simply psych psychopathology

• Psychopathology


  The study of mental disorders in terms of their causes, development, course, classification, and treatment
• Mental health conditions described by psychopathology

  • Depression
  • Anxiety disorders
  • Bipolar disorder
  • Schizophrenia
  • Personality disorders
• Understanding and studying psychopathology is a crucial part of diagnosing and treating these mental health disorders
• Statistical infrequency definition of abnormality


  A person's trait, thinking, or behavior is classified as abnormal if it is rare or statistically unusual
• This definition fails to distinguish between desirable and undesirable behavior
• Many rare behaviors or characteristics have no bearing on normality or abnormality
• Some characteristics are regarded as abnormal even though they are quite frequent
• Deviation from social norms definition of abnormality

  A person's thinking or behavior is classified as abnormal if it violates the (unwritten) rules about what is expected or acceptable behavior in a particular social group
• Social norms can vary from culture to culture
• Norms can vary over time, so behavior that was once abnormal may no longer be considered so
• Failure to function adequately (FFA) definition of abnormality


  An abnormality that prevents the person from carrying out the range of behaviors that society would expect, such as getting out of bed each day, holding down a job, and conducting successful relationships
• Failure to keep a job may be due to the economic situation, not to psychopathology
• Deviation from ideal mental health definition of abnormality

  An absence of characteristics necessary for ideal mental health, such as resistance to stress, growth and self-actualization, high self-esteem, autonomy, and accurate perception of reality
• Very few people would be able to meet all the criteria for ideal mental health
• These ideas are culture-bound, based on a Western idea of ideal mental health, and should not be used to judge other cultures
• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)


  An anxiety disorder characterized by intrusive and uncontrollable thoughts (i.e., obsessions) coupled with a need to perform specific acts repeatedly (i.e., compulsions)
• Common clinical obsessions in OCD

  • Fear of contamination (esp., being infected by germs)
  • Repetitive thoughts of violence (killing or harming someone)
  • Sexual obsessions
  • Obsessive doubt
• Common compulsions in OCD

  • Cleaning
  • Washing
  • Checking
  • Counting
  • Touching
• The biological approach can be criticized for ignoring environmental influences on OCD
• Strengths of the biological approach include its testability via neuroscience research and evidence for genetic and neurotransmitter involvement
• The biological explanations are also deterministic because they ignore the individual's ability to control their own behavior
• Genetic explanations of OCD


  OCD seems to be a polygenic condition, where several genes are involved in its development
• Genetic factors in OCD

  • The SERT gene (Serotonin Transporter) appears mutated in individuals with OCD, leading to increased serotonin reuptake
  • The COMT gene regulates dopamine function and appears mutated in OCD, leading to higher dopamine levels
• Genes alone do not determine who will develop OCD - they only create vulnerability
• OCD may be culturally rather than genetically transmitted as family members may observe and imitate each other's behavior
• Neural explanations of OCD

  Abnormalities or imbalances in brain regions like the prefrontal cortex and neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine are involved
• An overactive prefrontal cortex causes an exaggerated control of primal impulses, leading to obsessions and compulsions
• Reduced serotonin and excessive dopamine may also cause OCD
• Primitive aspects of behavior

  Regulated by the prefrontal cortex (PFC)
• Overactive PFC

  Exaggerated control of primal impulses
• PFC reduces in activation

  You stop washing hands and go about your day
• OCD


  PFC is over-activated, leading to obsessions and compulsions
• Serotonin


  Neurotransmitter thought to be involved in regulating mood
• Dopamine


  Neurotransmitter that is abnormally high in individuals with OCD, influencing concentration
• Brain scans of OCD patients show increased activity in the PFC
• It is unknown whether low serotonin causes OCD, but they are related</b>
• It is unknown whether high dopamine causes OCD or is an effect of the disorder
• The biochemistry hypothesis does not account for individual differences in mental disorders
• Psychological therapy (CBT) can be a very successful treatment for OCD, which is difficult to account for in the serotonin hypothesis
• Serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs) and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)


  Drugs that increase serotonin levels and are effective in treating OCD