Psychopathology
The scientific study of mental disorders
What is abnormal behavior?
Szasz article
- argues that you can’t equate to the medical model and say mental illness is just like other illnesses
Myths about abnormal behavior
Classification
putting things into categories
Why do we classify?
- Provides a common lexicon, constructs for research, and ways to track progress
Video on DSM-5
- DSM is not perfect
Meehl article (cookbook)
First mentions of mental disorders
Egyptian Ebers Papyrus, 1500 BCE
Hippocrates
~400 BCE
For around 1000 years, mental illness attributed to ___
heresy, demonic possession
Philippe Pinel
“Era of systems”
ICD history
DSM I
DSM II
DSM III
WHO’s ICD
NIH Research Domain Criteria (RDoC)
5 Domains of RDoC
1) Negative Valence System: responses to aversive situations or context (fear, anxiety, loss)
2) Positive Valence System: responses to positive motivational situations or contexts (reward seeking, consummatory bx, reward/habit learning)
3) Cognitive Systems: various cognitive processes (attention, perception, memory, language)
4) Systems for social processes: mediate responses to interpersonal settings of various types, including perception and interpretation of others’ actions (attention, attachment, social communication)
5) Arousal/Regulatory Systems: generate activation of neural systems as appropriate for various contexts (balance, sleep)
Problems with Classification: Medical Model
Medical Model: mental disorders are diseases
Problems with Classification: Behavioral Model
Behavioral Model: mental disorders are learned
What’s needed for a good classification system?
Equifinality
Many etiological pathways may lead to the same disorder (ex - two people with depression who have different histories)