AP Psych AMSCO Topic 5.3: Explaining and Classifying Psychological Disorders

Psychopathology

Scientific study of mental disorders and different types of maladaptive behaviors associated with disorders.

Maladaptive

Failing to adjust well to the environment.

Psychological Disorder

Condition characterized by cognitive and emotional disturbances, abnormal behaviors, impacted functioning, or any combination of these.

How psychological disorders are diagnosed

1. Level of dysfunction 2. Perception of distress 3. Deviation from the social norm

Level of Dysfunction

How well or poorly a person can carry out day-to-day activities and complete their daily responsibilities.

Perception of Distress

The subjective experience of emotional/psychological discomfort or suffering associated with a person's symptoms or difficulties.

Deviation from the Social Norm

Behaviors, thoughts, or emotions that significantly diverge from societal or cultural expectations or norms.

What Affects Psychological Disorder Diagnoses?

1. Age 2. Gender 3. Race 4. Sex 5. Socioeconomic class 6. bias

Pros of Psychological Disorder Diagnosis

1. Treatment availability 2. patient validation 3. more funds allocated to mental health care.

Cons of Psychological Disorder Diagnosis

1. Stigma 2. dehumanized 3. cultural and social biases affect treatment 4. stereotypes 5. self-fulfilling prophecy effect on patients 6. social/psychological burden.

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5th Edition (DSM-5)

The holy grail of psychiatric diagnosis that contains definitions and diagnostic criteria for psychological disorders.

Cultural Formation Interview (CFI)

A tool included in the DSM-5 to help clinicians assess cultural factors relevant to diagnosis and treatment.

International Classification of Diseases (ICD)

Comprehensive classification system for mental disorders used by most countries outside of the USA.

Eclectic

Broad-based approach.

Behavioral Perspective

based on the theory that all behavior is learned.

Illness Anxiety Disorder

aka hypochondria, someone has a learned association between stress and the feeling of being seriously ill because of how they were raised during childhood.

Psychodynamic Perspective

based on the Freudian belief that all psychological problems/disorders stem from repressing past trauma, memories, or thoughts in the unconscious mind trying to avoid anxiety.

How does the psychodynamic perspective explain anxiety-producing thoughts?

these thoughts try to break through to conscious awareness, causing mental distress and maladaptive behavior.

Humanistic Perspective

based on the belief that mental illness stems predominantly from issues involving low self-esteem, a poor self-concept, and the feelings and maladaptive behaviors that result from the inability to be one's authentic self.

Self-Actualizing Tendency

believes that each individual has a natural drive toward growth of their authentic self or best version of themselves.

What happens when the self-actualizing tendency is blocked according to the humanistic perspective?

a person may experience stress and therefore distort their perception of reality.

Cognitive Perspective

based on how our thought processes affect how we look at our world.

What does the cognitive perspective propose psychological disorders come from?

They come from illogical, irrational, or maladaptive thought processes.

How do psychologists using the cognitive perspective treat mental disorders?

They use cognitive therapy to help individuals think healthier and learn more realistic ways of thinking to help alleviate their symptoms.

Cognitive Model

looks at how a person thinks in order to better understand their behavior.

How do cognitive psychologists diagnose mental disorders?

They assess the individuals: 1. Perceptions 2. Attitudes 3. What they pay attention to 4. Memories 5. How they process information

Evolutionary Perspective (Mental Health)

based on how our thoughts, behaviors, and actions have evolved over time to protect us

What does the evolutionary perspective propose about mental health conditions?

They may have developed as ineffective reactions to environmental challenges or as united outcomes of beneficial traits over many generations.

Sociocultural Perspective

Emphasizes societal, group, and cultural influences in the individual's environment.

Cultural Syndromes

Categories of similar symptoms and explanations of causes that occur in a culturally specific context and are recognized within the culture.

Cultural Idioms of Distress

Expressions of distress that don't always involve specific symptoms/disorders but provide shared ways of experiencing and expressing personal and social concerns in a culture.

Cultural Explanations of Distress

Labels, attributions, or explanations that point to culturally agreed-upon meanings for and causes of symptoms, illness, or distress.

Cultural Relativism

A concept that explains the intersection between mental disorders and culture; psychological disorders can only be understood in the context of the culture they occur in.

Sociocultural Context

Helps determine what is and is not considered normal.

Variables Causing Psychological Disorders

1. Cultural factors 2. Gender 3. Education 4. Socioeconomic status 5. Poverty 6. Cultural stressors.

Biological Perspective

Based on how our biological functions affect our behaviors, thoughts, and actions.

What does the biological perspective say causes psychological disorders?

Presupposes that psychological disorders have a biological origin.

Network Approach

Mental disorders are the result of interactions between symptoms that are connected through biological and psychological factors.

Different Models

1. Biopsychosocial model 2. Diathesis-Stress model

Biopsychosocial Model

Integrated model that combines the biological, psychological, and sociocultural models to explain, diagnose, and treat psychological disorders.

Diathesis-Stress Model

Explains mental disorders as a result of the interaction between an individual's genetic predispositions (diathesis) and environmental stressors.

What does the daithesis-stress model suggest?

that individuals with higher diathesis to a disorder may be more susceptible to developing it when exposed to significant stressors

What makes up the diathesis-stress model?

1. Diathesis 2. Stress 3. Protective factors

Diathesis

Tendency/biological vulnerability to a particular mental illness.

Protective Factors

Steps that can be taken (modifying the environment) to limit/decrease the likelihood that specific disorders will present themselves.