Part One Developmental Psychology: Essay Three

Does a single inhibition deficit account for behavioural signs and symptoms of attention
deficit hyperactivity disorder?

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) is a developmental disorder that

affects around 5% of the world’s population. The symptoms that are associated with this
disorder are wide and varied. According to the DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders) there are eighteen main symptoms which can be divided
into two main categories. These two categories really help to classify the symptoms, they
include the cognitive domain of inattention, of which nine of the symptoms fall into, and
the hybrid domain of hyperactivity of which the remaining nine fall into. In order for a
child to be diagnosed with AD/HD the child must exhibit at least six of the symptoms
from either one of the criteria.
There are multiple levels of explanation for AD/HD, including biological,
cognitive and behavioural explanations. The biological explanations for AD/HD include
information about the molecular genetics of AD/HD patients, brain imaging studies
carried out on patients and dopamine processes in patients. The behavioural explanations
focus much more on the signs and symptoms of AD/HD. Finally, the cognitive
explanations deal with looking at cognitive deficits that are common to all patients that
have been diagnosed with AD/HD. One of the main cognitive deficits that has been
examined is that of inhibition difficulties. It has been suggested that the inability to
inhibit a prepotent response can be used as a single account for all difficulties in AD/HD.
This essay plans to analyse the single inhibition deficit account and to question whether it
can be used to explain all the behavioural symptoms of AD/HD or whether a more
multiple pathway model is required.

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