PSYC1023 Lecture Notes

WEEK 1 – INTRO TO PSYCHOPATHOLOGY 2

What is “abnormal”? 2
DSM Classification and Assessment 4
The who’s who of mental health 6

WEEK 2 – HISTORY OF PSYCHOPATHOLOGY 8

Early Approaches to Studying the Mind 8
The 20th Century and Beyond 9
The Scientific Method 10
From Research to Treatment 11
WEEK 1 – INTRO TO PSYCHOPATHOLOGY

What is “abnormal”?
Psychopathology = abnormal psychology
Abnormal: Something that is undesirable and some sort of change is needed.
- Violation of social norms: when people violate these “rules” that govern what is
and isn’t acceptable in society, it may be indicative of an underlying mental
illness.
- Relying on this to define abnormality is problematic as social norms vary
depending on cultures.
- Violating social norms have been the catalysts and methods of revolution to
benefit society. (Eddie Mabo, Rosa Parks, Joan of Arc)
DSM-5: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
- Involves a significant difficulty in thinking, feeling, or behaving – symptoms seen
as maladaptive (more harmful than helpful – not adjusting appropriately) and
usually distressing the individual or those around them.
- Symptoms often impair person’s social or occupation functioning.
- Whilst these symptoms often violate social norms, they are not solely due to
social deviance or cultural differences.

What types of things are considered in the DSM definition of

abnormality?
Abnormality: Psychological dysfunctions associated with distress or impairment in
function – a reaction that is not typical or culturally expected.
A psychological dysfunction is a cognitive, emotional, or behavioural function
breaking down.
What is meant by the “Statistical Definition of Abnormality”?
The widely accepted definition of abnormality that was derived from research
conducted by psychological scientists to create a standardised definition.
“behavioural, psychological, or biological dysfunctions that are unexpected in their
cultural context and associated with present distress and impairment in function, or
increased risk of suffering, death, pain, or impairment.”

Why is depression considered abnormal when it is so common?

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What are some implications of defining abnormality purely on social
norms?
Social norms differ within different cultures and social settings hence what might be
acceptable may be unacceptable somewhere else. Sometimes something is
considered abnormal when it deviates from average but it is not the definition of
abnormal or disorder.

When would personal distress not be relevant for defining abnormality?

It is normal to be in distress – it is part of human life which leads to the disorders of
which cause a person’s feelings of distress or suffering to be absent, abnormal.
Psychological disorders are categorised as extreme expressions of otherwise normal
emotions, behaviours, and cognitive processes.
DSM Classification and Assessment
The DSM-5 allows mental health professionals to have a generalised suite of
symptoms.
- provides clients and clinicians with confidence that their diagnosis will be the
same no matter where they are in the world.
- the fifth edition recognises cultural differences – there is an entire section
dedicated to helping clinicians understand the effect of different cultural
upbringings.
- provides an accepted, evidence-based treatment. (researchers running
carefully controlled experiments to find out which treatment works best for
different disorders)
Classification and diagnosis also have legal and administrative ramifications.
- a standardised classification system is needed to diagnose PTSD so that
emergency service personnel can receive workers compensations when entitled
to it.
Classification can also create stigma.
- others labelling person diagnosed or self-stigma.
- some disorders can also run risk of a person unconsciously “playing the role”
after diagnosis or can hold onto the diagnosis preventing recovery.
Diagnosis can also trivialise experiences.
- being told that feelings of depression/anxiety are common and that other people
are facing worse experiences
DSM-5 conceptualises disorder as polythetic (a disorder has several symptoms and
a person with that disorder may not display every symptom). It is also seen as
categorical (disorder and symptoms are either present or absent)
- allows specialists to differentiate between disorders
Sometimes symptoms cluster so well that the person may be diagnosed with two or
more comorbid disorders.
- some researchers argue that they may not be distinct disorders, rather a
dimensional approach would be more appropriate.
- Asperger’s and autism are now Autism Spectrum Disorder
Scientists decide on an operational definition and how the variable is going to be
define and measured.
Operational definition of a major depressive episode in DSM-5 states that:
- at least 5 of the following must be present during same 2 week period, and
represent a change from previous functioning: at least one of the symptoms is
either depressed mood or loss of interest or please.
- must not be a side effect from medication or substance abuse
 - depressed mood
- anhedonia or a markedly diminished interest of pleasure in all, or almost all,
activities
- significant change in appetite or weight
- insomnia or hypersomnia
- psychomotor agitation or retardation
- fatigue or loss of energy
- feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt
- diminished ability to think, concentrate, or make decisions.
- recurrent thoughts of suicide, death
DSM-5 also includes other info from research such as typical age of onset,
prognosis, prevalence, and differential diagnosis to help clinicians differentiate
disorders.
What are some of the benefits of using a classification system like DSM?
The DSM provides a generalised definition and resource to classify disorders across
the world.

What are some of the drawbacks of classifying mental illnesses?

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What is meant by the term “evidence-based treatment”?

Researchers running carefully controlled experiments to find out which treatment
works best for different disorders.

How can mental illness be viewed as categorical?

Disorder and symptoms are either present or absent

What is meant by a dimensional view of mental health and illness?

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The who’s who of mental health
Psychologist: one on one therapy to help people work on mental health. uses
evidence based interventions with a really solid foundation of research behind them.
(works in community centres, private practices, prisons, non-profit organisations,
hospitals)
- requires special training and be registered with Australian Health Practitioner
Regulation Agency AHPRA
- five year undergrad training, one year internship or fifth and sixth year masters
Endorsements: complete specialised training in form of masters (clinical,
organisational, forensic)
Psychological scientist: researchers who apply science to study of psychology
(brain, behaviour, cognition, emotions, physiology, social interactions)
Psychiatrist: medical doctors in mental health
Social worker: help people manage difficulties, enhance wellbeing, but also work in
counselling, etc. Not registered with AHPRA but have Australian Association of
Social Workers.
The terms counsellor, therapist, psychotherapist are more the type of work rather
than profession.
What is a psychologist and what do they do?
uses evidence based interventions with a really solid foundation of research behind
them

In what ways is a psychologist different from councillor, social worker,

psychotherapist, or psychiatrist?
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How are the titles “Psychologist” and “Clinical Psychologist” different?

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What are some of the benefits of AHPRA registration?

Protects the name of a psychologist to allow consumers and clinicians have a trusted
system and confidence in treatment and consultancy due to the training and
requirements enforced by the AHPRA.
What is the difference between a Psychologist and a Psychological
Scientist?
Psychological scientists conduct the research that psychologists use to do their jobs.
Neuroscience elements to assist the progression of treatments done by
psychologists.
WEEK 2 – HISTORY OF PSYCHOPATHOLOGY

Early Approaches to Studying the Mind

Explain how Ancient Egyptian and Greek physicians practices a form of

empirical science.

How was Hippocrates philosophy of illness and treatment different from

previous thinking?

How was mental illness viewed in the Middle Ages?

What were the main purposes of mental asylums?

How did the psychological tradition differ from supernatural and

biological traditions?
The 20th Century and Beyond

What are some of the pros and cons of drug therapies?

How did Freud’s philosophy differ from others that came before him?

Why has psychodynamic theory fallen out of favour with modern

psychologists?

What is meant by the term “self-actualising”?

Which aspect of person-centred therapy remains important in modern

psychology?
The Scientific Method

Why are classical and operant conditioning called “associative

learning”?

Give examples of an unconditioned stimulus, unconditioned response,

conditioned stimulus, and conditioned response.

In learning term, what is “extinction” and how is it achieved?

Define the terms reliability and validity.

Give examples of positive and negative reinforcement and positive and

negative punishment.
From Research to Treatment

Why would researchers collective multiple physiological measures in an

experiment?

The number of times a person’s heart beats per minute can give an
indication of the emotion that a person is feeling. What does heart-rate
variability indicate?

Why might facial EMG not be an accurate representation of the emotion

a person is feeling?

fMRI produces images that represent a correlation between ____ and ___

What do we mean by the terms “necessary” and “sufficient” in terms of

brain activation?