The Dissenter

#864 Colin DeYoung: Personality and Psychopathology

13 snips
Nov 23, 2023
Personality and psychopathology expert, Colin DeYoung, discusses defining psychopathology, the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology, distinguishing traits from symptoms, and the risk of misdiagnosis. The conversation also explores the relationships between big five personality traits and mental health issues, extroversion and detachment in the personality spectrum, and the integration of personality psychology with neuroscience.
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INSIGHT

Continuum Over Categories

  • The DSM's categorical model misrepresents mental health because most mental problems lie on continua with normal personality.
  • Treating disorders as discrete entities creates essentializing stigma and distorts clinical practice.
INSIGHT

Deviance Isn't Disease

  • Statistical deviance alone doesn't define pathology; dysfunction and impairment matter more.
  • Extreme but functional personalities aren't pathological unless they disrupt goal pursuit.
INSIGHT

Beyond 'Brain Disease'

  • The brain underlies all mental states, but mental illness shouldn't be simplified as brain disease.
  • Cybernetic dysfunction—failure to pursue and adapt goals—better captures mental illness.
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