psych disorders week 1 cue cards

Defining Psychological Disorders

(topic)

Psychological disorder (Defining Psychological Disorders)

dysfunction in thinking, feeling or behaviour, associated with distress or impairment.

The four Ds (Defining Psychological Disorders)

Deviance: violation of social norms

distress: distress or impairment to the individual

dysfunction: breakdown in emotional, cognitive, interpersonal or behavioural functioning

danger: potential harm to oneself or others.

Limits of the four Ds (Defining Psychological Disorders)

you cannot diagnose someone with a psychological disorder based on just one of the four Ds.

Deviance (social norms) (Defining Psychological Disorders)

behavior that doesnt align with social norms

Distress (Defining Psychological Disorders)

Emotional suffering experienced by the individual.

Dysfunction (Defining Psychological Disorders)

A breakdown in emotional, cognitive, interpersonal or behavioural functioning.

Disability (Defining Psychological Disorders)

Impairment in an important area of life, such as work, study or personal relationships.

Danger (Defining Psychological Disorders)

Potential for harm to oneself or others

Limits of deviance (social norms) (Defining Psychological Disorders)

Behaviour considered abnormal depends on cultural and historical norms;

eg. Homosexuality was historically classified as a disorder, illustrating how social values can influence diagnosis.

Limits of danger (harm) (Defining Psychological Disorders)

Risk-taking, eg military service, does not automatically indicate a psychological disorder.

Limits of distress (Defining Psychological Disorders)

Distress after a difficult event, such as grief or financial loss, does not automatically indicate a psychological disorder.

Limits of dysfunction (Defining Psychological Disorders)

A difference in ability or experience does not automatically mean a disorder.

eg- naturally shy perosn = socialising difficult, but this alone does not mean they have a psychological disorder.

Statistical abnormality (Defining Psychological Disorders)

Uncommon behaviour is not necessarily disordered, and common behaviour can still be harmful.

Dimensionality (Defining Psychological Disorders)

Psychological symptoms occur along a continuum not just organised into catagories

Benefits of diagnosis (Defining Psychological Disorders)

self-understanding, reassurance, connection with others and access to healthcare.

Criticisms of diagnosis (Defining Psychological Disorders)

low reliability

pathologise ordinary life difficulties

overlook risk factors shared across disorders.

Stigma and Mental Health Literacy

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Stigma (Stigma and Mental Health Literacy)

Negative beliefs and attitudes towards people perceived as different.

Three components of stigma (Stigma and Mental Health Literacy)

Ignorance: lack of knowledge

prejudice: negative attitudes

discrimination: unfair behaviour.

Four characteristics of stigma (Stigma and Mental Health Literacy)

A label,

an undesirable attribute associated with the label,

an in-group/out-group distinction

discrimination.

Public stigma (Stigma and Mental Health Literacy)

Negative attitudes held by others towards people with mental health conditions.

Self-stigma (Stigma and Mental Health Literacy)

Internalising negative attitudes about oneself because of a mental health condition.

Perceived stigma (Stigma and Mental Health Literacy)

Believing that other people hold negative attitudes towards a particular group.

Mental health literacy (Stigma and Mental Health Literacy)

Knowledge about mental health conditions, their causes and their treatments.

Effects of stigma (Stigma and Mental Health Literacy)

Reduced self-esteem and help-seeking, social isolation and discrimination.

Stigma across diagnoses (Stigma and Mental Health Literacy)

Depression and anxiety may attract more compassionate attitudes, whereas schizophrenia and bipolar disorder can attract more negative attitudes.

Diagnosis and Classification

(topic)

Syndrome versus disease (Diagnosis and Classification)

syndrome = cluster of symptoms for a condition with unknown cause, a disease has a known underlying cause.

Diagnosis (Diagnosis and Classification)

A clinical judgement about which condition a person has.

Diagnostic reliability (Diagnosis and Classification)

The consistency of a diagnosis across clinicians or assessments.

Inter-rater reliability (Diagnosis and Classification)

The extent to which different clinicians agree on a diagnosis.

Test–retest reliability (Diagnosis and Classification)

The consistency of results when an assessment is repeated over time.

Diagnostic validity (Diagnosis and Classification)

Whether a diagnosis accurately identifies the disorder it claims to identify.

Purpose of the DSM (Diagnosis and Classification)

provides standardised diagnostic criteria and terminology.

DSM strength: explicit criteria (Diagnosis and Classification)

Clear criteria can improve consistency between clinicians.

DSM strength: common language (Diagnosis and Classification)

Shared terminology supports communication and research.

Prototype diagnosis (Diagnosis and Classification)

A clinician compares a person's symptoms with a typical presentation of a disorder.

Comorbidity (Diagnosis and Classification)

The presence of two or more disorders in the same person

Diagnostic heterogeneity (Diagnosis and Classification)

People with the same diagnosis can experience quite different symptoms.

Pathologisation (Diagnosis and Classification)

Treating normal experiences, such as grief, as disorders.

Categorical diagnosis (Diagnosis and Classification)

Classifying a person as either having or not having a disorder.

Dimensional diagnosis (Diagnosis and Classification)

Describing symptoms according to their severity along a continuum.

HiTOP (Diagnosis and Classification)

classifies psychological disorders along continuous dimensions of severity rather than placing people into separate diagnostic categories.

Medicalisation (Diagnosis and Classification)

Framing ordinary life difficulties as medical or psychological illnesses.

Differential diagnosis (Diagnosis and Classification)

Considering alternative explanations for symptoms before diagnosing a disorder

Rosenhan study (1973) (Diagnosis and Classification)

Pseudopatients reported hearing voices and were admitted to psychiatric hospitals; staff later suspected some genuine patients were faking, although no pseudopatients had been sent.

Rosenhan study: limitations (Diagnosis and Classification)

The study shows that fakes could deceive clinicians, but this says little about the reliability of diagnosing genuine patients. Its methods and record-keeping were criticised, and diagnostic reliability has improved substantially since.

Criticisms of diagnostic systems (Diagnosis and Classification)

Reliability remains a concern, and many risk factors are shared across disorders, challenging the idea that diagnostic categories are completely distinct.

Culture and Psychological Disorders

(topic)

Cross-cultural variation (Culture and Psychological Disorders)

Psychological disorders can differ across cultures in their prevalence, symptoms and expression.

Ethnocentric assessment (Culture and Psychological Disorders)

Applying one's own cultural values and norms to assess someone from another culture can lead to misunderstanding or misdiagnosis.

WEIRD (Culture and Psychological Disorders)

Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich and Democratic; many psychological assessment tools have been developed using these populations.

Cultural bias in assessment (Culture and Psychological Disorders)

An assessment tool developed for one cultural group may be less reliable or valid when used with another group; translation alone does not guarantee equivalence.

Somatic symptoms of depression (Culture and Psychological Disorders)

Physical symptoms associated with depression.

Affective symptoms of depression (Culture and Psychological Disorders)

Emotional symptoms associated with depression.

Cognitive symptoms of depression (Culture and Psychological Disorders)

Thought-related symptoms associated with depression.

Culture-specific stressors (Culture and Psychological Disorders)

Discrimination, refugee experiences and intergenerational trauma can contribute to psychological distress.

Indigenous wellbeing (Culture and Psychological Disorders)

Includes spirituality, family and kinship, community and connection to Country.

Colonisation and Indigenous mental health (Culture and Psychological Disorders)

Colonisation, the Stolen Generations, intergenerational trauma and racism contribute to mental health disparities.

Theoretical Approaches

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Psychoanalytic and psychodynamic approaches

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Psychoanalytic approach (Psychoanalytic and psychodynamic approaches)

Explains psychological difficulties through unconscious processes and conflicts.

Freud and Breuer (Psychoanalytic and psychodynamic approaches)

Emphasised unconscious processes and the expression of emotions associated with distress.

Catharsis (Psychoanalytic and psychodynamic approaches)

Emotional release through expressing or discussing distressing experiences.

Id, ego and superego (Psychoanalytic and psychodynamic approaches)

The id seeks immediate pleasure; the ego deals with reality; the superego represents moral standards.

Defence mechanisms (Psychoanalytic and psychodynamic approaches)

Unconscious strategies that reduce psychological distress or conflict.

Displacement (Psychoanalytic and psychodynamic approaches)

Redirecting feelings from their original target towards another target.

Object relations theory (Psychoanalytic and psychodynamic approaches)

Early relationships shape self-understanding and later relationships.

Attachment theory (Psychoanalytic and psychodynamic approaches)

Early attachment relationships influence later psychological functioning.

Limitations of psychoanalytic theory (Psychoanalytic and psychodynamic approaches)

Many explanations are difficult to test empirically and have limited scientific support.

Humanistic approach

(topic)

Humanistic approach (Humanistic approach)

Emphasises personal growth, free will and human potential.

Person-centred therapy (Carl Rogers) (Humanistic approach)

Promotes growth through acceptance and understanding.

Unconditional positive regard (Humanistic approach)

Accepting a person without judgement.

Empathy (Humanistic approach)

Understanding another person's perspective.

Congruence (Humanistic approach)

The therapist is genuine and authentic.

Humanistic limitation (Humanistic approach)

May lack specific, detailed therapeutic strategies.

Cognitive-behavioural approaches

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Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) (Cognitive-behavioural approaches)

Psychological problems are influenced by thoughts, emotions and learned behaviours.

Behavioural approach in CBT (Cognitive-behavioural approaches)

Behaviour is shaped by conditioning and reinforcement; behavioural approaches are particularly useful for understanding conditioned fear in anxiety disorders.

Cognitive approach in CBT (Cognitive-behavioural approaches)

Thoughts and interpretations influence emotions and behaviour.

First-wave CBT (Cognitive-behavioural approaches)

Focuses on behavioural conditioning and learning.

Second-wave CBT (Cognitive-behavioural approaches)

Focuses on reshaping unhelpful thoughts and maladaptive schemas.

Third-wave CBT (Cognitive-behavioural approaches)

Approaches such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and mindfulness emphasise acceptance, life goals and personal values rather than simply eliminating symptoms.

CBT strength (Cognitive-behavioural approaches)

CBT is testable and effective for many psychological disorders.

CBT limitation: circular reasoning (Cognitive-behavioural approaches)

Negative schemas may describe depression without adequately explaining its cause.

CBT limitation: sociocultural factors (Cognitive-behavioural approaches)

Traditional approaches may overlook social, cultural and developmental influences.

Family therapy (Cognitive-behavioural approaches)

Addresses family relationships, communication and interaction patterns.

Interpersonal therapy (IPT) (Cognitive-behavioural approaches)

reduces distress through addressing relationships/interpersonal problems.

Four IPT problem areas (Cognitive-behavioural approaches)

Unresolved grief, role transitions, role disputes and interpersonal deficits.

IPT evidence base (Cognitive-behavioural approaches)

IPT has strong evidence for treating depression.

Biological Perspective and Aetiology

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Biological perspective (Biological Perspective and Aetiology)

Explains psychological disorders partly through biological processes, including genetic influences, brain functioning and neurochemistry.

Phrenology (Biological Perspective and Aetiology)

Gall's theory incorrectly claimed that bumps on the skull revealed mental faculties.

General paresis (Biological Perspective and Aetiology)

Linking general paresis to syphilis demonstrated that some psychological symptoms can have identifiable biological causes.

General paresis treatment (Biological Perspective and Aetiology)

The condition became treatable with antibiotics, demonstrating the importance of identifying biological causes.

Heritability (Biological Perspective and Aetiology)

The proportion of variation in a population associated with genetic differences; it does not indicate what percentage of one person's disorder is genetic.

Heritability research (Biological Perspective and Aetiology)

Heritability is commonly measured using twin studies.

Relative heritability of disorders (Biological Perspective and Aetiology)

From most to least heritable: schizophrenia → bipolar disorder → panic disorder → depression → generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) → borderline personality disorder.