When considering the DSM, which of the following statements is FALSE? A The DSM is a manual written by experts, who periodically review and revise it. B Everyone in the field of psychology fully agrees with the content in the DSM. C When the DSM is revised, old disorders are sometimes removed, and new ones are sometimes added. D This is a book that offers official definitions of psychological disorders.
When considering the DSM, which of the following statements is FALSE?
My sense is that a lot of students who take intro psych never really thought about that. There's just sort of this assumption that the experts have defined the psychological disorders, and this is what they are. And there's no questioning of that. Sort of like the definition has been sort of handed down from the mountain, and this is what the psychological disorders are.
But the truth of the matter is that it's very different. It's a group of people. It's a group of experts who originally back in the 1950s, got together and wrote the first DSM defining what the various psychological disorders are and then who periodically since that time have come together to revise it. And they make different decisions at different times. Some things that were at one time considered mental disorders are no longer considered mental disorders, but more often, things that were at one time not considered mental disorders are now considered mental disorders that can't all be reduced down to a precise science.
And that process of judgment and decision making has been criticized a lot. And in more recent years, especially with the most recent DSM, DSM 5, which came out in 2013, there were a number of critics who said this thing includes new disorders that we probably-- I'll say maybe shouldn't have shouldn't have included as disorders. There's controversy and criticism behind these decisions made by the DSM authors.
STEPHEN BONNETTE: Absolutely. And it's important to emphasize something doesn't have to be a defined disorder in order for it to be a difficult or disruptive experience to a person's life. And I think that what you're saying about how the DSM is essentially-- it is essentially a living document, and it's something that, as we learn more about how certain experiences play out, we're better able to define them and change our understanding of them as time goes on. That doesn't change the core purpose of it, which is to help people going through a difficult experience or a disruptive experience."
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