PSY2012 Lecture Notes - Lecture 23: Social Stigma, Mental Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Document Summary
Involves behavior that is: deviant: atypical relative to the masses, maladaptive: d(cid:455)sfu(cid:374)(cid:272)tio(cid:374)al, as it i(cid:374)flue(cid:374)(cid:272)es o(cid:374)e"s a(cid:271)ilities to (cid:374)or(cid:373)all(cid:455) (cid:272)arr(cid:455) out dail(cid:455) tasks, and personally distressing and causes despair. Biological approach: aptly named and focuses on the fact certain disorders stem from biological reasons: genetics is one of them. So(cid:272)io(cid:272)ultural approa(cid:272)h: (cid:272)e(cid:374)ters o(cid:374) the so(cid:272)ial (cid:272)o(cid:374)te(cid:454)t of o(cid:374)e"s disorder. For example, years ago, homosexuality was deemed a diagnosable disorder. There may be disorders that exist now that may be called something else or may be eradicated altogether. Pros of this system: provides common basis for communication: one can identify similar cases and use a successful solution that was found in a previous case. It can also help in the process of predicting what may happen next. Lastly, giving a name to a disease can provide comfort to the patient. Cons labels may lead to a social stigma due to their negative reputations.
