Terms
● Mental health problems → relatively short- term disruptions that affect the
everyday functioning of an individual
● Mental disorder → one of a wide range of usually long-lasting conditions that affect
mood, thinking and behaviour
● Wellbeing → the complex combination of a person’s physical, social, emotional,
mental and spiritual health that is linked to happiness and life satisfaction
● Genetic vulnerability → an increased likelihood that an individual will develop
atypically or experience a mental disorder due to the DNA that they carry
● Assimilation → a cognitive process that involves taking a new concept and fitting it
into or making it part of a pre-existing mental idea or structure
● Accommodation → a cognitive process that involves changing or adjusting existing
ideas to deal with new situations
● Schema → our pre-existing mental ideas relating to a given concept that help us
organise and interpret new information
● Typical behaviours → patterns of behaviour that are expected of an individual or
that conform to standards of what is acceptable for a given situation
● Atypical behaviours → patterns of behaviour that are not expected for an individual
or that deviate from the norm and can be harmful or distressing for the individual
and those around them
● Neurotypicality → standard or typical brain functioning, processing and behaviours
● Neurotypical → an individual whose neurological development or functioning is
within the typical (average) range
● Neurodiversity → the idea that every human has a unique nervous system with a
different combination of abilities and needs
● Neurodiverse → not neurotypical; functioning outside the typical range of
neurological development
● Adaptive → a term used by psychologists to describe emotions, behaviours and
cognitions that enable us to adjust to our environment appropriately and cope most
effectively
● Maladaptive → a term used by psychologists to describe emotions, behaviours and
cognitions that interfere with our ability to adjust to our environment appropriately
and effectively. Are associated with abnormal or atypical development
● Maladaptive emotions → very intense or overwhelming emotions that occur
frequently, persist for extended periods of time without interruption or are
inappropriate for the situation
, ● Cognitions → cognitive processes or mental actions that involve acquiring,
processing and understanding information or knowledge. Include perception,
memory, attention, pattern recognition, problem-solving and language
● Adaptive cognitions → ways of thinking that are of benefit to our survival and
wellbeing
● Maladaptive cognitions → cognitive distortions or irrational, inflated thoughts or
beliefs that distort a person’s perception of reality, usually in a negative way
● Neurodivergent → a term that is sometimes used to refer to people whose brains
function differently to others
Factors influencing psychological development
● Psychological development is the changes in an individual’s social, emotional and
cognitive abilities from infancy through to old age
● The three main areas of psychological development are emotions, social and
cognitive
Hereditary factors
● Are biological influences on development that result from the genetic information
passed from biological parents to their offspring (heredity)
● Are factors that are genetically determined and remain constant throughout the
lifespan and pre-determine some of our characteristics and personal attributes at
conception
● Hereditary factors occur when the genotype (all the genes inherited from parents) is
expressed (phenotype)
● E.g. eye colour and blood type
Environmental factors
● different external influences within a person’s
environment that can affect their development
● E.g. the way a child is raised or the relationships they
form
Nature vs Nurture
● the unique experiences we have within our environment
can influence how our genes are expressed – our
phenotype
○ E.g. the combination of genes that we receive is associated with our level of
intelligence, however environmental factors such as encouragement and
access to quality education will influence the expression of these genes and,
therefore, how intelligent we become
, ● Our genes can also influence how we interact with our environment
○ E.g. a person with a genetic disposition towards a particular personality trait,
such as introversion, may be more likely to have certain life experiences,
such as spending more time alone
Biopsychosocial approach
● Like psychological development, mental wellbeing is influenced by a complex
interaction of hereditary and environmental factors that can affect the likelihood of
a person developing a mental health problem at some point in their life
● The biopsychosocial approach considers a person’s development and mental
wellbeing as influenced by the interactions between biological, psychological and
social factors
● acknowledges the interaction between three dimensions: biological (including
hereditary factors), social (or environmental factors) and psychological (other
internal factors specific to the individual)
Biopsychosocial model
● an interdisciplinary model that looks at the interconnection
between biology, psychology and social factors
● acknowledges that there are certain biological, psychological
and social risk factors in our lives that may increase one’s
chances of developing atypically or having a mental disorder
● recognises the important role of various biological, social and
psychological protective factors throughout the life span in
reducing these risks
Biological factors
● a range of factors that relate to the physiological functioning of the body
● Are hereditary factors
● Are internal
● can affect both mental wellbeing and psychological development
● A biological risk factor is a genetic vulnerability
● Biological protective factors include
○ maintaining a healthy diet → required for strong growth and development
and allows the body to carry out all the processes required to maintain a high
level of physical and mental wellbeing
○ getting adequate sleep → is a vital restorative process that helps to prepare
the body for performing daily activities
● Mental health problems → relatively short- term disruptions that affect the
everyday functioning of an individual
● Mental disorder → one of a wide range of usually long-lasting conditions that affect
mood, thinking and behaviour
● Wellbeing → the complex combination of a person’s physical, social, emotional,
mental and spiritual health that is linked to happiness and life satisfaction
● Genetic vulnerability → an increased likelihood that an individual will develop
atypically or experience a mental disorder due to the DNA that they carry
● Assimilation → a cognitive process that involves taking a new concept and fitting it
into or making it part of a pre-existing mental idea or structure
● Accommodation → a cognitive process that involves changing or adjusting existing
ideas to deal with new situations
● Schema → our pre-existing mental ideas relating to a given concept that help us
organise and interpret new information
● Typical behaviours → patterns of behaviour that are expected of an individual or
that conform to standards of what is acceptable for a given situation
● Atypical behaviours → patterns of behaviour that are not expected for an individual
or that deviate from the norm and can be harmful or distressing for the individual
and those around them
● Neurotypicality → standard or typical brain functioning, processing and behaviours
● Neurotypical → an individual whose neurological development or functioning is
within the typical (average) range
● Neurodiversity → the idea that every human has a unique nervous system with a
different combination of abilities and needs
● Neurodiverse → not neurotypical; functioning outside the typical range of
neurological development
● Adaptive → a term used by psychologists to describe emotions, behaviours and
cognitions that enable us to adjust to our environment appropriately and cope most
effectively
● Maladaptive → a term used by psychologists to describe emotions, behaviours and
cognitions that interfere with our ability to adjust to our environment appropriately
and effectively. Are associated with abnormal or atypical development
● Maladaptive emotions → very intense or overwhelming emotions that occur
frequently, persist for extended periods of time without interruption or are
inappropriate for the situation
, ● Cognitions → cognitive processes or mental actions that involve acquiring,
processing and understanding information or knowledge. Include perception,
memory, attention, pattern recognition, problem-solving and language
● Adaptive cognitions → ways of thinking that are of benefit to our survival and
wellbeing
● Maladaptive cognitions → cognitive distortions or irrational, inflated thoughts or
beliefs that distort a person’s perception of reality, usually in a negative way
● Neurodivergent → a term that is sometimes used to refer to people whose brains
function differently to others
Factors influencing psychological development
● Psychological development is the changes in an individual’s social, emotional and
cognitive abilities from infancy through to old age
● The three main areas of psychological development are emotions, social and
cognitive
Hereditary factors
● Are biological influences on development that result from the genetic information
passed from biological parents to their offspring (heredity)
● Are factors that are genetically determined and remain constant throughout the
lifespan and pre-determine some of our characteristics and personal attributes at
conception
● Hereditary factors occur when the genotype (all the genes inherited from parents) is
expressed (phenotype)
● E.g. eye colour and blood type
Environmental factors
● different external influences within a person’s
environment that can affect their development
● E.g. the way a child is raised or the relationships they
form
Nature vs Nurture
● the unique experiences we have within our environment
can influence how our genes are expressed – our
phenotype
○ E.g. the combination of genes that we receive is associated with our level of
intelligence, however environmental factors such as encouragement and
access to quality education will influence the expression of these genes and,
therefore, how intelligent we become
, ● Our genes can also influence how we interact with our environment
○ E.g. a person with a genetic disposition towards a particular personality trait,
such as introversion, may be more likely to have certain life experiences,
such as spending more time alone
Biopsychosocial approach
● Like psychological development, mental wellbeing is influenced by a complex
interaction of hereditary and environmental factors that can affect the likelihood of
a person developing a mental health problem at some point in their life
● The biopsychosocial approach considers a person’s development and mental
wellbeing as influenced by the interactions between biological, psychological and
social factors
● acknowledges the interaction between three dimensions: biological (including
hereditary factors), social (or environmental factors) and psychological (other
internal factors specific to the individual)
Biopsychosocial model
● an interdisciplinary model that looks at the interconnection
between biology, psychology and social factors
● acknowledges that there are certain biological, psychological
and social risk factors in our lives that may increase one’s
chances of developing atypically or having a mental disorder
● recognises the important role of various biological, social and
psychological protective factors throughout the life span in
reducing these risks
Biological factors
● a range of factors that relate to the physiological functioning of the body
● Are hereditary factors
● Are internal
● can affect both mental wellbeing and psychological development
● A biological risk factor is a genetic vulnerability
● Biological protective factors include
○ maintaining a healthy diet → required for strong growth and development
and allows the body to carry out all the processes required to maintain a high
level of physical and mental wellbeing
○ getting adequate sleep → is a vital restorative process that helps to prepare
the body for performing daily activities
