ABPS311

TOPIC: Week 1- Psychopathology

KEY WORDS/MAIN POINT NOTES/DEFINITION
Psychopathology - study of abnormalities
Abnormal Behavior - It is a psychological dysfunction within an individual that is associated with distress or
impairment in functioning and a response that is not typical or culturally expected
Psychological Dysfunction - refers to a breakdown in cognitive, emotional, or behavioral functioning
Abnormality/Disorder - a truly satisfactory definition will probably always remain elusive
Abnormal Psychology - concerned with understanding the nature, causes, and treatment of mental disorders.

Indicators of Abnormality No single indicator is sufficient in and of itself to define or determine abnormality. Nonetheless,
the more that someone has difficulties in the following areas, the more likely he or she is to
have some form of mental disorders:
1. Subjective Distress- If people suffer or experience psychological pain, we are inclined to
consider this as indicative of abnormality.
2. Maladaptiveness- often an indicator of abnormality. Maladaptive behavior interferes
with our well-being and with our ability to enjoy our work and our relationships.
3. Statistical Deviancy- Example is geniuses and people with intellectual complexity.
- If something is statistically rare and undesirable (as severely diminished intellectual
functioning), we are more likely to consider it abnormal than something that is
statistically rare and highly desirable (such as genius) or something that is undesirable
but statistically common (such as rudeness).
4. Violation of the standards of the society- A behavior is most likely to be viewed as
normal when it violates the standards of society and is statistically deviant or rare.
Depends on cultural group.
5. Social Discomfort- when someone violates an implicit or unwritten social rule, those
around him or her may experience a sense of discomfort and unease. Is another
potential way that we can recognize abnormality but much depends on circumstances.
6. Irrationality and unpredictability- (Malala and unpredictable na behavior) the
disordered speech and the disorganized behavior of patients with schizophrenia are
often irrational.
7. Dangerousness- it seems quite reasonable to think that someone who is a danger to
him- or herself or to another person must be psychologically abnormal. Conversely, we
cannot assume that someone diagnosed with mental disorder must be dangerous.
Although people with mental illness do commit serious crimes, serious crimes are also
committed everyday by people who have no signs of mental disorder.

Decisions about abnormal behavior always involve social judgments and are based on
the values and expectations of society at large. This means that culture plays a role in
determining what is and is not abnormal.
- Society is constantly shifting. Personality Disorder
Ego Syntonic- behaviors that are aligned with
your personal values and self-image. Not
aware.
Ego Dystonic- Aware. Client feels that there is
something off.
Mental Disorders (DSM-5) Mental Disorders are usually associated with significant distress or disability in key
areas of functioning such as social, occupational, or other activities. Predictable or culturally
approved responses to common stressors (such as death of loved one) are excluded.
A mental disorder is a syndrome present in an individual involving clinically significant
disturbance in behavior, emotion regulation, or cognitive functioning.

SUMMARY/CONCLUSION:

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TOPIC: Week 1- Psychopathology
KEY WORDS/MAIN POINT NOTES/DEFINITION
What is DSM-5 and why Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) provides all the information
was it revised? necessary (descriptions, lists of symptoms) to diagnose mental disorders. It provides clinicians
with specific diagnostic criteria for each disorder.
It creates Common Language so that a specific diagnosis means the same thing to the one
clinician as it does to another.
- helps ensure diagnostic accuracy and consistency (reliability)
- Revisions are important because they allow new scientific developments to be incorporated
into how we think about mental disorders.
- Arabic numerals are now being used instead of Roman Numerals (5 versus V) to facilitate
updating (DSM-5.1, DSM-5.2) in the future.

Classification and Diagnosis - Classification system provide us with as nomenclature (a naming system).

Advantages
- This gives clinicians and researchers both common language and shorthand terms for complex
clinical conditions.
- they enable us to structure information in a more helpful manner
- allows us to study the different disorders that we classify and therefore to learn new things.
“classification facilitates research”
Disadvantages
- Classification, by its very nature, provides information in a shorthand form. However, using any
form of shorthand inevitably leads to a loss of information.
- there can still be some stigma (disgrace) associated with having a psychiatric disorder. In spite
of the large amount of information that is now available about mental health issues, the level of
knowledge about mental illness is often very poor.

- stereotyping are automatic beliefs concerning other people that we unavoidably learn as a
result of growing up in a particular culture (example: people who wear glasses are more
intelligent)

Once a group of symptoms is given a name and identified by means of diagnosis, this diagnostic
Labeling level can be hard to shake even if the person later makes a full recovery.
- It is important to keep in mind, however, that diagnostic classification system do not classify
people. In some situations, a diagnosis may even reduce stigma because it provides at least a
partial explanation for a person’s otherwise inexplicable behavior.
- Nonetheless, when we note that someone has an illness, we should take care not to define
him or her by that illness.
Person-first language -a schizophrenic < a person with schizophrenia
- Simply put, the person is not the diagnosis.

Culture and Abnormalities - Christian countries, 13, unlucky

- Japan, 4, death
Taijin Kyofusho is syndrome which an anxiety disorder is quite prevalent in Japan. It involves a
marked fear that one’s body, body parts, or body functions may offend, embarrass or otherwise
make others feel uncomfortable. Often, people with this disorder are afraid of blushing or
upsetting others by their gaze, facial expression, or body odor.
Ataque de Nervios or an attack or nerves. Which is often triggered by a stressful event such as
divorce or bereavement, include crying, trembling, and uncontrollable screaming. Once the
ataque is over, the person may promptly resume his or her normal manner, with little or no
memory with the incident.

SUMMARY/CONCLUSION:

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TOPIC: Week 1- Psychopathology
KEY WORDS/MAIN POINT NOTES/DEFINITION
Abnormal Psychology - concerned with understanding the nature, causes, and treatment of mental disorders.
Presenting Problem- - Why the person came to clinic. Helps determine the clinical description which represents the
unique combination of behaviors, thoughts
Epidemiology - the study of the contribution of diseases, disorders, or health related behaviors in given
population.
- The study of distribution of mental disorders
- determining the frequencies of mental disorders
Prevalence- - number of active cases in a population during any given period of time. Typically expressed as
percentages.
 Point Prevalence- the estimated proportion of actual, active cases of the disorder in a
given population at a given period of time.
 1-year Prevalence figure- we would count everyone who experienced depression at
anypoint in time throughout the entire year.
 Lifetime Prevalence estimate- estimate of the number of people who have had a
particular disorder at anytime in their lives
Prevalence:
Acute- short in duration
Chronic- long in duration
Incidence- - this refers to the number of new cases that occur over a given period of time. Exclude
preexisting cases.

Comorbidity - the term used to describe the presence of two or more disorders in the same person.
- An illustration of this would be a person who drinks excessively and who is simultaneously
depressed and suffering from an anxiety disorder.

Course - duration
 Chronic Course- long time / lifetime
 Episodic Course- within few months
 Time-limited Course- relatively short period
Onset when it started
 Acute onset- sudden
 Insidious onset- gradually / gradual
Prognosis - anticipated course of disorder (example: in 3 months magaling na sha)
Etiology causes of disorders. study of origins

SUMMARY/CONCLUSION:

TOPIC: Week 2- Earliest Views of Abnormal Behavior

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KEY WORDS/MAIN POINT NOTES/DEFINITION
Exorcism The primary type of treatment for demonic possession which included techniques for casting an evil spirit
out
Ancient Greeks -shifted the understanding of mental disorders from the work of supernatural forces to problems in the
human body (a view still held today)
Hippocrates - Father of modern medicine
- insisted that mental disorders, like any other disease, had natural causes and appropriate treatments. He
believed that the brain was the central organ of intellectual activity and that mental disorders were due to
brain pathology.
- heredity, predisposition, injuries – could cause sensory and motor disorders.
Histeria- the appearance of physical illness in the absence of organic pathology
Three General Categories- Mania, Melancholia (depression), phrenitis (brain fever)
Four Essential Fluids of the body- blood (sanguis), phlegm, bile (choler), black bile (melancholic)
Earliest and longest lasting views of personality types: the sanguine, phlegmatic, choleric, melancholic
AIR WATER
BLOOD (SANGUIS) BLACKBILE (MELANCHOLIC)
ACTIVE, OPTIMISTIC PENSIVE, THOUGHTFUL
FIRE EARTH
YELLO BILE (CHOLERIC) PHLEGM (PHLEGMATIC)
AGITATED, IRRITABLE (MANIC) CALM, RELAXED
Plato - Studied individuals with mental disturbances who had committed criminal acts and how to deal with
them
- viewed psychological phenomena as responses of the whole organism, reflecting its internal slate and
natural appetites
Philippe Pinel - introduce the pre-modern view of melancholia as disorder without the taint of demonic possession or
ancient Greek humors. Humane treatment of people with mental disorders.
- classification schema of melancholia and examining the causes of the disorders
Aristotle - “thinking” as directed would eliminate pain and help to attain pressure
Galen - took a scientific approach to the field, dividing the causes of psychological disorders into physical and
mental categories (such as injuries to the head, mental causes such as disappointment in love)

China Was one of the earliest developed civilizations in which medicine and attention to mental disorders were
introduced
Chinese view of mental disorders regressed to a belief in supernatural forces as causal agents
- Chinese medicine was based on a belief in natural rather than supernatural causes for illnesses:
Yin and Yang –if the two forces are balanced, the result is physical and mental health; if they are not,
illness results.
Chung Ching - Hippocrates of China; he based his views of physical and mental disorders on clinical observations, and
he implicated organ pathologies as primary causes. He also believed that stressful psychological conditions
could cause organ pathologies
- First mental hospital was established in Baghdad in A.D. 792

Avicenna Approached the treatment of mental disorders with humane practices unknown to western medical
practitioners at the time
In contrast, monasteries served as refuges and places of confinement
- during medieval period “treatment” for people with mental disturbances consisted of prayers, holy
water, sanctified ointments, the breath or spittle of the priests. the touching of relics, visits to holy places,
and mild forms of exorcism
- during middle age many people with mental disturbances were accused of being witches thus were
punished and often killed. Sharp tongue and bad temper.

Robert Burton - considered demonic possession a potential cause of mental disorder

Paracelsus - insisted that mania was not a possession but a form of disease, and that it should be treated as such
- hypnosis – bodily magnetism
- He was convinced that the moon exerted a supernatural influence over the brain

Johann Weyer - rejected the common thinking at the time that strange behavior was a result of witchcraft. He believed
that it was a result of mental illness. In response, his peers made fun of him and called him Weirus Insanus

SUMMARY/CONCLUSION:

TOPIC: Week 3 – Causal Factors and Viewpoints

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KEY WORDS/MAIN POINT NOTES/DEFINITION
Many people believed that abnormal behavior was the work of gods or demons. Hippocrates proposed a
disease model suggesting an imbalance in the four bodily humors produced abnormal behavior. (i.e.
sanguine, phlegmatic, chronic, and melancholic).
Distinguish between risk - Center to the field of abnormal psychology are questions about “what causes people to experience
factors and causes of mental distress and to behave maladaptively. I knew the causes for given disorders.
abnormal behavior ● We might be able to prevent conditions that could lead to them and reverse those that maintain them.
● By distinguishing risk factors, we could classify and diagnose better. Also, clearly understood their
causes.
● Knowing causes of abnormal behavior is a wonderful goal, but it is enormously difficult because human
behavior is complex. (i.e. simple behaviors such as writing and speaking may rely on biological
perspectives as well as social).
● Understanding a person's life causal terms is a task of enormous magnitude.
● Primary goals of clinical psychology is to understand the nature of relationships among variables of
interest.
● Variable (x) associated with the outcome of (y) is considered to be correlated. (i.e. (x) physical abuse (y)
depression).
● If X is shown to occur before Y, can we infer that X is a risk factor for Y.
● If X can be changed then X is a variable risk factor for outcome Y. ( (x) bullying (y) depression).
● If X cannot be changed X is a fixed marker for outcome Y. (Y)
● If X does not lead to change in Y, X is a variable marker. (X)
● If X leads to change in Y then X is a causal risk factor.
Necessary, Sufficient, and - ● There are different types of causal relations in the etiology or causal pattern of abnormal behavior.
Contributory Causes 1. Necessary Cause - X is a characteristic that must exist for a disorder (Y). (i.e. General Paresis (Y) a
degenerative brain disorder– it cannot develop unless a person has contracted syphilis (X)).
2. Sufficient Cause - Guarantees the occurrence of disorder. (i.e. hopelessness (X) is a sufficient cause of
depression (Y) or more generally, if X occurs, then Y will also occur.)
3. Contributory Cause - The probability of disorder developing but is neither necessary nor sufficient for
the disorder to occur.
4. Reinforcing Contributory Cause - Maintain maladaptive behavior that is already occurring. (i.e.
Depressed people alienated by rejection of friends and family may reinforce the existing depression).
● Some causal factors occurring relatively early in life may not show their effects for many years; these
would be considered distal risk factors (or distal causal factors). (i.e. loss of a parent early in life, this may
serve a distal contributory cause predisposing a person to depression).
● Other factors operate shortly before the occurrence of symptoms of a disorder; these would be
considered proximal risk factors. (i.e. Disappointment at school or work that could lead to depression).
Diathesis-Stress Models - Many mental disorders are believed to develop when someone who has pre
existing vulnerability for that disorder experiences a major stressor.
- A vulnerability, or diathesis is a predisposition toward developing a disorder that can
derive from biological, psychological, or sociocultural causal factors.
- Stress, the response or experiences of an individual demands that he or she perceives
as taxing or exceeding his or her personal resources.
- Stress often occurs when an individual experiences chronic or episodic episodes.
- Diathesis may result from distal necessary or contributory causes but not sufficient to
cause the disorder. Instead, there must be a proximal factor (the stressor) , which may
be contributory or necessary but not sufficient to cause disorder.
- Diathesis and stress may combine to produce disorder. It is called the additive model.
- High level of diathesis may need only a small amount of stress (vice versa) . It is what we call an
interaction model.
- Protective factors decrease the likelihood of negative outcomes. (Note that protective factor is not
simply the absence of risk factor, but it is something buffers against negative outcomes. (i.e. a family
environment in which at least one parent is warm and supportive).
- Protective factors have nothing to do with experiences at all but are simply some
quality or attribute of a person (i.e. High emotional intelligence kid likely to show
negative outcomes following childhood abuse).
- PF may lead to resilience – the ability to adapt successfully to even very difficult circumstances. But
sometimes children who show resilience such as high social competence despite high stress may still
experience emotional distress.
- Nor diathesis or stress is by itself sufficient to cause disorder, but in combination they can lead
individuals to behave abnormally.
- Developmental Psychopathology, which concentrates on determining what is abnormal at any point in
development by comparing and contrasting it with normal. (i.e. fear of dark to 3-5 year old may not be
considered abnormal. But if an adult still has fears, it may be considered a phobia).

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Perspectives to Understanding - What causes depression? There are many different perspectives from biological
the Causes of Abnormal perspectives in which we try to understand how factors such as genetics, neurobiology,
Behavior and hormonal responses can influence psychopathology.
- Another is to take a psychological perspective and try to understand how
dysfunctional thoughts, feelings, and behaviors can lead to psychopathology.
Biopsychosocial viewpoint that acknowledges biological, psychological, and social factors interact and
The Biological Perspective play a role in psychopathology and treatment.
- It focuses on mental disorders as diseases, primary symptoms are cognitive, behavioral,
or emotional.
- Mental disorders are thus viewed as disorders of the CNS, ANS, or endocrine system.
- The disorders first recognized as having biological or organic components
were associated with gross damage or destruction to brain tissue.
-Disruptions of brain functioning by physical or biochemical means involve psychological and behavioral
aberrations. (i.e. Damage to certain areas of the brain can cause memory loss, and damage to the brain).
- Most mental disorders are not caused by neurological damage. (i.e. abnormalities in the
neurotransmitter system in the brain can lead to mental disorders without causing damage to the brain.
- Delusions and hallucinations can never be caused by brain damage.
- Having schizophrenia or general paresis who claims to be Napoleon is by product of functional
integration of different neural structures , which have been “programmed” by personality and learning
based on past experiences.
There are four categories of biological factors:
1. Genetic Vulnerabilities
2. Brain Dysfunction and Neural Plasticity
Genetic Vulnerabilities 3. Neurotransmitter and Hormonal Abnormalities
4. Temperament
-Genes are very long molecules of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) that are present at various locations on
chromosomes.
- Chromosomes are the chain-like structures within a cell nucleus that contain the genes.
- Genes are the carriers that we inherit from our parents (2 copies of genes).
- Genes exist in alternative forms called alleles.
- Each human has 23 pairs of chromosomes (46 total). One copy of mother and one from father.
- 22 chromosomes are determined by their biochemical action, general anatomical
and other psychological characteristics. The remaining pair are for sex chromosomes.
XY for male and XX for female. (i.e. Down syndrome is a type of intellectual disability in which there is a
trisomy. (chromosome 21).
- Personality traits and mental disorders are not affected by chromosomal
abnormalities. Instead by abnormalities in genes.
- Abnormalities in genes are also called “polymorphisms”.
-Vulnerabilities to mental disorders are almost always polygenic, which means they are influenced by
many genes or by multiple polymorphism of genes.
- Genes can affect behavior only indirectly.
- Gene "expression" is normally not a simple outcome of the information encoded in DNA but it is, rather,
the end product of an intricate process that may be influenced by internal and external environments.
-Certain genes can be "turned on" or activated, and "turned off" or deactivated in response to
environmental influences such as "stress".
- Genetic endowment is referred to as her or his genotype and, except for identical twins, no two
Genotype-Environment humans have the same genetic makeup.
Interactions - The observed structural and functional characteristics result from interaction of the genotype and the
environment are phenotypes.
- Genetic factors are not necessary and sufficient to cause mental disorders but instead
contribute to diathesis or vulnerability to develop psychopathology that only happens
if there are significant stressors in life. (Diathesis-Stress Model). This is known as
genotype-environment interaction. (i.e. PKU-induced intellectual disability, children
who have genetic vulnerability to PKU may react differently to common foods with
phenylalanine).
Example:
Individuals who have short alleles also experienced four or more major life stressors had twice the
probability of developing major depression than those who have long alleles who have also experienced
four or more major life stresses.

Genotype-Environment
Correlation

- Genes can actually shape the environmental experiences a child has. (i.e. a child who is
genetically predisposed to aggressive behavior may be rejected by his or her peers).

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When the genotype shapes the environmental experience of a child, we refer to this
phenomenon as a genotype-environment correlation.
● A child's genotype may have "passive effect" resulting from
genetic similarity of parents and children. (i.e. Highly intelligent
parents may provide a highly stimulating environment for their
child because of genetic endowment. Conversely, parents
possessing antisocial behavior may provide a risky environment
and can lead to mental disorders of children).
● The child's genotype may evoke a particular kind of reaction
from the social and physical environment called "evocative
effect" (i e. (Highly intelligent children may have positive
responses to society such as friendly and helpful. Also, they may
be picked out of school and given special opportunities).
● The child's genotype may play a more active role in shaping the
environment's "active effect" . In this case a child builds an
Methods for Studying Genetic environment that is congenial — a phenomenon known as
Influences
"niche building" . (i.e. extraverted child may seek the company
of others or sociable).
Genotype – total genetic endowment
Phenotype – observed structural & functional characteristics

- Behavior genetics, a field that focuses on studying the heritability of mental disorders
(as well as psychological functioning).
5. Family History - or pedigree method required that investigator
or observer samples of relatives of each proband or index case
(the subject or carrier of the trait or disorder). The limitation of
this method is that people who are closely related genetically
share more similar environments, so it's hard to disentangle
the genetic environment effects.
6. Twin Method - The identical twins (Monozygotic) share the same
genetic endowment because they develop from a single zygote or
fertilized egg. Thus given disorder or traits were completely
heritable, they could expect concordance traits– a percentage of
Separating Genetic and twins sharing the disorder or trait to be 100%. The non identical
Environment Influences twins or fraternal (Dizygotic) develop form two different fertilized
eggs. Therefore bexprct concordance rates for dizygotic twins is
Linkage Analysis and much lower than monozygotic.
Association Studies 7. Adoption Method- It creates a situation in which individuals who
do not share a common family environment are nonetheless
genetically related. In one variation of this method, biologically
parents of individuals who have given disorder were compared
with biological parents in individuals without disorder to
determine their rates of disorder. If there is genetic influence,
there would be a higher rate of disorder in the adopted offspring
of the biological parents with disorder.
- Shared environmental influences are those that would make children in a family more
similar whether influence occurs within the family.
- Non shared environmental influences are those in which the children in a family differ.
- Linkage analysis and Association studies attempt to determine the actual location
Brain Dysfunction and Neural
Plasticity of genes responsible for mental disorders.
Linkage Analysis - Studies of mental disorders capitalize on several currently known
locations on chromosomes of genes for other inherited physical characteristics or
biological processes (such as eye color or blood group). For example, researchers might
contact a large family with schizophrenia. At the same time, however, they might also
track the eye color of each individual. Eye color may be a genetic marker. If the researcher
found the familial pattern, they can conclude that those who have the same eye color, that
Imbalances of gene is affecting having schizophrenia.
Neurotransmitters and Association studies- Start with large two groups or individuals, one group with or in
Hormonal Imbalances groups without given disorder. The researchers compare these two in terms of genetic
markers that are located in particular chromosomes (eye color or blood group).
- Specific brain lesions with observable defects in brain tissue are rarely the primary cause
of psychiatric disorder.
- There are many advances to understand how deficiencies in brain structure or function cause mental

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disorders. These lead to new neuroimaging techniques. Researchers revealed that genetics guide brain
development–so these biological puzzles are all related. Genetic programs for brain development are not
so rigid and deterministic. Instead there is called neural plasticity– flexibility of the brain in making
changes in organization and function in response to pre and postnatal experiences, stress, diet, disease
drugs, maturation, and so forth.
8. Prenatal experiences example is pregnant monkeys
exposed to unpredictable loud sounds had infants that were
jittery and resulted in neurochemical abnormalities.
9. Postnatal environmental events also affect brain development
of the infant and child. (i.e. formation of new neural
connections or synapses after birth is dramatically affected by
the experiences).
10. There is a developmental system approach which acknowledges
the genetic influences neural activity, which influences behavior,
environment, but these influences are bidirectional.
11. The communication is done through the transmission of electrical
nerve impulses. Nerve impulses travel from the cell body or
dendrites of one neuron (nerve cell) down the axon. There is only
one axon for each neuron.
12. Axons have end branches called axon endings –
these are the sites where neurotransmitter
substances. These are released into synapses.
13. Synapse is a tiny fluid-filled space between axon endings of
one neuron (presynaptic) and the dendrites or cell body of
Neurotransmitters
another neuron (postsynaptic).
14. Neurotransmitters are chemical substances that are released
into the synapse by the presynaptic neuron when a nerve
impulse occurs.
15. Neurotransmitters are released to synapse and act to the
postsynaptic membrane of the dendrites.
16. The neurotransmitters can stimulate that postsynaptic neuron to
either initiate an impulse or inhibit impulse.
17. Once a neurotransmitter is released into synapse, it does not stay around
indefinitely.
18. Sometimes it is quickly destroyed by enzymes such as
monoamine oxidase, sometimes returned to storage by reuptake
mechanisms– a process of reabsorption of neurotransmitters and
Temperament back up into axon endings.
19. The MOA is also present in the presynaptic
terminal and can distort excess
neurotransmitters too.
20. Postsynaptic neurons will "fire" (produce an impulse) and others inhibit the
impulse.
1. Norepinephrine - It plays for emergency
reactions when we are exposed to stressful or
The Impact of the Biological dangerous situations. Alertness, arousal –
Viewpoint depression
2. Dopamine - pleasure, cognitive processing
and has been implicated to schizophrenia
as well as addictive disorders. Learning,
attention, emotion, movement. ^
schizophrenia v tremors, parkinsons
3. Serotonin - Have important effects on the way we think
and process information from our environment as well
behavior and moods. It also plays an important role in
emotional disorders such as anxiety and depression.
Moods, sleep, arousal, hunger
The Psychological Perspective 4. Glutamate - It is implicated in schizophrenia (major explicit). Major
neuron excitatory – memory. ^ seizure, migraine
5. GABA - Reducing anxiety as well as emotional
states characterized by high levels of arousal.
The Psychodynamic Major neuron inhibitory. V anxiety, seizure,
Perspective insomnia
- Refers to a child's reactivity and characteristic, the way of self-regulation, which
is believed to be biologically programmed. (i e. Babies start to startle or cry when

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sunlight hits their faces; others are seemingly insensitive to such stimulation.
These behaviors are strictly influenced by genetic factors that also play in their
development).
2-3 months of age, approximately five dimensions of temperament can be defined: fearfulness, irritability,
frustration, positive effect, activity levels and attentional presence. These seem related to adult
personality: neuroticism or negative emotionality, extraversion, positive emotionality, and constraint
(consciousness and agreeableness)
Fundamentals of Freud’s - Biological discoveries have profoundly affected the way we think about human behavior.
Psychoanalytic Theory - Gorenstein (1992) and others argued more than two decades ago, there are several common errors in
the way many people interpret the meaning of recent biological advances. For example, individuals with
schizophrenia and those without schizophrenia in and of itself substantiates that schizophrenia is an
illness. All behavioral traits (introversion and extraversion, for example, or high and low sensation seeking)
have biological characteristics, yet we do not label these traits as illnesses.
All behavior—normal and abnormal—has a biological substrate.
As Gorenstein (1992) also pointed out, the effects of psychological events are always mediated through
the activities of the central nervous system because all our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors occur as
biological events in the brain.
We must remember that biology alone does not shape our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors; they instead
occur via interaction with social events in our environment.

In this section we examine in some depth three perspectives on human nature

and behavior that have been particularly influential: psychodynamic, behavioral,
and cognitive-behavioral. These three viewpoints represent distinct and
sometimes conflicting orientations, but they are in many ways complementary.
- Sigmund Freud founded the psychoanalytic school, which emphasized the role
of unconscious motives and thoughts and their dynamic interrelationships in the
determination of both normal and abnormal behavior.
The conscious part of the mind represents a relatively small area, whereas the
unconscious part, like the submerged part of an iceberg, is the much larger
portion.
Unconscious are the hurtful memories, forbidden desires, and other experiences that
have been repressed—that is, pushed out of consciousness.
Unconscious material continues to seek expression and emerges in fantasies, dreams,
slips of the tongue, and so forth.
Psychoanalysis (a form of psychotherapy Freud developed).
- The id, Freud suggested, is the source of instinctual drives and is the first structure to
appear in infancy.
It is also called the “Pleasure Principle” concerned only with the immediate gratification of instinctual
needs without reference to reality or moral considerations. It can generate wishfulling fantasies and
mental images referred to as “primary process thinking”
1. Life instincts, which are constructive drives primarily of a sexual nature and
which constitute the libido (urges or drive), the basic emotional and psychic
energy of life.
2. Death instincts, which are destructive drives that tend toward aggression,
destruction, and eventual death.
The ego develops after the first few months of life. The ego mediates between the
demands of the id and the realities of the external world.
One of the basic functions of the ego is to meet id demands, but in such a way as to
ensure the well-being and survival of the individual.
The ego’s adaptive measures are referred to as “secondary process thinking”, and the
ego operates on the “reality principle”.
The superego is the outgrowth of internalizing the taboos and moral values of society
Anxiety, Defense Mechanisms, concerning what is right and wrong. It is essentially what we refer to as the conscience.
and the Unconscious
(Right and Wrong).
It is an inner control system that deals with the uninhibited desires of the id.
Intrapsychic conflicts lead to mental disorder.
- Anxiety—generalized feelings of fear and apprehension—is prominent in the
Defense Mechanisms
psychoanalytic viewpoint because Freud believed that it plays a key causal role in most
forms of psychopathology.

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Oral stage: During the first 2 years of life, the mouth is the principal erogenous zone: An
The Behavioral Perspective infant’s greatest source of gratification is sucking, a process that is necessary for feeding.
Anal stage: From ages 2 to 3, the anus provides the major source of pleasurable stimulation during the
time when toilet training is often going on and there are urges both for retention and for elimination.
Phallic stage: From ages 3 to 5 or 6, self-manipulation of the genitals provides the major source of
pleasurable sensation.
Latency period: From ages 6 to 12, sexual motivations recede in importance as a child becomes
preoccupied with developing skills and other activities.
Genital stage: After puberty, the deepest feelings of pleasure come from sexual relations.
- Arose in the early twentieth century in part as a reaction against the
unscientific methods of psychoanalysis.
- Behavioral scientists believed that the study of subjective experience (e.g., free
association and dream analysis) did not provide acceptable scientific data because such
observations were not open to verification.
Learning—the modification of behavior as a consequence of experience—is the central
theme of the behavioral approach.
Types:
Classical Conditioning - Ivan Pavlov and John B. Watson “behaviorism”.

● The CS—acquires the capacity to elicit biologically adaptive responses through

repeated pairings with the UCS.
● If a CS is repeatedly presented without the UCS, the conditioned
response gradually extinguishes. This gradual process, known as extinction.
(spontaneous recovery).

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Operant Conditioning - E.L Thornlike and B.F Skinner studies.
In operant (or instrumental) conditioning, an individual learns how to achieve a desired
goal. The goal in question may be to obtain something that is rewarding or to escape
from something that is unpleasant.
Generalization and Reinforcement, which refers either to the delivery of a reward or pleasant
Discrimination stimulus, or to the removal of or escape from an aversive stimulus.
Response–outcome expectancy — that is, learns that a response will lead to a reward
outcome.
For example, a boy who has nearly drowned in a swimming pool may develop a
fear of water and a conditioned avoidance response in which he consistently avoids all
Observational Learning
large bodies of water.
- When a response is conditioned to one stimulus or set of stimuli, it can be evoked by
other, similar stimuli; this process is called generalization. A person who fears bees, for
Cognitive Behavioral
example, may generalize that fear to all flying insects.
Perspective
A process complementary to generalization is discrimination, which occurs when a
person learns to distinguish between similar stimuli and to respond differently to
them based on which ones are followed by reinforcement.
- Learning through observation alone, without directly experiencing an unconditioned stimulus (for
classical conditioning) or a reinforcer (for instrumental conditioning). (i.e. Albert Bandura’s Bobo Doll
Experiment) – Aggression

- Albert Bandura developed an early cognitive-behavioral perspective and placed

considerable emphasis on the cognitive aspects of learning. Bandura stressed that
human beings regulate behavior by internal symbolic processes.
- We learn by internal reinforcement. According to Bandura, we prepare ourselves for
difficult tasks, for example, by visualizing what the consequences would be if we did not
perform them.
Attributions, Attributional =We do not always require external reinforcement to alter our behavior patterns; our cognitive abilities
Style, and Psychopathology allow us to solve many problems internally.
- Human beings have “a capacity for self-direction”.
- Self-efficacy, the belief that one can achieve desired goals (1986, 1997).
- The cognitive or cognitive-behavioral perspective on abnormal behavior generally focuses on how
thoughts and information processing can become distorted and lead to maladaptive emotions and
behavior.
- A schema is an underlying representation of knowledge that guides the current processing of
information and often leads to distortions in attention, memory, and comprehension.
- Attribution theory has also contributed significantly to the cognitive-
behavioral approach (Gotlib & Abramson, 1999).
Attribution is simply the process of assigning causes to things that happen. We may
attribute behavior to external events such as rewards or punishments (“He did it for the
money”), or we may assume that the causes are internal and derive from traits within
ourselves or others (“He did it because he is so generous”).
Causal attributions help us explain our own or other people’s behaviors and make it
possible to predict what we or others are likely to do in the future.
Cognitive Therapy Attributional style is a characteristic way in which an individual tends to assign causes to
bad events or good events. For example, people with depression tend to attribute bad
events to internal, stable, and global causes (“I failed the test because I’m stupid” as
opposed to “I failed the test because the teacher was in a bad mood and graded it
unfairly”).
Nondepressed people tend to have what is called a self-serving bias in which they are
more likely to make internal, stable, and global attributions for positive rather than
negative events (Mezulis et al., 2004).
- Aaron Beck who is generally considered the founder of cognitive therapy.
- Fundamental to Beck’s perspective is the idea that the way we interpret events and
experiences determines our emotional reactions to them. Suppose, for example, that you
are sitting in your living room and hear a crash in the adjacent dining room. You remember
that you left the window open in the dining room and concluded that a gust of wind must
have knocked over your favorite vase, which was sitting on the table. You would probably
feel annoyed or angry.
- One central issue for cognitive therapy, then, is how best to alter distorted
and maladaptive cognitions. Example: People who interpret what happens
in their lives as a negative reflection of their self-worth are likely to feel
depressed.

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- Cognitive-behavioral clinicians use a variety of techniques designed to alter whatever negative cognitive
biases the client harbors. In contrast to, for example, psychodynamic practice, which assumes that diverse
problems are due to a limited array of intrapsychic conflicts (such as an unresolved Oedipus complex) and
tends not to focus treatment directly on a person’s particular problems or complaints.

Note:

Perspective we adopt has important

consequences: It influences our
perception of maladaptive behavior,
the types of evidence we look for, and
the way in which we are likely to
interpret data.

The Social Perspective

● - The events in one child’s life may be vastly different from those in another
child’s life whether they are predictable or controllable.
● Social factors are environmental influences—often unpredictable and uncontrollable
negative events—that can negatively affect a person psychologically, making him or
her less resourceful in coping with events.
● : (1) early deprivation or trauma, (2) problems in parenting style, (3) marital discord
Institutionalization and divorce, (4) low socioeconomic status and unemployment, (5) maladaptive
peer relationships, and (6) prejudice and discrimination.
Early Deprivation or Trauma
● Deprivation of such resources can occur in several forms. The most
severe manifestations of deprivation are usually seen among
abandoned or orphaned children. Some examples are, parents unable
(because of mental disorder) or unwilling to provide close and frequent
human attention and nurturing.
● Children are raised in an institution where, compared with an ordinary home,
there is likely to be significantly less warmth and physical contact; less
Separation
intellectual, emotional, and social stimulation; and a lack of encouragement and
help in positive learning.
● Many children institutionalized in infancy and early childhood show severe
emotional, behavioral, and learning problems and are at risk for disturbed
attachment relationships and psychopathology.
● Children raised in institutions from an early age show significant reductions in both
gray and white matter volume.
John Bowlby Attachment Theory

Parenting Style

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SUMMARY/CONCLUSION:

TOPIC: Week 4 – Clinical Assessment and Diagnosis

KEY WORDS/MAIN POINT NOTES/DEFINITION

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Clinical Diagnosis - is the process through which a clinician evaluates and classifies the patient’s symptoms according to a
clearly defined diagnostic system such as DSM-5.
Psychological Assessment - refers to a procedure by which clinicians, using psychological tests, observation, and interviews, develop
a summary of the client’s symptoms and problems.

Three Fundamental Concepts - is a term describing the degree to which an assessment measure produces the same result each time it is
- Reliability used to evaluate the same thing. So it is a measure of consistency.
Test-retest reliability whether a test result gives us a similar value today as it did a few days earlier.
Inter-rater reliability the degree to which different clinicians agree on the diagnosis that should be
assigned to summarize the symptoms of a particular patient. // asking for 2nd opinion of other clinicians
- Validity - is the extent to which a measuring instrument actually measures what it is supposed to measure.
- Standardization - is a process by which a psychological test is administered, scored, and interpreted in a consistent or
“standard” manner.
Importance of Assessment - to examine the client’s progress in treatment or to evaluate the outcome.
Initial Clinical Assessment, the clinician tries to identify the main dimensions of a client’s problem and to
predict the probable course of events under various conditions.
Pre-Treatment Assessment - baselines for various psychological functions
> Identification of the problem
> Baseline Establishment
> Diagnostic Clarity
> Comprehensive understanding
> Risk Assessment
> Treatment planning (formulation)
> Setting expectations (awareness)
> Facilitating Rapport
> External Factors
We need to know the ff: - Identify the problem
- Diagnosis
- Understand the individual’s response
- Long-term personality characteristics
Social Context Assessment
- Assess the environmental demands on the individual
Dynamic Formulation - support (system) or stressors in the individual’s life
- Psychodynamic-based hypothesis explaining a client’s behavioral, emotional, and cognitive patterns using
Treatment Decision underlying unconscious processes and past experiences
- it is a clinical determination about the best therapeutic approach
Important Factors influencing
the Assessment - Ensuring culturally sensitive assessment procedures
- Recommendations from APA Code of Ethics
- Cultural competence in testing
- Issues with Western-developed tests
Biologically Oriented Clinicians - focuses on biological factors. e.g examinations, neurological tests and genetic tests
Psychodynamic or - nonconscious, projective tests
Psychoanalitically
Behaviorally Oriented - behavioral observations and self monitoring
Clinicians
Cognitive Oriented Therapists - CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy)

Trust and Rapport Client – should feel & know the progress
- transparency
- confidentiality
- third party testing
- client motivation
Feedback – feedback on tests can be therapeutic (Harwood & Beutler, 2009)
- powerful clinical invention

Clinical Interview - central element of the assessment process

Structured Interview formal. Follows a format. All questions are asked of each client in a preset way, and
the interviewer is not supposed to change the order of the questions or to deviate from them in any way.
Semi Structured Interview specific order and specific way but depends on the clinician if he/she has extra
or follow-up question or clarification
Unstructured Interview are typically subjective and do not follow a predetermined set of questions.

SUMMARY/CONCLUSION:
TOPIC:
KEY WORDS/MAIN POINT NOTES/DEFINITION

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Clinical Observation - direct observation – to more about a person’s psychological functioning (through appearance)
Psychological Testing - sets of procedures and tasks designed for obtaining samples of behavior
Intelligence tests - Vocabulary (Verbal) – words
- Digit Span (Performance) – numbers

SUMMARY/CONCLUSION:

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