PSYCH336 Chapter Notes - Chapter 3: Acute Stress Reaction, World Health Organization, Dsm-5

• School: University of Waterloo
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYCH336
• Professor: Pamela Seeds

Document Summary

C ha pt er 3 : c la ssi fi c at i on a n d di a gn osi s. Everyone is influenced by genetics, physiology, life experiences, and current life circumstances. Scientists much search for common elements of human behavior in the ocean of uniqueness to describe, understand, and predict the responses of others: we tend to categorize, classify and search for patterns to manage the complexities of life. Involves assigning a diagnosis (ex. have mdd or not have mdd) Categories may or may not be overlapping, but those assigned to a category should be similar: dimensional approach (to classification) classified entities differ in the extent to which they possess certain characteristics or properties. Indicate possible causes of the current condition (ex. etiology) Possible drawbacks of a diagnostic system for mental disorders: In contrast to neo-kraepelinian assumptions, two people with the same diagnosis may not have exactly the same disorder and may require some different treatment.