CHAPTER 1

 Psychopathology is the study of abnormal behaviour.

 The brains output is measured in behaviour.
 Stigma that surrounds psychopathology has to do with that the output being
behaviour.
 The brain is the only organ that manifests itself in complex motor behaviour.
That can be asked questions about.
 History of psychopathology:
o common amongst many cultures is the concept of spirit possession.
o Much of psychopathology manifests in changes in speech, mood,
thinking etc.
o People believe that individuals who have these changes are possessed
by bad spirits.
o It seems to others that the sufferer’s personality seems to have been
taken over by something or someone.
o Exorcising bad spirits often involved direct physical attacks on the
sufferer’s body.
o This is still a common explanation in some areas of the world (Haiti,
western Africa).
 th
19 century there was developments across medicine.
o Individuals saw that these behaviours could be ascribed to biological
dysfunctions.
THE MEDICAL OR DISEASE MODEL
 General Paresis
o Important discovery for the western conceptualization of
psychopathology.
o Suggests that some psychopathologies have a biological cause.
o It was characterized by dementia- severe cognitive symptoms.
 Trouble paying attention
 Memory disturbances
 Personality changes
 Paralysis
 Weakness
o They found out that general paresis was caused by syphilis.
o This led to the insight that certain forms of psychopathology actually
had a biological origin.
 Somatogenic hypothesis:
o Claims that explanations of psychopathology can be found in biological
causes.
o Things can now be understood naturally instead of supernaturally.
o Gives rise to the birth of psychiatry
  The medical model view has given rise to the profession of psychiatry.
 Contemporary support for the recovery model.

PROBLEMS WITH THE MEDICAL MODEL

 Not all psychopathologies appear to have a physical cause.
 Some can be learned through the normal learning process.
 E.g. phobias, or someone that is scared of a dog from being attacked before.
 The medical model is reductionist and cannot account for the personal
experience of psychopathology.
o Doesn’t account for subjective experience. Therefore, cannot be
reduced to problems of the brain only.
 The medical model implies a biological dysfunction- which is not always the
case.

PSYCHOPATHOLOGY AS AN “ILLNESS”
 Implies that there is something not working properly.
 BUT psychopathology may be nothing more than extremes of “normal”
behaviour.
o Eg. Person may not be depressed, but severely sad.
 It can be stigmatizing to label someone as psychologically “ill”
o Can influence how person experiences self and how others experience
them.
 Popular media often propagates the stigma by associating psychopathology
with “illness”.

PROBLEMS WITH DEFINING PSYCHOPATHOLOGY

 Causes are often unknown- so cannot base definition on causal factors.
o There are often many causes- contributory causes.
 Terminology needs to be one that does not stigmatize those with mental
health problems (e.g. lead them to be considered abnormal).
 Definition has to be useful in a scientific and professional sense (allowing us
to facilitate support and help for vulnerable people)

DEFININING PSYCHOPATHOLOGY
4 CRITERIA
DEVIATION FROM THE STATISTICAL NORM
 Using statistical deviance as a measure of abnormality is useful.
 But cannot be used as sole criterion of defining abnormality.
o E.g. it cannot apply in IQ
DEVIATION FROM SOCIAL AND POLITICAL NORMS
 Problems:
o Different cultures differ in what is socially normal and acceptable.
o Behaving in a way that is not socially acceptable does not imply an
underlying psychopathology.
o Can be used as a means of stigmatizing individuals who do not
conform to accepted social norms.

MALADAPTIVE BEHAVIOUR AND HARMFUL DYSFUNCTION

 Defines psychopathology on whether behaviour renders a person incapable of
adapting to normal daily living.
 Does psychopathology cause deficits in social, occupation, educational and
family functioning?
 However, many psychopathologies could be conceived of as having an
adaptive or protective function (e.g. phobias)
o E.g. having a phobia of snakes. The phobia allows the individual to
have a hyper awareness of snakes, thus they avoid them, and this
keeps them safe.
 Harmful dysfunction
o Does it cause harm or dysfunction in the individual.

DISTRESS AND DISABILITY

 Do the symptoms cause significant distress?
 This is a useful definition because:
o It allows people to judge their own “normality”
o It allows people to refer themselves for treatment based on the distress
they experience.
o It is a definition that is independent of the type of lifestyle chosen by the
individual.
 Problems:
o It does not provide any standards by which to objectively judge whether
behaviour is symptomatic of psychopathology
o Not all disorders that are classified as psychopathologic involve the
individual experiencing distress or impairment.
 E.g. someone who is manic – feels a false greatness about
themselves, does not see problems with themselves- does not
experience distress, however it is still psychopathologic because
it is harmful dysfunction.