Chunk #70 — Psychopathology Description and Diagnosis — On the Comprehensiveness, Utility, and Parsimony of Using Homogeneous Constructs to Describe Psychopathology — The comprehensive coverage of psychopathology with description in terms of homogeneous dimensions of dysfunction
Clinicians may feel that, in some cases, recognition of the existence of a syndrome is crucial to successful diagnosis. For example, psychopathy is considered, by some, to be a classic psychiatric syndrome. When clinicians observe antisocial behavior in a client, they are alert to the possibilities of a deceitful interpersonal style and limited capacity for empathy, among other attributes. If psychopathy were not a recognized syndrome, would clinicians be at greater risk of missing these additional characteristics of such clients?
