Conceptualizing psychopathology: the importance of developmental profiles
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 1, 2026

Brain Morphology of Cannabis Users With or Without Psychosis: A Pilot MRI Study
Published on: August 18, 2020
1Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
Abstract:
This paper examines critically four habits of social scientists: a reliance on constructs for processes that do not specify the class of agent or the context of action, skepticism toward empirical truths that are inconsistent with political or social goals, a reluctance to use profiles or characteristics that have different weights to classify persons, and an aversion to treating subjects with extreme values as representing special categories. These points are made in the context of the author's research on temperaments in children.
Related Concept Videos
Theoretical Approaches to Psychological Disorder
Biological approach
The biological approach posits that internal, organic factors are the primary causes of such disorders. This perspective emphasizes brain structure and function, genetic predispositions, and neurotransmitter imbalances. For example, schizophrenia has been associated with both genetic...
Introduction to Developmental Psychology
Psychosexual Theory of Development
The Five Stages of Psychosexual Development
Freud's psychosexual...
Psychodynamic Perspectives on Personality
Psychodynamic theorists argue that unconscious...
Psychometric Approach of Cognitive Development
Psychosis: Pathophysiology of Schizophrenia and Other Psychotic Disorders
Researchers have identified genetic factors that increase susceptibility to schizophrenia, underscoring the intricate interplay between genetics and environment in disease development. At the core of schizophrenia's pathophysiology is excessive dopaminergic neurotransmission within the...