PSY240H5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Demonic Possession, Spirit Possession, Medical Test
Document Summary
Mental illness, genetic predisposition, behavior caused by identifiable disease, problem: no medical test that identifies this process, maladaptiveness. Harmful dysfunction of the internal mechanisms to perform naturally selected functions. Dysfunctional system must cause harm to be a sufficient criterion. Dimensional: not as black/white, symptoms don"t always fit in diagnoses, movement towards a continuum. The idea that there are certain aspects that are hard-wired and lead us to be more/less resilient to stress. Some people complain more, and some people are more vulnerable to succumbing to psychological illness. Diathesis: a vulnerability or predisposition to developing a disorder. Stress: life event that acts a trigger for a emergency of a disorder. Amount of stress that triggers a disorder depends on the diathesis, or predisposition. Supernatural theories: divine intervention, demonic possession, personal sin. Psychological theories: mental disorders as the result of trauma. Spirit possession, so magic and incantations as treatment.
