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aybala50's picture

creating a truth by labeling

 

 I think there is a lot of legitimacy in what Paul said in his post. I think talking about "difference" rather than an "illness" would be better in general. I also enjoyed his discussion of changing cultures. "And it seems to me demonstrably not true that cultures can't be changed.  Both the civil rights movement and the gay rights movement are relatively recent examples of cultural change generated by people able/willing to not only look critically at culture but to act on the critique." (Paul) So, there is evidence that culture can change. It is obvious to me with the generational gaps in behaviors alone shows that there is constant change in cultures. However, some cultures may change faster than others, or the changes may be more obvious. I feel like the cultural gap between parents in the United States and their children (maybe college age) is very obvious. 

Can we relate this back to the effect increasing labels have had in the United States? The diagnosis of 'illnesses' or 'differences' in the field of psychology have not only encompassed more categories, but also an increasing number of diagnosis. An example that I can think of is the diagnosis of depression. According to data that the American Psychiatric Association collected, between the years of 1999-2007 there has been a major increase in the diagnosis of depression. Is this because there is just more labeling? Or has the labeling of people with depression increased the level of depression in this culture? Or something else?

APA data source:http://pn.psychiatryonline.org/content/44/14/29.full 

 

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