PSY100H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Social Anxiety Disorder, Biopsychosocial Model, Anxiety Disorder
Topic 11 - Abnormal Psychology
Psychopathology: something to keep in mind
● the process of diagnosing someone with a specific disorder is an inexact science,
and struggles with precision in diagnosis and treatment, for many reasons
● when people are in the state of instability, they need help
○ clarifying things for yourselves is helpful
■ so if you get the label, you might feel assured because there are at
least helps and it makes sense
● but the process of diagnosing is not exact science. When people are in this hopeless
state, they can be very easily misdiagnosed
○ the boundary between normal and abnormal?
○ keep in mind that whatever label you get, it's just an educated guess
■ overlap of symptoms
● the perception, biases and errors of psychologist making the diagnosis is
subjective
● some practitioners are more effective on some people
● e.g. rates of MPD increased dramatically!
● e.g. depression vs. the blue; anxiety disorders vs. being; OCD vs. being cautious
○ how can you tell? where is the boundary
ADHD
3 key symptoms: inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity
Self-fulfilling prophecies
● once someone has been labeled with a disorder, that label carries
● e.g. what if you label someone with schizophrenia?
○ being sane in an insane place
○ 8 normal people pretend to be hearing voices - 7 diagnosed schizophrenia
■ then try to get out
Recall from last lecture - Diagnosis: it is useful to remember the subjectivity and comorbidity
So, how do the good doctors tell if someone has a disorder?
● e.g. a girl walked in
○ conversation lasted 5 minutes - feeling distress
○ doctor established that she wasn’t suicidal or harmful -- antidepressant
prescribed
■ no discussion for life, potential coping strategies, side effect etc
● we have a good understanding of disorders -- they manifest themselves in their own
systems -- there are many different ways of approaching the disorder
● should take a holistic look at the person and have multiple criteria for determining a
diagnosis
○ conclusion is powerful - it can fix one’s stereotype
Psychopathology: Something to keep in mind...
● The process of diagnosing someone with a specific disorder is an inexact science, for
many reasons:
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find more resources at oneclass.com
○ the perceptions, biases, and errors of psychologists doing the diagnosing
○ the multifaceted nature of disorders
The Self-fulfilling Prophecy of Labels
● Once someone has been labeled with a disorder, that label carries a great deal of
weight, affecting both how they see themselves, how they behave, and how others
will see them.
● e.g., “being sane in insane places”
Evaluating Psychopathology: 3 Macro-Criteria
● guide themselves, function outside
● 1) Deviance: is the person’s behaviour or experience outside of social norms?
○ the level of dysfunction lie outside what normal people would do?
○ not perfect criteria because people can be deviated by lots of factors
■ people with a characteristic that the majority of the population don't
have-- deviant-- but they are normal
■ e.g. middle age crisis; religious convergent;
● 2) Maladaptive: is it interfering with other, “normal” aspects of life, responsibilities,
etc.?
○ you can be maladaptive but they are not pathologic
■ e.g. Terry Fox’s life (people think he’s going to fail; rejection)
● 3) Personal distress: is the person greatly distressed?
○ if they are not, are their loved ones distressed
■ chemicals, addiction
■ e.g. personality disorder
■ all of us are dysfunctional for some certain time
we spend most of our life in the middle
disorder is a thing that we all havem just to different degrees
Understanding Disorders at Multiple Levels of Analysis
biopsychosocial model - a holistic model
disorders involve a multifaceted system of factors:
● Neurochemical (e.g., neurotransmitter problems)
○ appealing to pharmaceutical industry
● Anatomical: lack of development of different brain system
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○ biomedical mechanisms - not the most powerful
● Physiological (e.g., illness, exhaustion, NUTRITION!!!)
○ overall stress load
○ eg. movement- mental disorder is recognized as physiological problem and
emphasize nutrition: they contribute to neurological transmitter
○ an average doctor has no training in nutrition
● Cognitive (e.g., explanatory style)
○ manifest as a habit of dysfunctional thinking
○ a difference lense
● Affective (e.g., reward responsivity)
● Behavioural: (e.g., goal striving, interpersonal engagement/withdrawal, hygiene)
● Environmental: (e.g., pollutants, crime, home/ community disorganization)
● Interpersonal: (e.g., family conflict, social support, isolation)
● the multiple approach allow people to get analogy from different aspect
○ without it, people will fall back to their own trainings
○ convergence of multiple treatment factors
○ the disorder can be treated in many different approached
Example: a simplified model of depression
● e.g. cognitive scientist might get into control belief -- lead to behaviour -- no
successful outcomes, which reinforces the negativity
● e.g. if you’re familiar with interpersonal approach -- expect that they are not going to
be socially functional -- self focused
● having this holistic system is very important
The role we play in others: psychological disorders
● social psychology: we play a huge role in each other’s dysfunction
● humans are fundamentally social creature - social factors (belonging and. loneliness,
identity validation, social support, criticism etc.) play a huge role in psychological
disorders,
○ loneliness is hard to deal with, conversely a sense of belonging is the
biggest contributor to psychological resilience
○ secure identity: if its’ not validated or accepted by other people
● serving as contributing cases to disorders, determine whether people seek help for
their disorder
○ stigma: hard to reach out - eg. may lead to resistance to getting help
● play a key role in the therapeutic process itself, (ie. relationship with warm,
empathetic, trusted therapist,), can help or hinder therapy, and are a primary
resource for coping (eg. social support )
○ psychodynamic
● e.g. research testing different approaches:
○ these treatment all seem to work to some degree and not for other people -
the modality doesn’t have variance
○ the relationship between clients and therapist pay a huge role!
■ so if you have a warm, trusting relationship with other members, but
there are a few problems
● transference: project the issue into another person
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
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Document Summary
Psychopathology: something to keep in mind the process of diagnosing someone with a specific disorder is an inexact science, and struggles with precision in diagnosis and treatment, for many reasons. When people are in the state of instability, they need help. So if you get the label, you might feel assured because there are at. But the process of diagnosing is not exact science. Keep in mind that whatever label you get, it"s just an educated guess. Overlap of symptoms the perception, biases and errors of psychologist making the diagnosis is subjective. Some practitioners are more effective on some people. E. g. depression vs. the blue; anxiety disorders vs. being; ocd vs. being cautious. How can you tell? where is the boundary. Once someone has been labeled with a disorder, that label carries. 8 normal people pretend to be hearing voices - 7 diagnosed schizophrenia then try to get out.
