PSYCHOPATHOLOGY

Psychopathology

Psychopathology

Introduction

The roots of psychotherapy can be traced back to different types of knowledge developed in Western culture from magic, medicine, philosophy and religion. All these activities are tabled to the fact that human life is inherently problematic. The man is confronted to live with himself and others. This coexistence generates subjective and relational problems usually classified as socially deviant or abnormal behavior. This element together with the coexistence of the abnormality has been addressed in different ways throughout history.

Discussion

The learning disorders

A learning disorder is an impairment affecting one or more neuropsychological functions, which disrupts the acquisition, understanding, use and processing of verbal or nonverbal information. The learning disability cannot be explained or does not connect with an intellectual disability, a sensory impairment (vision or hearing), lack of school supervision, and a lack of motivation or poor socioeconomic conditions (Torgesen, 1990).

It is important to understand that learning disability is a handicap which usually lasts a lifetime. Learning disabilities interfere not only school performance but can also have repercussions on all aspects of life such as relationships with peers, daily and domestic activities and the tasks at work. Academically, there is low achievement and even failures in one or more subjects, despite a considerable effort and work. We can then observe in some cases lower self-esteem, the individual loses confidence in him or her and is considerably below its peers. It is therefore important to understand this disorder so that early identification and implement appropriate and effective interventions (Spear-Swerling & Sternberg, 1999).

Five factor Model

Although personality psychologists do not agree upon a single definition of personality, the most commonly used definitions consider the relatively permanent traits and characteristics that give consistency to an individual's behavior. Traits refer to individual factors that consistently influence behavior across time and situations. Even though elaborate theories and classifications were developed and used by researchers suggesting the structure and implications of personality traits, including Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory and Alfred Adler's individual psychology, no overarching theory or classification system was consistently used by personality researchers until the development of the five-factor model (McCrae & Costa, 1987).

In the 1980s, researchers' factor analyzed almost every major personality inventory available, including the commonly used Myers-Briggs Indicator and the Eysenck Personality Inventory. The five-factor model, developed through the factor analyses being conducted, attempted to answer the two burning questions at that time. First, with so many personality inventories being used, each with its own scale how was a common language to emerge for personality researchers to use? With researchers using different inventories, with different measures, and each having its own unique labels and terms, making comparisons between studies was incredibly difficult. The five-factor model also provided an answer to another pressing question: What is the structure of personality? Researchers were arguing about the number of factors involved in the structure of personality. Was personality best understood by 3, 5, or even 16 factors? The development of the five-factor model answered both of these questions by providing a common framework for researchers to discuss ...