Psychopathology: Integrative Approach

An Integrative Approach to Psychopathology

• A multidimensional integrative approach considers multiple dimensions and their interactions when examining the causes of psychological disorders.
• Relevant dimensions include biological, psychological, emotional, social, cultural, and developmental factors.
• No single influence operates in isolation; each dimension is strongly influenced by the others and by development.
• These dimensions weave together in complex & intricate ways to create a psychological disorder.

One-Dimensional versus Multidimensional Models

• One-dimensional models attempt to trace the origins of behavior to a single cause.
• A linear causal model might suggest that schizophrenia or a phobia stems from a chemical imbalance or overwhelming family conflicts.
• Most scientists & clinicians believe that psychopathology stems from multiple influences.
• A system, or feedback loop, may have independent inputs at many different points.
• As inputs become part of the whole, each can no longer be considered independent.
• Causality is systemic, implying that any influence on psychopathology cannot be considered out of context.
• Context includes the individual's biology & behavior, as well as their cognitive, emotional, social, and cultural environment.
• A multidimensional model considers the complex network of interacting factors.

What Caused Janelle's Phobia?

• Janelle's blood-injection-injury phobia can be better understood using a multidimensional perspective.

Behavioral Influences

• Janelle saw a movie with graphic scenes of blood and injury & had a bad reaction.
• Her unconditioned response allegedly became associated with similar situations.
• However, this explanation does not address the fact that no other children in the class developed a phobia.

Biological Influences

• Vasovagal syncope may be involved in blood-injection-injury phobia.
• Physiologically, Janelle experienced a vasovagal syncope, resulting in a "sinking feeling" caused by low blood pressure in the head.
• The sinoaortic baroreflex arc compensates for sudden increases in blood pressure by lowering it.
• The tendency to overcompensate may be inherited and may account for the high rate of blood-injection-injury phobia in families.
• People cope with their syncope reaction tendencies by tensing their muscles which quickly raises blood pressure and prevents the fainting response.
• Furthermore, some people with little or no syncope reaction develop the phobia anyway, therefore it is more complicated.

Emotional Influences

• A complex interaction must occur between emotional, cognitive, social, biological, and behavioral factors to cause blood-injection-injury phobia.
• Rapid increases in heart rate caused by her emotions may have triggered a stronger and more intense baroreflex, and may have affected belief.
• Emotions can thus affect physiological responses like blood pressure and heart rate.
• Emotions also changed the way she thought about situations involving blood and injury
• Prompted her to behave in ways to avoid situations connected with blood and injury, even if it was important not to avoid them.

Social Influences

• Social influences are always present and have direct contributions to biology and behavior
• Janelle's friends and family rushed to her aid when she fainted, which may or may not be helpful (increase frequency + intensity the reaction)
• Principal rejected her and dismissed her problem, and rejection from authority figures can make psychological disorders worse than they otherwise would be.

Developmental Influences

• Time affects us, and we react differently at different ages.
• Critical periods are when we are more or less reactive at a given time.
• It's possible the timing of her reaction, along with viewing the disturbing film, provided just the right combination to initiate her severe phobic response.

Outcome and Comments

• Janelle responded well to brief but intensive treatment at one of clinics, and was back in school within 7 days.
• Briefly, Janelle was gradually exposed to words, images, and situations describing or depicting blood and injury.
• Discussion in more depth is conducted underlying the many biological, psychological, and social influences that must be considered as causes.

Concept Check 2.1

• (1) The fact that some phobias are more common than others is evidence for the biological influence.
• (2) Mina's nausea at the smell of her ex-husbands aftershave is the result of a behavioral influence.
• (3) Ichiro's greater difficulty to parents separation can best be explained by developmental influences.
• (4) the initial development of Isabella's development can be traced to behavioral influences, however emotional influences are probably perpetuating it.

Genetic Contributions to Psychopathology

• Genes determine our appearance. However, environmental factors such as nutrition, social, and cultural aspects also influence physical appearance.
• Genes provide development boundaries.
• Huntington's disease, intellectual disability-degenerative brain disease & phenylketonuria (PKU), intellectual disability-caused defect a single gene.
• PKU inherited when both parents are carriers can be corrected by restricting phenylalanine.
• Behavioral traits, traits, likes and dislikes, genes influence personality, abnormal behavior.
• The answers emerging in fascinating in the nature (genes) versus nurture (upbringing / environmental influences).

The Nature of Genes

• Genome is a full set genetic instructions in DNA.
• 46 chromosomes arranged in 23 pairs.
• The first 22 pairs of chromosomes provide programs or directions for the development of the body and brain.
• The last pair, sex chromosomes (X and Y), determine an individual's sex.
• DNA molecule shape is double helix (spiral staircase).
• Ladder steps of the four nucleotides with their nucleobases are adenine, cytosine, guanine, or thymine. Adenine + thymine/cytosine + guanine form pairs.
• Allele specific location a chromosome that codes for a gene-alternative/variant forms of genes at each location.
• The phenotype is the outward appearance of a person (organism).
• The genotype genes a specific gene-polymorphism (poly=many and morph=form).
• Human genome is the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP).
• Replace the nucleotide thymine (T) might nucleotide cyctosine (C) DNA (GCATCG versus GCACCG). Biological marker scientists use to help find genes that are associated with diseases.

New Developments in the Study of Genes and Behavior

• Preliminary way, genetic contribution psych disorders related behavior patterns.
• About half/portion our enduring cognitive abilities to genetic influence.
• Turkheimer, Haley, Waldron, D'Onofrio, & Gottesman (2003) demonstrated chaotic childhood can overwhelm the influence of genes.
• Lyons member a variability change in cognitive abilities changes dramatically because of some stressful event death.

• The Diathesis-Stress Model scientists have assumed a specific method interaction genes/environment. According this individuals inherit express certain traits/behaviors, activated under conditions stress.
• Each inherited tendency diathesis, susceptibility developing disorder. Right/appropriate a disorder will develop.
• Inherited a genetic tendency the faint seeing blood, tendency would not certain environmental conditions seeing dissection.
• Caspi group individuals New Zealand who different assessments for more two decades starting age 3. Investigators the gene that produces a chemical transporter affects transmission serotonin produces substance 5-HTT.
• Serotonin a in depression and related disorders allele: long short. Animal two allele coping better stress people two short (SS). (LL).
• Individuals (LL), severe doubled people (SS). In

• The Gene-Environment Correlation Model with additional study the complex.
• Some evidence indicates that genetic experience stressful life events, people a certain to blood-injury-injection phobia (for example, impulsiveness see blood.
• Accident prone rushing there’s not genetic (Jaffee, 2011 Kendler, 2011; Thapar & McGuffin, 2009).
• A reciprocal gene or relationship difficult certain that in stress divorce genes, intergenerational (Salvatore this genes related having problems this this can help to determine.

Epigenetics and the Nongenetic

• "Inheritance" of Behavior affects fundamental ways with telomeres. These structures chromosome aging studies stress telomere length
• Maternal affecting stress transmitted generation independent this expression transmission stress

Concept Check 2.2

• F. the first 20 pairs do not determine brain and body traits.
• F. individual genes major identified disorders.
• T. diathesis express environment certain conditions.
• F. influence triggering are to stress related diathesis.
• Environmental our alone, nature genetics environment.

Neuroscience and Its Contributions to Psychopathology

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The brain contains are a throughout the nervous the through

• The neuron body with two with many receptors the form cell may connected are of more computer. The initiative through to the organizations facet. The of the action axon
• Are Each neuron the button There impulse synapse and the

Figures 2.6 and Figure 2.12

• is another glia is a area in function Neurotransmitter synthesis axon release Post synaptic receptors for neurotransmitter that affects reuptake

Neuroscience and its Contributions to Psychopathology. For study have focus neurons: Norepinephrine, also serotonin, mainly transmitter-Glutamate

• Is primarily excitatory likelihood inhibitory The for to certain disorders
• The of the the and two parts of to body The of is more and