Psychopathology aka “Abnormal psychology” Yeah, but who gets to define “normal?” Gay? be my slave? Yes, some cases are fully socially constructed. And yes, there is some room for gray areas. But, this doesn’t negate the biological reality of brain disease (psychopathology) Similar case with gender: there is cultural influence as well as biological.

Drawing the line: When does abnormal behavior become psychopathology? When is debilitating and/or distressing 1. Doing physical harm to self or others (suicidal, anorexic, psychopath) 2. Can’t carry out regular responsibilities such as job or school (ADHD, alcoholism) 3.Inability to enjoy life (depression, OCD)

Are psychiatric diagnoses…? Unreliable: No –for major mental disorders, interrater reliability is high Pigeonholing people, sorting them into ‘boxes’: No –Patients are people too Stigmatizing: Maybe - Better than being demonized, though

people with an underlying vulnerability for a psychology disorders start to exhibit symptoms when put under stressful circumstances

Diagnosis How do we determine whether someone is sick? Interview –Structured interview –Open ended interview; Symptoms: (history: onset, duration) Pattern of symptoms (syndrome)

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) It provides guidelines on diagnosis of mental disease First published in Most recent in 1994 (DSM-IV) Some Limitations 1. Categorical model (all or nothing) instead of continuum (dimensional) 2. It doesn’t help explain cause (“Naming is not explaining”) 3. Often overlap between disorders (co-morbidity): depression-anxiety 4. In practice, symptoms not as clear as described in the manual (e.g., what counts as ‘intrusive thoughts’)