CURRENT PARADIGMS

CHAPTER 2:
CURRENT PARADIGMS I. The Genetic Paradigm
IN PSYCHOPATHOLOGY II. The Neuroscience Paradigm

Abnormal Psychology III. The Cognitive Behavioral Paradigm

IV. Factors That Cut Across the Paradigms

V. Diathesis-Stress: An Integrative Paradigm

WHAT IS A PARADIGM? CURRENT PARADIGMS:

GENETICS
Paradigm (Thomas Kuhn) Heredity plays a role in most behavior

Perspective or conceptual framework from within which a scientist Genes

operates
Carriers of genetic information (DNA)
We can never be totally objective; subjective factors interfere
Impacted by environmental influences
Goal: Study abnormal behavior scientifically e.g., stress, relationships, culture

Science aims for objectivity Relationship between genes and environment is bidirectional

No one paradigm sufficient to completely explain psychopathology Nature via nurture (Ridley, 2003)
IMPORTANT TERMS IN GENETICS ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS

Gene expression

Proteins influence whether the action of a specific gene will occur

Shared environment
Polygenic transmission

Multiple gene pairs vs. single gene Events and experiences that family members have in common
Heritability
Nonshared environment
Extent to which variability in behavior is due to genetic factors
Events and experiences that are unique to each family member
Heritability estimate ranges from 0.00 to 1.00

Group, rather than individual, indicator

BEHAVIOR GENETICS MOLECULAR GENETICS

Study of the degree to which genes and environmental factors influence behavior

Genotype

Genetic material inherited by an individual Identifies particular genes and their functions

Unobservable
Knockout studies
Phenotype
Removing specific genes in animals to observe effect on
Expressed genetic material
behavior
Observable behavior and characteristics

Depends on interaction of genotype and environment

GENE-ENVIRONMENT RECIPROCAL GENE-
INTERACTIONS ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION
Gene-environment interaction

One’s response to a specific environmental event is influenced by genes

Epigenetics Genes predispose individuals to seek out situations that increase

the likelihood of developing a disorder.
Study of how the environment can alter gene expression or function

Cross-fostering adoptee method
Rats born to mothers with low parenting skills who were raised by mothers with
high parenting skills showed lower levels of stress reactivity (Francis et al., 1999)
Adolescent girls with genetic vulnerability for depression more
likely to experience events that can trigger depression (Silberg
et al., 1999)

Environment (mothering) was responsible for turning on (or turning up) the
expression of a particular gene

CURRENT PARADIGMS: THE NEURON

NEUROSCIENCE
Neurons - Cells of the nervous system
Examines the contribution of brain structure and function to
psychopathology Four major parts

Cell body, Dendrites, Axons, Terminal

Mental disorders are linked to aberrant processes in the brain. buttons

Three major components: Nerve Impulse

Dendrites or cell body stimulated

Neurons and neurotransmitters
Travels downs axon to terminal
Brain structure and function
Synapse
Neuroendocrine system
Gap between neurons
NEUROTRANSMITTERS NEUROTRANSMITTERS AND
PSYCHOPATHOLOGY
Neurotransmitter
Serotonin and dopamine
Chemicals that allow neurons to send a
signal across the synapse to another
Implicated in depression, mania, and schizophrenia
neuron

Receptor sites on postsynaptic neuron Norepinephrine

absorb neurotransmitter
Implicated in anxiety and other stress-related disorders
Excitatory

Inhibitory Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)

Reuptake Inhibits nerve impulses

Reabsorption of leftover
neurotransmitter by presynaptic neuron
Implicated in anxiety

NEUROTRANSMITTERS AND BRAIN STRUCTURE AND

PSYCHOPATHOLOGY FUNCTION
Two cerebral hemispheres
Possible mechanisms
Connected by corpus callosum
Excessive or inadequate levels
Sulci (fissures) define regions or
Insufficient reuptake lobes of the cerebrum (gray matter):
Excessive number or sensitivity of postsynaptic receptors Frontal (Reasoning, Problem
Solving, Emotion Regulation)
Second messengers help neurons adjust receptor sensitivity after periods of high
activity
Parietal (Sensory-Spatial)
Agonist drugs stimulate neurotransmitter receptor sites
Occipital (Vision)
Antagonist drugs dampen neurotransmitter receptor sites
Temporal (Sounds)
SUBCORTICAL STRUCTURES OF THE HPA AXIS OF THE
THE BRAIN NEUROENDOCRINE SYSTEM
Limbic System (outdated term): HPA axis involved in stress

Often implicated in Hypothalamus triggers release of

psychopathology corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRF)

Involved in the expression of Pituitary gland releases

emotions adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)

Adrenal cortex triggers release of cortisol,

Amygdala
the stress hormone
key brain structure for Takes 20-40 minutes for cortisol to
psychopathology researchers due peak
to role in attending to emotionally
salient stimuli and in emotionally Takes up to 1 hour for cortisol levels
relevant memories to return to baseline

THE NEUROENDOCRINE SYSTEM NEUROSCIENCE IN TREATMENT

Psychoactive drugs alter neurotransmitter activity

Psychoneuroimmunology – the study of how psychological
factors impact the immune system Antidepressants - Serotonin

The link between stress and the immune system has several Antipsychotics - Dopamine and Serotonin
direct implications for overall health.
Benzodiazepenes - GABA
NEUROSCIENCE IN TREATMENT CURRENT PARADIGMS:
COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL
Roots in learning principles and cognitive science
A neuroscience view does not preclude psychological
interventions Behavior is reinforced by consequences

There is a danger of reductionism Attention

View that behavior can best be understand by reducing it to its Escape or avoidance
basic biological components
Sensory stimulation
Ignores more complex views of behavior
Access to desirable objects or events

CURRENT PARADIGMS: COGNITIVE SCIENCE

COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL
Behaviorism criticized for ignoring thoughts and emotions
To alter behavior, modify consequences Cognition

Systematic desensitization A mental process that includes perceiving, recognizing, conceiving, judging, and reasoning

Schema
Relaxation plus exposure
Organized network of previously accumulated knowledge

Imaginal or in vivo We actively interpret new information

Role of attention in psychopathology

Important treatment for anxiety disorders
Anxious individuals more likely to attend to threat or danger
WHERE IS THE UNCONSCIOUS? COGNITIVE BEHAVIOR THERAPY
(CBT)

Attends to thoughts, perceptions, judgments, self-statements, and

Contemporary theorists have attempted to study the unconscious assumptions
unconscious scientifically
Cognitive Restructuring
Implicit memory
Change a pattern of thinking
The unconscious may reflect efficient information processing
rather than being a repository for troubling material Changes in thinking can change feelings, behaviors, and
symptoms

BECK’S COGNITIVE THERAPY BECK’S COGNITIVE THERAPY

Initially developed for depression

Focus is on current determinants of disorder
Depression caused by distorted thoughts
Childhood and other historical antecedents given less
Nothing ever goes right for me!
attention
Information-Processing Bias
Are distorted thoughts the cause or the result of
Attention, interpretation, and recall of negative and positive psychopathology?
information biased in depression
Causal status unclear
Help patients recognize and change maladaptive thought patterns
FACTORS THAT CUT ACROSS FACTORS THAT CUT ACROSS
PARADIGMS PARADIGMS
Affect vs. mood Sociocultural Factors
Emotion
Gender, race, culture, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status
Components

Expressive May increase vulnerability to psychopathology

Experiential
e.g., women more likely to experience depression than men
Physiological
Some disorders specific to certain cultures
Most psychopathology includes disturbances of one or more component

What is the ideal affect? Hikikomori in Japanese culture

INTERPERSONAL FACTORS AND INTERPERSONAL FACTORS AND

PSYCHOPATHOLOGY PSYCHOPATHOLOGY
Object relations theory

Longstanding patterns of relating to others

Attachment theory Interpersonal therapy (IPT)

Type and style of infant’s attachment to caregivers can influence later Impact of current relationships on psychopathology
psychological functioning
Unresolved grief; Role transitions; Role disputes; Social deficits
Relational self

Individuals will describe themselves differently depending upon which close

relationships they are told to think about
CURRENT PARADIGMS: CURRENT PARADIGMS:
DIATHESIS-STRESS MODEL DIATHESIS-STRESS MODEL
Integrative model that incorporates multiple causal factors
Stress
Genetic, neurobiological, psychological, and environmental
Environmental events
Diathesis
May occur at any point after conception
Underlying predisposition
Triggering event
May be biological or psychological
Psychopathology unlikely to result from one single factor
Increases one’s risk of developing disorder