PSYC 3230 Chapter Notes -Neuroscience, Sympathetic Nervous System, Psychopathology
3 Feb 2013
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Document Summary
Two main streams of thought concerning mental disorders, roughly following the nature/nurture distinction. Tends to dismiss or downplay the influence of experience in the development of disorders. Leads to the formulation of a diagnostic system that classifies people as disordered. Implies that physical interventions should be the treatments of choice. Tends to emphasize external factors (e. g. , poverty, parenting style) in the development of disorders. Treatment involves either manipulating the environment or (for those who adopt a cognitive-behavioral perspective) modifying the perceptions people have regarding their experiences and themselves. Dysfunctional behavior is caused by factors beyond the individual"s control. Caused by a mixture of internal and external factors. The perspective taken when examining the cause of psychopathology . No one perspective can provide a complete explanation for the origins of psychological disorders. A theory is useful not so much because it is true, but because it generates research that leads to an increase in knowledge.
