PowerPoint Lecture Notes Presentation
Chapter 2
Current Paradigms in
Psychopathology
Abnormal Psychology,
Thirteenth Edition
by
Ann M. Kring,
Sheri L. Johnson,
Gerald C. Davison,
& John M. Neale
© 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.
Chapter Outline
Chapter 2: Current Paradigms in
Psychopathology
I. The Genetic Paradigm
II. The Neuroscience Paradigm
III. The Cognitive Behavioral Paradigm
IV. Factors That Cut Across the
Paradigms
V. Diathesis-Stress: An Integrative
Paradigm
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Notion of a Paradigm
Goal: Study abnormal behavior
scientifically
Science aims for objectivity
Paradigm (Thomas Kuhn)
• Perspective or conceptual framework from
within which a scientist operates
We can never be totally objective; subjective
factors interfere
No one paradigm sufficient to
completely explain psychopathology
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Current Paradigms:
Genetic
Heredity plays a role in most
behavior
Genes
• Carriers of genetic information (DNA)
• Impacted by environmental influences
e.g., stress, relationships, culture
Relationship between genes and
environment is bidirectional
• Nature via nurture (Ridley, 2003)
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Important Genetic Terms
Gene expression
• Proteins influence whether the action of a
specific gene will occur
Polygenic transmission
• Multiple gene pairs vs. single gene
Heritability
• Extent to which variability in behavior is due to
genetic factors
Heritability estimate ranges from 0.00 to 1.00
Group, rather than individual, indicator
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Environmental Effects
Shared environment
• Events and experiences that family members
have in common
Nonshared environment
• Events and experiences that are unique to
each family member
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Behavior Genetics
Study of the degree to which genes and
environmental factors influence behavior
Genotype
• Genetic material inherited by an individual
• Unobservable
Phenotype
• Expressed genetic material
• Observable behavior and characteristics
• Depends on interaction of genotype and
environment
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Molecular Genetics
Identifies particular genes and their functions
• Alleles
Different forms of the same gene
• Polymorphism
Difference in DNA sequence on a gene occurring in a
population
SNPs (Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms)
• Identify differences in sequence of genes
CNVs (Copy Number Variations)
• Identify differences in structure of genes; can be
additions or deletions in DNA within genes
Knockout studies
• Removing specific genes in animals to observe effect on
behavior
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Figure 2.1:
Chemical
Bases of
DNA
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Figure 2.3:
SNP Between Two People
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Gene-Environment Interaction
Gene-environment interaction
• One’s response to a specific environmental
event is influenced by genes
Epigenetics
• Study of how the environment can alter gene
expression or function
• Cross-fostering adoptee method
Rats born to mothers with low parenting skills who were
raised by mothers with high parenting skills showed
lower levels of stress reactivity (Francis et al., 1999)
Environment (mothering) was responsible for turning on
(or turning up) the expression of a particular gene
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Figure 2.4: Gene-Environment
Interaction (Adapted from Caspi et al., 2003)
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Reciprocal Gene-Environment
Interaction
Genes predispose individuals to seek
out situations that increase the
likelihood of developing a disorder.
• Adolescent girls with genetic vulnerability
for depression more likely to experience
events that can trigger depression (Silberg et
al., 1999)
• Dependent life events influenced by genes
(Kendler and Baker, 2007)
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Current Paradigms:
Neuroscience
Examines the contribution of brain
structure and function to
psychopathology
• Mental disorders are linked to aberrant
processes in the brain.
Three major components:
• Neurons and neurotransmitters
• Brain structure and function
• Neuroendocrine system
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Figure 2.5: The Neuron:
Basic Unit of the Nervous System
Neurons
• Cells of the nervous system
Four major parts
• Cell body
• Dendrites
• Axons
• Terminal buttons
Nerve Impulse
• Dendrites or cell body
stimulated
• Travels downs axon to terminal
Synapse
• Gap between neurons
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Figure 2.6:
Neurotransmitters
Neurotransmitter
• Chemicals that allow
neurons to send a signal
across the synapse to
another neuron
Receptor sites on
postsynaptic neuron
absorb neurotransmitter
• Excitatory
• Inhibitory
Reuptake
• Reabsorption of leftover
neurotransmitter by
presynaptic neuron
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Neurotransmitters and
Psychopathology
Serotonin and dopamine
• Implicated in depression, mania, and schizophrenia
Norepinephrine
• Implicated in anxiety and other stress-related disorders
Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)
• Inhibits nerve impulses
• Implicated in anxiety
Possible mechanisms
• Excessive or inadequate levels
• Insufficient reuptake
• Excessive number or sensitivity of postsynaptic receptors
• Second messengers help neurons adjust receptor sensitivity after
periods of high activity
Agonist drugs stimulate neurotransmitter receptor
sites
Antagonist drugs dampen neurotransmitter receptor
sites
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Figure 2.7:
Brain Structure and Function
Two cerebral
hemispheres
• Connected by corpus
callosum
Sulci (fissures) define
regions or lobes of the
cerebrum (gray matter):
• Frontal (Reasoning,
Problem Solving, Emotion
Regulation)
• Parietal (Sensory-Spatial)
• Occipital (Vision)
• Temporal
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Figure 2.8:
Brain Slice Through Medial Plan
White Matter Interior
• Ventricles – filled with
cerebrospinal fluid
• Myelinated (sheathed) nerve
fibers
• Thalamus
Sensory relay station (except
olfactory)
• Brain Stem
Pons and medulla oblongata
• Cerebellum
Responsible for balance,
posture, equilibrium
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Figure 2.9:
Subcortical Structures of the Brain
Limbic System
(outdated term):
• Often implicated in
psychopathology
• Involved in the expression
of emotions
• Amygdala is key brain
structure for
psychopathology
researchers due to role in
attending to emotionally
salient stimuli and in
emotionally relevant
memories
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Figure 2.10:
The HPA Axis of the Neuroendocrine System
HPA axis involved in
stress
Hypothalamus triggers
release of corticotropin-
releasing hormone (CRF)
Pituitary gland releases
adrenocorticotropic
hormone (ACTH)
Adrenal cortex triggers
release of cortisol, the
stress hormone
• Takes 20-40 minutes for
cortisol to peak
• Takes up to 1 hour for cortisol
levels to return to baseline
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The Neuroendocrine
System
Psychoneuroimmunology – the study
of how psychological factors impact
the immune system
Two types of immunity:
• Natural immunity
• Specific immunity
The link between stress and the
immune system has several direct
implications for overall health.
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Neuroscience Approaches to
Treatment
Psychoactive drugs alter
neurotransmitter activity
• Antidepressants
• Antipsychotics
• Benzodiazepenes
A neuroscience view does not
preclude psychological interventions
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Evaluating the Neuroscience
Paradigm
Reductionism
• View that behavior can best be understand
by reducing it to its basic biological
components
Ignores more complex views of behavior
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Current Paradigms:
Cognitive Behavioral
Roots in learning principles and cognitive
science
Behavior is reinforced by consequences
• Attention
• Escape or avoidance
• Sensory stimulation
• Access to desirable objects or events
To alter behavior, modify consequences
• Time out
Systematic desensitization
• Relaxation plus exposure
Imaginal or in vivo
• Important treatment for anxiety disorders
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Cognitive Science
Behaviorism criticized for ignoring thoughts
and emotions
Cognition
• A mental process that includes:
Perceiving, recognizing, conceiving, judging, and reasoning
Schema
• Organized network of previously accumulated
knowledge
• We actively interpret new information
Role of attention in psychopathology
• Anxious individuals more likely to attend to threat or
danger
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Figure 2.13: Stroop Test
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Role of the Unconscious
Contemporary theorists have
attempted to study the unconscious
scientifically
Implicit memory
• The unconscious may reflect efficient
information processing rather than being a
repository for troubling material
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Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT)
Attends to thoughts, perceptions,
judgments, self-statements, and
unconscious assumptions
Cognitive Restructuring
• Change a pattern of thinking
• Changes in thinking can change feelings,
behaviors, and symptoms
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Beck’s Cognitive Therapy
Initially developed for depression
Depression caused by distorted
thoughts
• Nothing ever goes right for me!
Information-Processing Bias
• Attention, interpretation, and recall of
negative and positive information biased in
depression
Help patients recognize and change
maladaptive thought patterns
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Evaluating the CBT Paradigm
Focus is on current determinants of
disorder
• Childhood and other historical antecedents
given less attention
Are distorted thoughts the cause or
the result of psychopathology?
• Causal status unclear
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Current Paradigms:
Factors That Cut Across the Paradigms
Affect vs. mood
Emotion
• Components
Expressive
Experiential
Physiological
• Most psychopathology includes disturbances of
one or more component
e.g., flat affect in schizophrenia
What is your ideal affect?
• Happiness vs. calmness
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Factors That Cut Across the
Paradigms
Sociocultural Factors
• Gender, race, culture, ethnicity, and
socioeconomic status
• May increase vulnerability to
psychopathology
e.g., women more likely to experience depression
than men
• Some disorders specific to certain cultures
Hikikomori in Japanese culture
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Table 2.1: Lifetime Prevalence Rates of DSM-
IV-TR Disorders Among Different Ethnic
Groups
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Interpersonal Factors and
Psychopathology
Object relations theory
• Longstanding patterns of relating to others
Attachment theory
• Type and style of infant’s attachment to caregivers can
influence later psychological functioning
Relational self
• Individuals will describe themselves differently
depending upon which close relationships they are told
to think about
Interpersonal therapy (IPT)
• Impact of current relationships on psychopathology
• Unresolved grief; Role transitions; Role disputes; Social
deficits
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Current Paradigms:
Diathesis-Stress
Integrative model that incorporates multiple
causal factors
• Genetic, neurobiological, psychological, and
environmental
Diathesis
• Underlying predisposition
May be biological or psychological
• Increases one’s risk of developing disorder
Stress
• Environmental events
May occur at any point after conception
Triggering event
Psychopathology unlikely to result from one
single factor
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© 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.
