PSYCH 270 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Personal Distress, Dsm-5, Brain Fever
Document Summary
Book notes chapter 1 introduction and historical overview first half. Psychopathology--the field concerned with nature, development, and treatment of psychological disorders. The field is continually developing and adding new findings. But our closeness to the subject adds to its intrinsic fascination. Stigma --the destructive beliefs and attitudes held by a society that are ascribed to groups considered different in some manner. People with the label are seen as different. Acquisition of knowledge does not ensure the end of stigma. Stigmas have been creative in their use of social media. Defining psychological disorders is too broad and too narrow if its is based on social norms. Social norms vary a great deal across cultures and ethnic groups. A behavior that is harmful requires some standard (depending on social norms and values) the characteristic just described. Said to occur when an internal mechanism is unable to perform its natural function. The function that it evolved to perform.
