INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOPATHOLOGY

9 Mar

Psychopathology is the scientific study of mental disorders, including their symptoms, causes, and treatments. It examines how these disorders affect individuals' thoughts, feelings, behaviours, and interactions with others, aiming to understand and alleviate psychological distress and dysfunction.

Doctors can pinpoint specific physical symptoms to diagnose physical illnesses. However, diagnosing psychological problems presents a challenge, as these do not always manifest with clear physical symptoms. Instead, doctors must look for indicators of illness through changes in behaviour or other signs that suggest a person might be experiencing psychological distress or disorder.

SPECIFICATION:

*There are various definitions of abnormality, including deviation from social norms, failure to function adequately, statistical infrequency, and deviation from ideal mental health.
The behavioural, emotional and cognitive characteristics of phobias, depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
The behavioural approach to explaining and treating phobias: the two-process model, including classical and operant conditioning; systematic desensitisation, including relaxation and use of hierarchy; flooding.
The cognitive approach to explaining and treating depression: Beck’s negative triad and Ellis’s ABC model; cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), including challenging irrational thoughts.
The biological approach to explaining and treating OCD: genetic and neural explanations; drug therapy

DEFINITIONS OF ABNORMALITY

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STATISTICAL INFREQUENCY

This approach deems behaviours or traits as abnormal if they are statistically rare within a population. For example, extremely high or low IQ scores fall into the category of statistical infrequency and thus could be labelled as abnormal. While this method is useful for identifying outliers, it doesn't distinguish between desirable and undesirable traits and overlooks cultural and social factors.

DEVIATION FROM SOCIAL NORMS

Abnormality is identified through deviation from societal standards or norms of acceptable behaviour. Social norms vary significantly across cultures, societies, and periods. This perspective allows for the cultural relativity of abnormality but may pathologise unconventional rather than harmful behaviours.

FAILURE TO FUNCTION ADEQUATELY

Individuals are considered abnormal if they cannot cope with the demands of everyday life, leading to personal distress or distress to others. This approach focuses on the practical impact of behaviours and mental states on an individual's ability to function. It considers the individual's subjective experience, but determining what constitutes adequate functioning can be subjective and culturally biased.

DEVIATION FROM IDEAL MENTAL HEALTH

This viewpoint defines abnormality as lacking mental wellness characteristics, such as self-acceptance, autonomy, and an accurate perception of reality. It presents a positive, health-oriented definition of abnormality but sets a potentially unrealistic standard for normality, as achieving all criteria for ideal mental health is challenging.

Each perspective provides valuable insights into understanding abnormality but also has limitations. Psychologists often combine these approaches to comprehensively understand an individual's mental health, acknowledging the complexity and multidimensional nature of human behaviour and psychological states.

As you will learn, no single definition is adequate alone; however, each captures elements of what we might expect to be abnormal behaviour in some form.

MEASURING ABNORMALITY

Measuring abnormality involves various methods and tools to assess and quantify behaviours, thoughts, and emotions that significantly deviate from what is typical. These methods include:

CLINICAL INTERVIEWS: Structured or semi-structured interviews enable clinicians to collect comprehensive information about an individual's history, symptoms, and behaviour. The information gathered is compared against standardised criteria, such as those outlined in the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition) or ICD-11 (International Classification of Diseases, 11th Revision).

PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING: Various standardised tests measure aspects of personality, mood, cognitive abilities, and specific disorders. These tests range from self-report questionnaires (e.g., Beck Depression Inventory) to projective tests (e.g., Rorschach Inkblot Test) and cognitive assessments (e.g., WAIS for intelligence testing).

BEHAVIOURAL ASSESSMENT: Observing an individual's behaviour in natural or clinical settings offers insights into action patterns that may indicate an abnormality. Methods include direct observation or the use of self-monitoring diaries.

PHYSIOLOGICAL MEASURES: Biomedical assessments, such as brain imaging (MRI, PET scans) and other neurophysiological tests (EEG, heart rate variability), help identify biological markers associated with mental health conditions.

STATISTICAL NORMS: Abnormality can be quantified by comparing an individual's test scores or behaviours to statistical norms. Behaviours or traits that significantly deviate from the average (e.g., extremely high or low scores on depression scales) may be considered abnormal.

GLOBAL ASSESSMENT OF FUNCTIONING (GAF) SCALE: The GAF scale, previously used in the DSM, assesses the social, occupational, and psychological functioning of adults. Although it is no longer included in the DSM-5, similar scales, such as the WHO Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS 2.0), offer methods to evaluate how mental health conditions impact daily living.

FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS: Conducting a detailed examination of the antecedents, behaviours, and consequences (the ABC model) aids in understanding the functionality of behaviours, helping to determine their normality or abnormality within the context

DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEMS

DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEMS: DSM AND ICD

Diagnostic systems such as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) serve as standardized frameworks for the identification and classification of mental health conditions. These systems are critical tools for clinicians, researchers, and policymakers, facilitating a common language for discussing, studying, and treating psychological disorders.

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM): Developed by the American Psychiatric Association, the DSM is primarily used in the United States but also has a broad international influence. It provides detailed descriptions, symptoms, and diagnostic criteria for each recognized mental disorder. The DSM's iterations are updated based on the latest research and clinical consensus, with DSM-5 being the latest edition. This system emphasizes the categorization of disorders based on observable symptoms and behaviors, aiming to ensure consistency and reliability in diagnosis across different healthcare providers.

International Classification of Diseases (ICD): The ICD is published by the World Health Organization (WHO) and is used worldwide. It covers a broad spectrum of health conditions, including mental and behavioral disorders. The ICD provides codes for diseases, signs and symptoms, abnormal findings, complaints, and external causes of injury or diseases, facilitating the storage and retrieval of diagnostic information for clinical, epidemiological, and quality management purposes. The ICD-10 is the version currently in use, with ICD-11 released for implementation by WHO member states.

Both diagnostic systems are essential for:

Facilitating a standardized diagnosis across different healthcare settings.
Enabling researchers to study the prevalence and impact of mental disorders.
Guiding treatment decisions and healthcare policy.
Improving communication among healthcare providers, patients, and families.

Despite their importance, DSM and ICD have faced criticism over the years for reasons such as over-reliance on a medical model, potential for stigmatization, cultural bias, and the categorization of normal variations of human behavior as disorders. Nonetheless, they remain pivotal in the field of mental health for diagnosing and understanding mental disorders

PERSPECTIVES ON ABNORMALITY

Biopsychosocial Model: This model suggests that abnormality results from a complex interplay between biological, psychological, and social factors. It emphasizes that mental disorders can arise from a combination of genetic predispositions, cognitive and emotional processes, and environmental stressors.
Diathesis-Stress Model: This model posits that individuals have certain vulnerabilities or predispositions (diathesis) for mental disorders that, when combined with stressful life events or environmental stressors, can lead to the development of abnormal behaviours or psychological conditions.
Cognitive Models: These focus on how distorted thinking and maladaptive beliefs can lead to abnormal behaviours and mental disorders. Cognitive theories emphasize the role of irrational thoughts, cognitive biases, and dysfunctional attitudes in developing psychological issues.
Behavioural Models: According to this perspective, abnormal behaviours are learned responses to the environment. This model focuses on how behaviours are acquired and maintained through conditioning and reinforcement mechanisms, suggesting that behavioural therapies can unlearn abnormal behaviours.
Psychoanalytic/Psychodynamic Models: These theories, originated by Freud and his followers, propose that abnormality stems from unresolved conflicts and childhood traumas that affect an individual's unconscious mind. Abnormal behaviours are seen as manifestations of these unresolved issues.
Humanistic Models: This approach asserts that abnormality results from failing to achieve personal growth and self-fulfilment. It emphasizes the importance of self-actualization, suggesting that barriers to achieving one's potential can lead to psychological distress.
Evolutionary Psychology: From an evolutionary perspective, some behaviours considered abnormal in modern society might have been adaptive in our evolutionary past. This approach looks at the evolutionary origins of behaviours and considers how they may have been beneficial for survival and reproduction.

Rebecca Sylvia

I am a Londoner with over 30 years of experience teaching psychology at A-Level, IB, and undergraduate levels. Throughout my career, I’ve taught in more than 40 establishments across the UK and internationally, including Spain, Lithuania, and Cyprus. My teaching has been consistently recognised for its high success rates, and I’ve also worked as a consultant in education, supporting institutions in delivering exceptional psychology programmes.

I’ve written various psychology materials and articles, focusing on making complex concepts accessible to students and educators. In addition to teaching, I’ve published peer-reviewed research in the field of eating disorders.

My career began after earning a degree in Psychology and a master’s in Cognitive Neuroscience. Over the years, I’ve combined my academic foundation with hands-on teaching and leadership roles, including serving as Head of Social Sciences.

Outside of my professional life, I have two children and enjoy a variety of interests, including skiing, hiking, playing backgammon, and podcasting. These pursuits keep me curious, active, and grounded—qualities I bring into my teaching and consultancy work. My personal and professional goals include inspiring curiosity about human behaviour, supporting educators, and helping students achieve their full potential.

https://psychstory.co.uk