Chapter 3: Classification and Diagnosis Flashcards
Classification Validity
the extent to which the principles used in classifying an entity are effective in capturing the nature of the entity
Classification Ultility
the usefulness of a classification scheme
Categorical Approach to Classification
an entity is determined to be either a member of a category or not
Dimension Approach to Classification
classified entities differ in the extent to which they possess certain characteristics or properties
Diagnostic System
a classification based on rules used to organize and understand diseases and disorders
Diagnosis
the result of applying the decision-making rules of a diagnostic system to the symptoms of a specific individual
Prototype Model
members of a diagnostic category may differ in the degree to which they represent the concepts underlying the category
Developmental Psychopathology
a framework for understanding problem behavior in relation to the milestones that are specific to each stage of a person’s devlopment
Harmful Dysfunction
the behaviors associated with a mental disorder are dysfunctional, and the dysfunction causes harm to the individual or to those around them
Dyscontrol
the impairment resulting from a disorder must be involuntary or not readily controlled
Comorbidity
when a person receives diagnoses for two or more disorders at the same point in time
Why do we classify and diagnose?
concise description
common language used by trained professionals
may contain information about etiology, comorbidity, and prognosis
for searching for treatment
important for theoretical development
guides assessment practices
knowing something about a given clinical/patient type informs the psychologist about relevant areas of inquiry
guides treatment practices
sometimes required to establish funding/program eligibility
Is there a downside to classifying and diagnosis?
important individual differences may be obscured
knowledge base concerning group or type may be irrelevant to the patient in question
may preempt more meaningful diagnostic exploration
categorization (“labeling”) is often seen as pejorative; especially true in a psycholegal context
What is validity in a classification system?
how well a system reflects the true nature of people, disorders, or other things being classified
What is utility in a classification system?
how useful a classification system is in understanding those things, and in advancement of science
What kind of classification is prominent in psychology?
the roots of psychology are in the social sciences, testing, and measurement; this has led to preference for dimensional approaches to classification
based on the assumption that groups and individuals are separated as a matter of degree, or quantitatively, from one another (e.g., heigh, intellectual ability, years of experience, introversion vs. extroversion)
dimensions can be rearranged into categories by setting dividing points
What kind of classification is prominent in psychiatry?
psychiatry, with its roots in the biological sciences, has tended to adopt categorical approaches to classification
based on the view that categories are separated largely by qualitative differences (e.g., male versus female)
What is a prototype model to classification?
for some conditions, e.g. psychpathy, a prototype model has more recently been employed
in many respects a combination of categorical and dimensional approaches
defines a perfect member of a given population and classifies others according to their degree of correspondence to that individual
What are empirically-derived classification systems?
there are statistical procedures, primarily factor analysis and cluster analysis, which allow us to analyze data from groups of people that allow natural categories, groups, or factors to emerge
these may give important clues concerning underlying dimensions
How is diagnosis different from classification?
diagnosis is a special case of classification applied to disorders and those who exhibit them
a diagnostic system can be based either on a dimensional or categorical model
it is always a system of rules used to organize signs, symptoms, and disorders
What are signs?
indicators of illness observable by another individual, and often the person themself
What are symptoms?
indicators of illness observable only to the individual experiencing them
What are the ways of defining abnormality and mental illness?
departure from social norms
functional maladjustment
subjective distress
correspondence to an ideal/cultural hero
the presence of unusual signs/symptoms
the absence of requisite attributes or abilities
What are the three things should a definition of a mental disorder encompass?
that the signs/symptoms are unusual
that they are potentially harmful
that they are non-deliberate (dyscontrol)
