Deck 15: A: Psychological Disorders

Question 1

Differentiate how the posttraumatic model and the sociocognitive model differ in their explanations of the causes of dissociative identity disorder (DID).Identify which view has been empirically supported and list several observations that have provided support for this view.

Answer 1

Answers will vary,but a full credit answer should contain the following points.
--According to the posttraumatic model (Gleaves,May,& Cardeña,2001;Ross,1997),DID arises from a history of severe abuse-physical,sexual,or both-during childhood.This abuse leads individuals to "compartmentalize" their identity into distinct alters as a means of coping with intense emotional pain.In this way,the person can feel as though the abuse happened to someone else.
--Advocates of the posttraumatic model claim that 90 percent or more of individuals with DID were severely abused in childhood (Gleaves,1996).Nevertheless,many studies that reported this association didn't check the accuracy of abuse claims against objective information,such as court records of abuse (Coons,Bowman,& Milstein,1988).Moreover,researchers haven't shown that early abuse is specific to DID,as it is present in many other disorders (Pope & Hudson,1992).These considerations don't exclude a role for early trauma in DID,but they suggest that researchers must conduct further controlled studies before drawing strong conclusions (Gleaves,1996;Gleaves et al. ,2001).
--According to advocates of the competing sociocognitive model (see Chapter 5),the claim that some people have hundreds of personalities is extraordinary,but the evidence for it is unconvincing (Giesbrecht et al. ,2008;Lilienfeld et al. ,1999;McHugh,1993;Merskey,1992;Spanos,1994,1996).According to this model,people's expectancies and beliefs-shaped by certain psychotherapeutic procedures (i.e. ,hypnosis,repeated prompting of alters),and cultural influences,rather than early traumas-account for the origin and maintenance of DID.
--Observations in support of latter view:

Question 2

Describe the four prevalent misconceptions regarding psychiatric diagnosis.For each,explain how the media or the criminal justice system have contributed to these erroneous perceptions.

Answer 2

Answers will vary,but a full credit answer should contain the following points.
--Misconception 1: Psychiatric diagnosis is nothing more than pigeonholing-that is,sorting people into different "boxes." According to this criticism,when we diagnose people with a mental disorder,we deprive them of their uniqueness: We imply that all people within the same diagnostic category are alike in all important respects.
--Misconception 2: Psychiatric diagnoses are unreliable.As we learned in Chapter 2,reliability refers to consistency of measurement.In the case of psychiatric diagnoses,the form of reliability that matters most is interrater reliability: the extent to which different raters (such as different psychologists)agree on patients' diagnoses.The widespread perception that psychiatric diagnosis is unreliable is probably fuelled by high-profile media coverage of "duelling expert witnesses" in criminal trials,in which one expert witness diagnoses a defendant as experiencing schizophrenia and another diagnoses him as free of this disorder.
--Misconception 3: Psychiatric diagnoses are invalid.From the standpoint of Thomas Szasz (1960)and other critics,psychiatric diagnoses are largely useless because they don't provide us with much,if any,new information.They're merely descriptive labels for behaviours we don't like.When it comes to some popular psychology labels,Szasz probably has a point.Consider the explosion of diagnostic labels that are devoid of scientific support,such as codependency,sexual addiction,Internet addiction,road rage disorder,and compulsive shopping disorder.
--Misconception 4: Psychiatric diagnoses stigmatize people.According to labelling theorists,psychiatric diagnoses exert powerful negative effects on people's perceptions and behaviours (Scheff,1984;Slater,2004).Labelling theorists argue that once a mental health professional diagnoses us,others perceive us differently.Suddenly,we're "weird," "strange," even "crazy." This diagnosis leads others to treat us differently,in turn often leading us to behave in weird,strange,or crazy ways.The diagnosis thereby becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Question 3

Differentiate how learning theorists and cognitive theorists differ in their explanations for the causes of anxiety disorders and major depressive disorder.

Answer 3

Answers will vary,but a full credit answer should contain the following points.
--Learning theorists believe that anxiety disorders result from our direct (operant conditioning approaches)and indirect experiences (classical conditioning,observational/social learning)with the world around us.For example,we learn via negative reinforcement that our anxiety can be reduced by leaving stressful situations or places,people,or objects that we fear.
--Learning theorists explain depression through discussing the loss of positive reinforcement.Without being able to attain desired rewards for our actions,we come to feel that we are incapable of producing desired outcomes in other situations.
--Cognitive theorists believe that anxiety disorders result from our thought patterns about events.For example,people overgeneralize or catastrophize the likelihood of a highly improbable event and create needless worries for themselves.
--Cognitive theorists explain depression through individuals' negative view of themselves,their experiences,and their future.They view themselves as incapable now and in the future,and engage in cognitive distortions that create problems for themselves rather than see their experiences,abilities,and futures realistically.