Psychology Portal · History Areas · Wikiproject

RESEARCH Ψ

Abnormal Biological Cognitive Developmental Emotion Experimental Evolutionary Mathematical Neuropsychology Personality Positive Psychonomics Psychophysics Social Transpersonal Psychology (from Greek: ψυχή, psukhē, spirit, soul; λόγος, logos, knowledge) is both an academic and applied discipline involving the scientific study of mental processes and behavior. ... Image File history File links Psi2. ... The history of psychology as a scholarly study of the mind and behavior dates, in Europe, back to the Late Middle Ages. ... Experimental psychology is an approach to psychology that treats it as one of the natural sciences, and therefore assumes that it is susceptible to the experimental method. ... Abnormal psychology is the scientific study of abnormal behavior in order to describe, predict, explain, and change abnormal patterns of functioning. ... Biological psychology, sometimes referred to as psychobiology or biopsychology, is a subfield of psychology. ... Cognitive Psychology is the school of psychology that examines internal mental processes such as problem solving, memory, and language. ... This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... For other uses, see Emotion (disambiguation). ... Experimental psychology is an approach to psychology that treats it as one of the natural sciences, and therefore assumes that it is susceptible to the experimental method. ... This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... Mathematical Psychology is an approach to psychological research that is based on mathematical modeling of perceptual, cognitive and motor processes, and on the establishment of law-like rules that relate quantifiable stimulus characteristics with quantifiable behavior. ... Neuropsychology is a branch of psychology and neurology that aims to understand how the structure and function of the brain relate to specific psychological processes and overt behaviors. ... Personality psychology is a branch of psychology which studies personality and individual differences. ... Positive psychology is a relatively young branch of psychology that studies the strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive. ... Psychonomics describes an approach to psychology that aims at discovering the laws (Greek: nomos) that govern the workings of the mind (Greek: psyche). The field is directly related to experimental psychology. ... Psychophysics is the branch of cognitive psychology dealing with the relationship between physical stimuli and their perception. ... Social psychology is the scientific study of how peoples thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others (Allport, 1985). ... Transpersonal psychology is a school of psychology that studies the transpersonal, the transcendent or spiritual aspects of the human mind. ...

APPLIED Ψ

Clinical Educational Forensic Health Industrial/Org Sport The basic premise of applied psychology is the use of psychological principles and theories to overcome practical problems in other fields, such as business management, product design, ergonomics, nutrition, law and clinical medicine. ... The Greek letter Psi is often used as a symbol of psychology. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Industrial and organizational psychology (also known as I/O psychology, work psychology, work and organizational psychology, W-O psychology, occupational psychology, personnel psychology or talent assessment) concerns the application of psychological theories, research methods, and intervention strategies to workplace issues. ...

LISTS

Publications Topics Therapies This is a list of important publications in psychology, organized by field. ... This page aims to list all topics related to psychology. ... This is an alphabetical List of Psychotherapies. ... view · talk

This article is an expansion of a section entitled Criticism from within the main article: Biological psychiatry Biological psychiatry, or biopsychiatry is an approach to psychiatry that aims to understand mental disorder in terms of the biological function of the nervous system. ... Biological psychiatry, or biopsychiatry is an approach to psychiatry that aims to understand mental disorder in terms of the biological function of the nervous system. ...

The debate about psychiatry's political implications is discussed in Anti-psychiatry Beginning in the 1960s, a movement called anti-psychiatry claimed that psychiatric patients are not ill but are individuals that do not share the same consensus reality as most people in society. ...

The biopsychiatry controversy is an ongoing dispute over the scientific basis of biological psychiatry theory and practice. The debate is focused on criticism of mainstream psychiatric thinking, proposed by a vocal lobby of psychiatrists and scientists who are at present in the minority. Activist organizations support their views. Critics contend the field is flawed in a number of ways. They argue that the lack of biomarkers is a flaw in the evidence for a somatic, biological cause for mental illness. Instead they draw attention to trauma models of mental disorders within the psychiatric literature which have been marginalized as research efforts switched to the biological model since the 1980s. Biological psychiatry, or biopsychiatry is an approach to psychiatry that aims to understand mental disorder in terms of the biological function of the nervous system. ... Psychiatry is a branch of medicine dealing with the prevention, assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of the mind and mental illness. ... A number of people considered ill and needing treatment by specific psychiatrists or psychiatric doctrine in general do not perceive benefit from the services offered or forced upon them. ... In medicine, a biomarker is an indicator of a particular disease state or a particular state of an organism. ... This article is about the medical term. ... The “Trauma model” of mental disorders is an expression coined by psychiatrist Colin Ross as a solution to the problem of comorbidity in the mental health field. ... A mental disorder or mental illness is a clinically significant psychological pattern that occurs in an individual and is usually associated with distress or disability that is not expected as part of normal development or culture. ...

Overview

After a century of medical progress different specialties of medicine have developed therapeutic practices that have made illnesses more treatable and eradicable. Biological psychiatry or biopsychiatry aims to investigate determinants of mental disorders devising remedial somatic measures. This task is apparently consonant with the spirit of science; for example, in pharmacology biopsychiatry has adhered to the standards of testing psychoactive drugs. Medicine is the science and art of maintaining andor restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of patients. ... A medical specialist is someone who specializes in a particular field of medicine. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...

An organization critical of biopsychiatry, the International Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology, points out that the dominant reductionist approach postulates somatic variables as causative factors in mental disorders. Consequently, research in biopsychiatry is confined to the medical illness model. In the words of a clinical professor of psychiatry, Alvin Pam, "Given this stilted, unidimensional, and mechanistic world-view, research in psychiatry has been geared toward discovering which aberrant genetic or neurophysiological factors underlie and cause social deviance".^[1] According to Pam the "blame the body" approach, which typically offers medication for mental distress, shifts the focus from disturbed behavior in the family to putative biochemical imbalances. The International Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology (ICSPP) is a nonprofit (503c) research and educational network whose focus is the critical study of the mental health professions and their consumer markets. ... Chemical imbalance is a controversial lay explanation according to which a chemical imbalance in the brain is said to be the cause of mental illness. ...

History

In Madness and Civilization, Michel Foucault contends that the psychiatric profession originated in the 17th century as a method of bypassing legal restraints on the incarceration of poor people. State asylums, within which the profession originated, were basically lockups for the homeless. The medical profession took over the poor houses in the 19th century. Michel Foucault Michel Foucault (October 15, 1926 – June 26, 1984) was a French philosopher and held a chair at the Collège de France, a chair to which he gave the title The History of Systems of Thought. His writings have had an enormous impact on other scholarly work: Foucault... Michel Foucault (IPA pronunciation: ) (October 15, 1926 – June 25, 1984) was a French philosopher and historian. ... (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... A psychiatric hospital (also called, at various places and times, mental hospital or mental ward, historically often asylum, lunatic asylum, or madhouse), is a hospital specialising in the treatment of persons with mental illness. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ...

By the 1930s the giant lockups of psychiatric hospitals had become too large and unmanageable. Lobotomy and various shock treatments were developed. In the 1950s new drugs were developed for tranquilizing the inmates. Face The 1930s (years from 1930–1939) were described as an abrupt shift to more radical and conservative lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the Great Depression, also known in Europe as the World Depression. ... A psychiatric hospital (also called, at various places and times, mental hospital or mental ward, historically often asylum, lunatic asylum, or madhouse), is a hospital specialising in the treatment of persons with mental illness. ... A human brain that has undergone lobotomy. ... ECT may be an abbreviation for Electroconvulsive therapy European Centre for Theoretical Studies in Nuclear Physics and Related Areas, in Trento, Italy, www. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... Psychopharmacology is the study of the effects of any psychoactive drug that acts upon the mind by affecting brain chemistry. ...

Elliot Valenstein claims that, in the popular imagination molded by the media, biopsychiatry has become more scientific recently; has many effective drugs, has demonstrated the genetic foundation of schizophrenia and is moving ever forward into more specific psychopharmacology. However, in contrast to brain diseases such as tumors, multiple sclerosis, meningitis, epilepsy or neurosyphilis, after more than a century biopsychiatrists have not demonstrated that the major disorders that they diagnose are related to brain lesions. What is popularly known as the "Bible" of the psychiatric profession^[2], the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders or DSM does not assert the existence of biomarkers for the list of DSM behaviors. In the words of psychiatrist and veteran critic of his own profession Thomas Szasz: Elliot S. Valenstein, Ph. ... Psychopharmacology is the study of the effects of any psychoactive drug that acts upon the mind by affecting brain chemistry. ... Tumor (American English) or tumour (British English) originally means swelling, and is sometimes still used with that meaning. ... Meningitis is the inflammation of the protective membranes covering the central nervous system, known collectively as the meninges. ... need information on neurosyphillis infection This page meets Wikipedias criteria for speedy deletion. ... The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual published by the American Psychiatric Association The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is a handbook for mental health professionals that lists different categories of mental disorder and the criteria for diagnosing them, according to the publishing organization the American Psychiatric Association. ... Thomas Szasz. ...

Szasz's concern is that a specialty in which the Virchowian, or cell pathology, criterion of disease or illness has been abandoned may drive societies into what he calls political medicine or the Therapeutic State. Emil Kraepelin (February 15, 1856–October 7, 1926) was a German psychiatrist who attempted to create a synthesis of the hundreds of mental disorders classified by the 19th century, grouping diseases together based on classification of common patterns of symptoms, rather than by simple similarity of major symptoms in the... Paul Eugen Bleuler (b. ... Sigmund Freud His famous couch Sigmund Freud (May 6, 1856 - September 23, 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of the psychoanalytic school of psychology, a movement that popularized the theory that unconscious motives control much behavior. ... [[ Rudolf Ludwig Karl Virchow (born October 13, 1821, in Schivelbein (Pomerania); died September 5, 1902, in Berlin) was a German doctor, anthropologist, public health activist, pathologist, prehistorian, biologist and politician. ... A renal cell carcinoma (chromophobe type) viewed on a hematoxylin & eosin stained slide Pathologist redirects here. ... This article is about the medical term. ... Beginning in the 1960s, a movement called anti-psychiatry claimed that psychiatric patients are not ill but are individuals that do not share the same consensus reality as most people in society. ...

Lack of biomarkers

One of the paradigms of biopsychiatry, the concept of schizophrenia, has been challenged from various perspectives. Shannon Sumrall and others contend that despite media publicity it has yet to be proven that schizophrenia is a bio-medical condition ^[4]. More significantly, the traumatogenic cause of some types of schizophrenia has been considered by some as a revolutionary approach in the mental health field ^[5]. The “Trauma model” of mental disorders is an expression coined by psychiatrist Colin Ross as a solution to the problem of comorbidity in the mental health field. ...

The fourth edition of the DSM is a list of 374 conditions. Only two of them, Post-traumatic stress disorder and Dissociative identity disorder are thought to be psychogenic or caused by traumatic experiences. Biopsychiatrists maintain that many other disorders are biomedical entities of unknown etiology. For example, in a statement released in September 2003 the American Psychiatric Association, which represents 36,000 physician leaders in mental health, conceded that Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a term for certain severe psychological consequences of exposure to, or confrontation with, stressful events that the person experiences as highly traumatic. ... Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), as defined by the American Psychiatric Associations Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR), is a mental condition whereby a single individual evidences two or more distinct identities or personalities, each with its own pattern of perceiving and interacting with the environment. ... This article is about the medical term. ... Due to the epidemic of medical errors, readers are cautioned to be aware that the American Psychiatric Association isnt immune to this. ...

Psychiatrist Duncan B. Double criticizes the futuristic stance "will likely be proven..." in this field ^[7]. In the psychiatric profession, people labeled with a DSM disorder are usually treated with psychiatric drugs, and occasionally, electroshock.^[8] Hence the lack of biological markers in the profession has been an issue of concern for Robert Whitaker, author of Mad in America.^[9] Children might be especially susceptible to the neuroleptics' side effects.^[10][11] Robert Whitaker, the author of Mad in America, has won numerous awards as a journalist covering medicine and science. ... Mad in America: Bad Science, Bad Medicine, and the Enduring Mistreatment of the Mentally Ill explores the social and medical history of madness in America, from the 17th century to today. ...

Unjustified focus on biochemical factors

Most biopsychiatrists believe that, among other factors, the balance of neurotransmitters in the brain is a biological regulator of mental health.^{[citation needed]} In this theory, emotions within a "normal" spectrum reflect a proper balance of neurochemicals, but abnormally extreme emotions, such as clinical depression, reflect an imbalance. Psychiatrists claim that medications regulate neurotransmitters and also claim they treat abnormal personalities by removing a neurochemical excess or replenishing a deficit (though the efficacy of antidepressants and antipsychotics is not undisputed ^[12]). On the other hand, Elliot Valenstein, a psychologist and neuroscientist, claims that the broad biochemical assertions and assumptions of mainstream psychiatry are not supported by evidence. ^[13] Chemical structure of D-aspartic acid, a common amino acid neurotransmitter. ... For other uses, see Brain (disambiguation). ... Clinical depression (also called major depressive disorder, or unipolar depression when compared to bipolar disorder) is a state of intense sadness, melancholia or despair that has advanced to the point of being disruptive to an individuals social functioning and/or activities of daily living. ... An antidepressant is a medication used primarily in the treatment of clinical depression. ... The term antipsychotic is applied to a group of drugs used to treat psychosis. ...

Critics suggest mainstream psychiatry theory is influenced by pharmaceutical companies' sales and marketing departments. Richard Smith (former editor of the British Medical Journal) wrote about how the drug industry can subtly influence what is published in the scholarly literature. He said, "I must confess that it took me almost a quarter of a century editing for the BMJ to wake up to what was happening." ^[14] Richard Smith is the former editor of the British Medical Journal (BMJ) and chief executive of the BMJ Publishing group. ... The British Medical Journal (BMJ) is a medical journal published weekly in the United Kingdom by the British Medical Association (BMA)which published its first issue in 1845. ... Scientific journals are one type of academic journal An academic journal is a regularly-published, peer-reviewed publication that publishes scholarship relating to an academic discipline. ...

Studies have shown that, for reasons unknown, the outcome for people diagnosed with schizophrenia in non-Western countries may actually be much better than for people in the West.^[15] In Mad in America, Whitaker postulates that the explanation for this situation is the iatrogenic effect of neuroleptics, too expensive for poor countries but easily available in rich countries. An iatrogenic (pronounced , IPA) condition is a state of ill health or adverse effect caused by medical treatment, usually due to mistakes made in treatment. ...

Unjustified focus on genetic factors

According to biopsychiatry, genetic and environmental factors both appear to be of vital importance in determining mental state and therefore certain genetic factors can predispose people to particular mental illnesses ^[16]. To date — and in contrast to diseases affecting almost every other human organ but the brain — only a few genetic lesions have been proposed to be mechanistically responsible for psychiatric conditions ^[17], though there are reports of significant associations between specific genomic regions and psychiatric disorders ^{[18] [19]}. The reasons offered for the relative lack of genetic understanding is because the links between genes and mental states defined as abnormal appear highly complex, involve extensive environmental influences and can be mediated in numerous different ways, for example by personality, temperament or life events. Therefore while twin studies and other research suggests that personality is heritable to some extent, the genetic basis for particular personality or temperament traits, and their links to mental health problems, is currently unclear ^[20]. Twin study - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ...

Theodore Lidz ^[21] , Jay Joseph (2003,^[22] 2006^[23]) and others argue that biopsychiatrists use genetic terminology in an unscientific way to reinforce their approach, for example by referring to findings of the genetic basis for illnesses and weaknesses, rather than the role of other factors which may make some problems more likely in some environments and societies. Some propose that the biochemical differences observed in some mental illnesses are not the genetic cause, but rather the effect of a condition caused solely by psychological trauma ^[24]. Others argue that there is no significant genetic component involved at all, suggesting instead that observed patterns of family transmission are neutral with respect to genetic versus environmental etiology ^[25]. Lidz and Joseph maintain that biopsychiatrists disproportionately focus on understanding the genetics of those individuals with mental health problems at the expense of addressing the problems of the living in the environments of some extremely abusive families or societies ^{[26] [27]}. Born in New York City and raised on Long Island, Dr. Lidz attended Columbia College and the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. ... The Gene Illusion [1] is a book by clinical psychologist Jay Joseph[2] which challenges the evidence underlying genetic theories in psychiatry and psychology. ...

Imaging techniques

Modern brain imaging techniques, PET, MRI and CT scans are widely used in the medical profession. However, despite media publicity in the professional medical literature the potential value of imaging data for detecting genuine brain lesions is not undisputed ^[28]. For example, blood perfusion that can be seen with the imaging techniques is not considered a biomarker in the medical profession. In neurological science a biomarker could be physiopathology, histopathology or the presence of pathogen microorganisms in the nervous system. Biopsychiatrists recognize that they cannot demonstrate any of these biomarkers in the major DSM disorders (Nancy C. Andreasen, 2004).^[29] Positron emission tomography (PET) is a nuclear medicine medical imaging technique which produces a three dimensional image or map of functional processes in the body. ... “MRI” redirects here. ... CAT apparatus in a hospital Computed axial tomography (CAT), computer-assisted tomography, computed tomography, CT, or body section roentgenography is the process of using digital processing to generate a three-dimensional image of the internals of an object from a large series of two-dimensional X-ray images taken around... Neurology is a branch of medicine dealing with disorders of the nervous system. ... Histopathology is a field of pathology which specialises in the histologic study of diseased tissue. ... A microorganism or microbe is an organism that is so small that it is microscopic (invisible to the naked eye). ... The nervous system of an animal coordinates the activity of the muscles, monitors the organs, constructs and also stops input from the senses, and initiates actions. ... Nancy C. Andreasen, M.D., Ph. ...

Biopsychiatry as a pseudo-science

Many of the above issues lead to the common claim that psychiatry is a pseudo-science ^[30] . According to the generally-accepted philosophy of science, for a theory to qualify as hard science it needs to exhibit the following characteristics: A pseudoscience is any body of knowledge purported to be scientific or supported by science but which fails to comply with the scientific method. ... Philosophy of science is the study of assumptions, foundations, and implications of science, especially in the natural sciences and social sciences. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Pure science. ...

• parsimony, as straightforward as the phenomena to be explained allow (see Occam's Razor);
• empirically testable and falsifiable (see Falsifiability);
• changeable, i.e. if necessary, changes may be made to the theory as new data are discovered;
• progressive, encompasses previous successful descriptions and explains and adds more;
• provisional, i.e. tentative; the theory does not attempt to assert that it is a final description or explanation.

Psychiatrist Colin A. Ross and Alvin Pam maintain that biopsychiatry does not qualify as a science on many counts.^[31] For the House episode, see Occams Razor (House episode) Occams razor (sometimes spelled Ockhams razor) is a principle attributed to the 14th-century English logician and Franciscan friar William of Ockham. ... Falsifiability (or refutability or testability) is the logical possibility that an assertion can be shown false by an observation or a physical experiment. ... Colin A. Ross is a psychiatrist of Canadian origin and professional training. ...

A self-taught survivor of the mental health system who believes schizophrenia is caused by early childhood abuse, John Modrow, believes that most biological hypotheses in psychiatry are untestable and unfalsifiable.^[32] Beyond the invasiveness and destructiveness of some testing, he justifies his claim by asserting that existing medical tests are not able to differentiate between those structural and neurochemical differences which cause psychiatric disease, and those changes which are simply the result.

See also

• Anti-psychiatry - critiques of psychiatry from the human rights perspective.
• David Healy (psychiatrist) - he published evidence of a link between Prozac and suicide.
• Elliott Valenstein - a psychologist and neuroscientist, author of Blaming the Brain.
• ICSPP - an independent organization for psychologists and psychiatrists.
• Peter Breggin - a psychiatrist critical of the indiscriminate use of drugs.
• The Gene Illusion - a book by clinical psychologist Jay Joseph.
• Pseudoscience

Beginning in the 1960s, a movement called anti-psychiatry claimed that psychiatric patients are not ill but are individuals that do not share the same consensus reality as most people in society. ... David Healy is an Irish psychiatrist who is currently Reader in Psychological Medicine at Cardiff University College of Medicine, Wales. ... Elliott Valenstein, Ph. ... The International Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology (ICSPP) is a nonprofit (503c) research and educational network whose focus is the critical study of the mental health professions and their consumer markets. ... Peter R. Breggin is a controversial psychiatrist from the United States. ... The Gene Illusion [1] is a book by clinical psychologist Jay Joseph[2] which challenges the evidence underlying genetic theories in psychiatry and psychology. ... A typical 18th century phrenology chart. ...

External links

Criticisms from psychologists & the medical profession

1. Against Biologic Psychiatry - an article by David Kaiser, M.D., in Psychiatric Times (1996, Vol. XIII, Issue 12).
2. Challenging the Therapeutic State - special issue of The Journal of Mind and Behavior (1990, Vol.11:3).
3. Letter of Resignation from the American Psychiatric Association - from Loren R. Mosher, M.D., former Chief of Schizophrenia Studies at the National Institute of Mental Health.
4. Memorandum from the Critical Psychiatry Network to the United Kingdom Parliament - Written evidence to the House of Commons Select Committee on Health, April 2005.

Methodolical problems The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is one of 27 components of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the United States federal governments principal biomedical and behavioral research agency. ...

1. Schizophrenia: Medical Students are Taught it's All in the Genes but are they Hearing the Whole Story? - see Selected Publications by Jonathan Leo, PhD, Associate Professor of Anatomy, Western University of Health Sciences.
2. On the Limits of Localization of Cognitive Processes in the Brain - an essay by William R. Uttal, Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Michigan, based on his book The New Phrenology (MIT Press, 2001).
3. Neuroimaging and psychological theories of human memory - introductory text for a August 2006 symposium at the Cognitive Psychophysiology Lab, Philipps-University Marburg, Germany (the text is in English).

Other critiques

1. Bad Neuro-Journalism archive - The James S. McDonnell Foundation maintains an archive of the worst examples of journalism about the brain from the popular press.

The James S. McDonnell Foundation was founded in 1950 by aerospace pioneer James S. McDonnell. ...

References