An Integrative Approach to Psychopathology PDF

An Integrative Approach to Psychopathology  One-Dimensional versus Multidimensional Models  The one-dimensional model proposes a single factor as the cause of psychopathology while the multi-dimensional model integrates multiple causes of psychopathology and affirms that e...

An Integrative Approach to Psychopathology  One-Dimensional versus Multidimensional Models  The one-dimensional model proposes a single factor as the cause of psychopathology while the multi-dimensional model integrates multiple causes of psychopathology and affirms that each cause comes to affect other causes over time. There is no individual model that completely explains human behavior and so each model contributes in its own way. Judy... The Girl Who Fainted at the Sight of Blood Judy, a 16-year-old, was referred to our anxiety disorders clinic after increasing episodes of fainting. About 2 years earlier, in Judy’s first biology class, the teacher had shown a movie of a frog dissection to illustrate various points about anatomy. This was a particularly graphic film, with vivid images of blood, tissue, and muscle. About halfway through, Judy felt a bit lightheaded and left the room. But the images did not leave her. She continued to be bothered by them and occasionally felt slightly queasy. She began to avoid situations in which she might see blood or injury. She stopped looking at magazines that might have gory pictures. She found it difficult to look at raw meat, or even Band-Aids, because they brought the feared images to mind. Eventually, anything her friends or parents said that evoked an image of blood or injury caused Judy to feel lightheaded. It got so bad that if one of her friends exclaimed, “Cut it out!” she felt faint.  Beginning about 6 months before her visit to the clinic, Judy actually fainted when she unavoidably encountered something bloody. Her family physician could find nothing wrong with her, nor could several other physicians. By the time she was referred to our clinic, she was fainting 5 to 10 times a week, often in class. Clearly, this was problematic for her and disruptive in school; each time Judy fainted, the other students flocked around her, trying to help, and class was interrupted. Because no one could find anything wrong with her, the principal finally concluded that she was being manipulative and suspended her from school, even though she was an honor student. Judy was suffering from what we now call blood– injection– injury phobia. Her reaction was quite severe, thereby meeting the criteria for phobia, a psychological disorder characterized by marked and persistent fear of an object or situation. But many people have similar reactions that are not as severe when they receive an injection or see someone who is injured, whether blood is visible or not. For people who react as severely as Judy, this phobia can be disabling. They may avoid certain careers, such as medicine or nursing, and, if they are so afraid of needles and injections that they avoid them even when they need them, they put their health at risk. The Diathesis-Stress Model  According to this diathesis – stress model, individuals inherit tendencies to express certain traits or behaviors, which may then be activated under conditions of stress. Each inherited tendency is a diathesis, which means, literally, a condition that makes someone susceptible to developing a disorder. When the right kind of life event, such as a certain type of stressor, comes along, the disorder develops. The Gene–Environment Correlation Model  Genes affect environments indirectly, via behavior and personality characteristics. Associations between individual genetic variants and behaviors are typically small in magnitude, and downstream effects on environmental risk are further attenuated by behavioral mediation. Nature of Genes  Normal human cell has 46 chromosomes arranged in 23 pairs. One chromosome in each pair comes from the father and one from the mother.  The 22 pairs provided directions for the development of the body and brain.  The last pair called sex chromosomes.  XX = Female  XY = Male The Nervous System  Is a complex network of nerves and cells that controls and regulates all bodily functions, including movement, sensation, thought, emotion, and memory. It is made up of two main parts: the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral nervous system (PNS). Type of Neurons  Motor neurons take signals from your brain and spinal cord to your muscles. They help you move. They also assist with breathing, swallowing and speaking.  Sensory neurons take information from your senses (what you see, touch, taste, etc.) to your brain. The Nervous System  Thenervous system consists of two main parts: the central nervous system (CNS), which includes the brain and spinal cord, and the peripheral nervous system (PNS), which consists of nerves branching off from the spinal cord and connecting to all parts of the body. The Nervous System  Somatic Nervous System – Voluntary movements  Autonomic Nervous System – Involuntary movements The Nervous System  Sympathetic nervous system: Activates body processes in times of stress or danger, responsible for the "fight-or-flight" response.  Parasympathetic nervous system: Controls homeostasis and the body at rest, responsible for the "rest and digest" function Conditioning and Cognitive Processes  Ivan Pavlov – Classical Conditioning  B.F. Skinner – Operant Conditioning  Albert Bandura – Social Learning Theory Learned Helplessness  Proponents are Martin Seligman and Steven Maier. Learned helplessness is a psychological phenomenon12345where an individual or animal, after experiencing repeated challenges or aversive stimuli, believes they have no control over their situation12345. As a result, they give up trying to make changes and accept their fate. This phenomenon can occur in both humans and animals.