PSYC 1010 Lecture Notes - Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder, Dissociative Identity Disorder, Somatic Symptom Disorder

• School: York University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 1010
• Professor: all

Document Summary

The medical model assumes that it is useful to view abnormal behaviour as a disease. This view has been criticized on the grounds that it turns questions about deviance into medical questions. Nonetheless, the medical model has proven useful, although one should remember that it is only an analogy. Three criteria are used in deciding whether people suffer from psychological disorders: deviance, personal distress and maladaptive behaviour. Often it is dif cult to clearly draw a line between normality and abnormality. Contrary to popular stereotypes, people with psychological disorders are not particularly bizarre or dangerous, and even the most severe disorders are treatable. His study showed that the distinction between normality and abnormality is not clear-cut. Dsm-iv is the of cial psychodiagnostic classi cation system. This system asks for information about patients on ve axes, or dimensions. It is dif cult to obtain good data on the prevalence of psychological disorders.