Psychopathology Module 2

Etiology

the scientific study of the causes, origins, or reasons behind a disease, condition, or phenomenon

Threshold

The point or level at which a psychological or physiological effect begins to take place.

Comorbidity

The simultaneous presence of two or more chronic diseases or conditions in a patient.

Sign

An objective, observable indicator of a condition or disorder.

Symptom

A subjective experience reported by the patient, not directly observable.

Clinical cutoff

A score threshold used to distinguish between clinical and non-clinical populations.

Percentile

A measure indicating the value below which a given percentage of observations fall.

Pathogenesis

The biological mechanism that leads to the diseased state.

Morphology

The study of the structural shape and forms of organisms or body parts.

Symptomatology

The set of symptoms characteristic of a medical condition or psychological disorder.

False positive

An error where a test incorrectly indicates a condition is present.

False negative

An error where a test incorrectly indicates a condition is absent.

Drapetomania

A historical, debunked psychiatric diagnosis for enslaved Africans who attempted to flee captivity.

EEG

A test used to evaluate the electrical activity in the brain.

IQ

A standardized score derived from assessments designed to measure human intelligence.

MSE

A structured assessment of a patient's current psychological functioning.

MMPI

A standardized psychometric test of adult personality and psychopathology.

DSM

The American Psychiatric Association's standard classification of mental disorders.

ICD

The World Health Organization's global standard diagnostic tool for health management.

Reactivity in assessment

Changes in a subject's behavior caused by the awareness of being observed.

Neuropsychological testing

Assessment evaluating cognitive abilities like memory and attention to assess brain function.

Iterative

Involving a repeated process of building, testing, and refining.

Norms

Reference data collected from a representative population to interpret individual test scores.

Nomenclature

The system of naming things in a particular discipline, such as diagnostic categories.

Personality inventory

A self-report questionnaire used to assess aspects of a person's character and traits.

Nosology

The branch of medical science dealing with the classification of diseases.

Taxonomy

The science or technique of classification of things, including mental disorders.

Validity

The extent to which a test measures what it claims to measure.

Reliability

The consistency and repeatability of test results.

Standardization

Administering and scoring a test under consistent, uniform conditions for all test-takers.

Clinical assessment vs scientific inquiry

Similar: use systematic data gathering. Different: assessment helps individuals; science seeks general laws.

Observation vs interpretation

Observation records direct behaviors; interpretation assigns clinical meaning to those behaviors.

Multi-trait, multi-method assessment

Using multiple traits and various measurement methods to evaluate a construct and minimize bias.

MSE assessment method type

Clinical interview and direct behavioral observation.

Limitations of diagnostic classification

Includes stigma, loss of individuality, high comorbidity, and arbitrary boundaries.

Disease model of mental illness

A conceptual model framing mental disorders as medical illnesses with biological causes.

Four types of disease processes

Vascular, infectious, neoplastic, and degenerative processes.

Advantages of the disease model

Reduces personal blame, guides standardized treatments, and facilitates medical research.

Limitations of the disease model

Overlooks social context, minimizes psychological factors, and promotes reductionism.

Categorical approach to mental illness

Classifying disorders into distinct, discrete diagnostic categories with specific criteria.

Dimensional approach to mental illness

Assessing disorders along a continuous spectrum of severity or traits.

Prototypical approach to mental illness

Comparing an individual's presentation to an ideal or typical portrait of a disorder.

Validity and reliability of DSM and ICD

Reliability improved over editions; validity remains challenging due to symptom overlap.

Changes in DSM classifications since 1952

The number of recognized mental disorders has grown significantly from around 100 to over 300.