PMID: 9193128Jul 1, 1997Paper

Diagnosing DSM-IV--Part II: Eysenck (1986) and the essentialist fallacy

Behaviour Research and Therapy
J C Wakefield

Abstract

In Part I (Wakefield, 1997, Behaviour Research and Therapy, 35, 633-649) of this two-article series, I used the harmful dysfunction analysis of the concept of disorder (Wakefield, 1992a, American Psychologist, 47, 373-388) to 'diagnose' a problem with DSM-IV. I argued that DSM-IV diagnostic criteria often violate the 'dysfunction' requirement by invalidity classifying harms not caused by dysfunctions as disorders. In Part II, I examine Eysenck's (Eysenck, 1986, Contemporary directions in psychopathology: Toward the DSM-IV) argument that DSM commits a 'categorical fallacy' and should be replaced by dimensional diagnoses based on Eysenckian personality traits. I argue that Eysenck's proposed diagnostic criteria violate the 'harm' requirement by invalidly classifying symptomless conditions as disorders. Eysenck commits an 'essentialist fallacy'; he misconstrues 'disorder' as an essentialist theoretical concept when in fact it is a hybrid theoretical-practical or 'cause-effect' concept. He thus ignores the harmful effects essential to disorder that are captured in DSM's symptom-based categories.

References

Jan 1, 1976·Behaviour Research and Therapy·H J Eysenck
Aug 1, 1974·The British Journal of Psychiatry : the Journal of Mental Science·H Davis
Aug 1, 1974·The British Journal of Psychiatry : the Journal of Mental Science·F M McPhersonR H Curtis
Jan 1, 1983·Annual Review of Psychology·H J EysenckA F Friedman
Jul 1, 1997·Behaviour Research and Therapy·J C Wakefield
Jan 1, 1962·Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology·H J EYSENCK, G CLARIDGE

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Citations

Jan 17, 2016·Annual Review of Clinical Psychology·Jerome C Wakefield
Jul 26, 2003·Behaviour Research and Therapy·Jerome C Wakefield
Feb 14, 2015·Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences·J C Wakefield
Jul 1, 1997·Behaviour Research and Therapy·J C Wakefield
Sep 23, 2000·Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology·J A Wheeler VegaP J Tyson
Oct 6, 2016·BJPsych Open·Aleksandra KupferbergGregor Hasler
Sep 3, 2010·Zeitschrift für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie und Psychotherapie·Julia BottinUlrike Lehmkuhl
Nov 15, 2011·Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy·Babette RennebergStefan Roepke
Oct 20, 2012·The British Journal of Clinical Psychology·Thom J van den HeuvelCees P F van der Staak
Nov 12, 2013·European Journal of Oral Sciences·Stephan DoeringVanessa Bisping
Mar 9, 2011·Praxis der Kinderpsychologie und Kinderpsychiatrie·Cord BeneckeMaria Steinmayr-Gensluckner
Apr 9, 2009·Zeitschrift für Psychosomatische Medizin und Psychotherapie·Cord BeneckeStephan Doering
Nov 21, 2014·International Journal of Psychiatry in Clinical Practice·Stephan KöhlerThomas Fydrich
Oct 5, 2001·European Psychiatry : the Journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists·K FabischH G Zapotoczky
Aug 11, 2020·Twin Research and Human Genetics : the Official Journal of the International Society for Twin Studies·Bertil Persson
May 22, 2020·The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy·Jerome C Wakefield, Jordan A Conrad

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