If you are embarking on a course of study in psychology, at some stage you are bound to come across the term psychopathology. These two similar terms are often confused, but they have distinct meanings. Psychology refers to the general study of the human mind and behaviour, while psychopathology refers to the specific study of mental disorders.
The study of psychopathology may include the examining the cause of a mental disorder, how they develop and progress, and how they are treated. Common examples of mental disorders include depression, phobias, and obsessive-compulsive disorders, which are considered to be abnormal patterns of human behaviour.
How is psychopathology defined?
There are various different ways to define psychopathology. It’s generally described as an abnormal behaviour, but how is that abnormality itself defined? One way is to treat it as a statistical infrequency, so that if a person’s behaviour or symptoms are in minority group, then it may be considered deviant.
However, left-handed people, or those with exceptionally high IQs, are in the minority of the population, but they are not generally regarded as deviant or abnormal. Therefore, statistical infrequency is not considered a reliable way to define psychopathology.
Another way to look at psychopathology may be to define it as behaviour which deviates from social norms. However, social norms are by their nature defined by the society which produces them, rather than by innate human traits.
For example, different cultures have different standards of etiquette, which may be considered polite in one society, but offensive in another. Therefore, defining psychopathology by social norms is not considered to be a satisfactory approach by most psychologists.
Another approach to defining psychopathology is to take a purely scientific and biological view of the neural processes in the brain. This involves studying the neurotransmitters which send messages to the nervous system. For example, scientists believe that people with depression have reduced levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin in their brains.
Serotonin is thought to play a major role in regulating our moods, and an imbalance can cause depression, and it has also been linked to obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). In psychopathology, this can be defined as interference with proper functioning. This may have a biological or a genetic basis.
However, some psychologists argue that depression and other disorders such as phobias are caused by irrational thought processes, where the patient becomes locked into inflexible negative thought patterns, and is unable to view a situation in a neutral and objective light.
Another way to define psychopathology is a deviation from ideal mental health. This is viewed as the most comprehensive approach by some psychologists, because it provides a benchmark for most mental health problems.
However, good mental health may be subject to cultural bias—for example in the West, we value freedom of speech and autonomy of action, but other cultures place a higher value on loyalty and duty to country or family.
When you consider case study psychology, you will have the chance to explore and debate these issues in more depth.
