Modeling the symptoms of psychopathology: A pluralistic approach

Clack, Samuel; Ward, Tony

doi:10.1016/j.newideapsych.2020.100799

Cited by 9 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 85 publications

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“…A good example of model pluralism in action is Clack and Ward's (2020) compositional explanation of the depressive symptom "anhedonia." They demonstrate how this symptom can be modelled separately at various scales/levels of analysis (i.e., molecular, neural, cognitive, and phenomenological) and how these different models can be meaningfully related to one another and to etiological explanations of anhedonia in order to form a more comprehensive overall explanation of this phenomenon.…”

Section: Modelling Mental Disordermentioning

confidence: 99%

From competition to co-operation: Shifting the “one best model” perspective

Hawkins-Elder

Ward

2021

Theory & Psychology

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Mental disorders are arguably one of the most complex and serious problems facing health practitioners today and yet their causes remain, largely, a mystery. Accordingly, there is frequent and heated debate over which of the many available models of mental disorder and their associated therapeutic interventions are likely to be most useful. The prevailing attitude toward the conceptualization of mental distress appears to be that a single superior model will emerge that neatly accounts for one or more disorder presentations: the “One Best Model” (OBM) perspective. In this article, we argue for a transition away from the OBM perspective toward a multiple model approach to psychopathology that is collaborative and pluralistic. We begin by outlining the particulars of the OBM perspective and elaborating on the problems it presents for psychopathology theory and practice. We then suggest specific ways in which this problem may be ameliorated, by adjusting how we approach the processes of modelling disorder, translating models into interventions, and applying models and interventions in practice.

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Section: Modelling Mental Disordermentioning

confidence: 99%

From competition to co-operation: Shifting the “one best model” perspective

Hawkins-Elder

Ward

2021

Theory & Psychology

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“…Although the relationships between symptoms are elaborated within these models, the nature of the symptoms themselves is not fully explained: each is represented largely at the phenomenological level, rather than at each level of analysis (e.g., molecular, neural, physiological, cognitive/psychological, interpersonal, sociocultural). For example, anhedonia, a key symptom of depression, can be represented at the phenomenological level as involving both decreased "liking" and decreased "wanting," at the cognitive level as a reduced hedonic capacity, reduced reward motivation, and errors in reward learning, at the neural level as dysfunction in the "hedonic network" and mesolimbic pathways, and at the molecular level as reductions in opioid and dopaminergic activity (see Clack & Ward, 2020). Compared to a full analysis such as this, the descriptions of symptoms given in SNMs are significantly underpowered.…”

Section: Specifiersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Describing disorder: The importance and advancement of compositional explanations in psychopathology

Hawkins-Elder

Ward

2021

Theory & Psychology

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Understanding the makeup of mental disorders has great value for both research and practice in psychopathology. The richer and more detailed our compositional explanations of mental disorder—that is, comprehensive accounts of client signs and symptoms—the more information we have to inform etiological explanations, classification schemes, clinical assessment, and treatment. However, at present, no explicit compositional explanations of psychopathology have been developed and the existing descriptive accounts that could conceivably fill this role—DSM/ICD syndromes, transdiagnostic and dimensional approaches, symptom network models, historical accounts, case narratives, and the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC)—fall short in critical ways. In this article, we discuss what compositional explanations are, their role in scientific inquiry, and their importance for psychopathology research and practice. We then explain why current descriptive accounts of mental disorder fall short of providing such an explanation and demonstrate how effective compositional explanations could be constructed.

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“…However, mechanistic explanations are of great use in psychopathology, as they are likely to best represent the complex nature of mental disorder, which is caused and constituted by a variety of different factors interacting in a multitude of ways. Despite this, no mechanistic explanations of psychopathological phenomena currently exist, although there have been preliminary attempts (for example, Ward & Clack's (2020) mechanistic "sketch" of anhedonia in clinical depression; see Chapter Five).…”

Section: Mechanistic Explanationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…• Finally, explanatory depth assesses how well an explanatory account details underlying mechanisms or processes. Clack and Ward's (2020) compositional "sketch" of the symptom "anhedonia" within the context of depression is a good example of explanatory depth in action, as it models the factors and processes that comprise the symptom at a variety of progressively deeper levels (see Chapter Five).…”

Section: Interventionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Explanation of Disordered Eating: A Metatheoretical Approach

Elder¹

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<p>Eating disorders are an increasingly serious global health problem, resulting in substantial physical and mental health costs for sufferers and their families, and for society as a whole. There has been considerable research aimed at understanding and treating these conditions. Despite this, treatment for disordered eating remains relatively poor, leaving many with ongoing suffering. Although there are many reasons why this may be the case, a possible contributor not investigated by the literature is the quality of the theoretical explanations underpinning these treatments. In this thesis, therefore, I set out to examine the quality of the current dominant explanations for disordered eating upon which best-practice treatments are based. Upon evaluation, these explanations are found to be significantly lacking in quality, leading to subsequent weaknesses in their interventions. Underlying these specific problems, I identify three common meta-theoretical issues with these explanations: (1) the poor selection and description of explanatory targets, (2) the use of single explanatory models as complete explanations (i.e., the One Best Model perspective), and (3) the lack of systematic method informing their construction. In the remainder of the thesis, I propose solutions for each of these, arguing for (1) more appropriate selection and compositional explanation of explanatory foci, (2) transition away from a unified approach to explanation toward model pluralism, and (3) the development and application of a guiding methodological framework for explanation in psychopathology. Each of these solutions represents a significant shift in our approach to understanding and explaining psychopathological conditions. Their application to the specific problem area of disordered eating is likely to result in explanations for these conditions that are more valid, comprehensive, and fruitful, thereby providing superior platforms for clinical intervention and research.</p>

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Modeling the symptoms of psychopathology: A pluralistic approach

Cited by 9 publications

References 85 publications

From competition to co-operation: Shifting the “one best model” perspective

From competition to co-operation: Shifting the “one best model” perspective

Describing disorder: The importance and advancement of compositional explanations in psychopathology

The Explanation of Disordered Eating: A Metatheoretical Approach

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