The importance of early life experiences in shaping the personality and pathology

3. Every mental event is caused(psychic determinism)

4. The importance of defence mechanism

5. The ability of the therapeutic relationships to address and resolve unconscious conflicts

Contemporary psychodynamic perspectives — what are they?

• Modern version of Freud’s ideas

• Does not focus on id/ego/superego or repressed memories

• Focuses on current experiences, not just childhood

• Goal is to increase freedom and choice

• Examines how past patterns limit present life

What is unconscious mental life?

• Many thoughts and feelings occur outside awareness

• People often avoid knowing uncomfortable information

• Threatening or conflicting ideas are pushed away

• Cognitive science shows unconscious processes influence behavior

What is meant by “the mind in conflict” in psychodynamic theory?

• People can hold opposing feelings or desires at the same time

• Ambivalence involves wanting and fearing the same thing

• One side may be disowned or denied

• Leads to self-defeating or conflicting behavior

What does “the past lives on” mean in psychodynamic theory?

• Early experiences form relationship templates or scripts

• These patterns shape expectations and reactions

• Old patterns are unconsciously applied to new situations

• Past experiences continue to influence present relationships

What is transference in psychodynamic therapy?

• Feelings from past relationships are projected onto the therapist

• The same therapist is experienced differently by each patient

• Old relationship patterns become active in therapy

• This is useful, because it helps reveal and work through patterns

What are defenses in psychodynamic theory?

• Ways the mind avoids threatening thoughts or feelings

• Not only repression — many forms of avoidance

• Become part of personality patterns

• Once adaptive, but can become rigid over time

What is psychological causation in psychodynamic theory?

• Symptoms have meaning and psychological purpose

• Mental events are connected, not random

• Free association helps reveal these links

• Symptoms often have multiple causes and meanings

What is psychological causation in psychodynamic theory?

• Symptoms have meaning and psychological purpose

• Mental events are connected, not random

• Free association helps reveal these links

• Symptoms often have multiple causes and meanings

What does collaboration mean in the therapy relationship?

• Relationship is not hierarchical

• Therapist and patient make meaning together

• Same psychological principles apply to both

• Therapist must be willing to self-reflect

How does insight lead to change in psychodynamic therapy?

• Greater awareness increases freedom and choice

• Automatic reactions become intentional

• Understanding meanings allows new solutions

• Patterns reflect past learning, not fixed traits

What are common misconceptions about psychodynamic therapy?

• Not about blaming parents or dwelling on childhood

• Not about recovering repressed memories

• Not always long-term

• Not only for the wealthy or mildly distressed

• Research supports its effectiveness