In this bachelor thesis I examine the phylogenetic origins of unipolar depression. Some evolutionary psychologist has argued that clinical depression is a discrete adaption while others argue that it is a malfunction of the adaptative capacity for low mood. I account for the arguments of each field and subsequently for behavioral genetic findings on depression and three models of genetic variation from evolutionary genetics which explain why natural selection has not eliminated susceptibility alleles for psychopathology.
Read MoreThis bachelor thesis aims to gain a broad understanding of this new diagnostic model and how its configuration reflects psychological theory. The content of the model is therefore examined in the light of two theoretical paradigms with opposing views on the ontology of diagnoses. On one hand, the model is analyzed applying empirical evidence and theory based on the trait approach to personality and personality disorder, reflecting the ontology of realism. On the other hand, essential concepts from Foucault and Hacking are used for a theoretical analysis of the model, representing the nominalist ontology.
Read MoreThis bachelor thesis examines the traumatic memory from a cognitive neuroscientific and a psychoanalytic perspective. The aim is to make a critical assessment of two of the criteria for PTSD; criterium A in DSM-5 and ICD-10 concerning exposure to an event that can be acknowledges as “traumatic” from the objective particularities of a situation, and criterium E in ICD-10, which defines that the traumatic symptoms and the clinical syndrome of PTSD have to develop within six months after the potentially traumatic event.
Read MoreAutistic people experience stigmatization, a lower quality of life and have a high rate of suicide. This bachelor thesis examines whether understanding autism as neurodivergence has the potential to expand the action potence of autistic people. The potential is examined by using the critical psychology to analyse empirical studies.
Read MoreThis bachelor thesis examines the concept of stigmatization related to schizophrenia and its effects on the individual. It is explored how different understandings of schizophrenia can contribute to stigmatization. Based on theories of stigmatization, it is argued that the stigmatization that people with schizophrenia experience may result in a decrease of agency and possibilities of action.
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