Programming The Mind – The Seven Dimensions of Attachment in Personality and Psychopathology

Abstract

This book presents an innovative, comprehensive theoretical framework for Clinical Psychology: The MAPP – Mind Architecture, Personality, and Psychopathology. Through a cognitive-evolutionary perspective, the theory builds the common ground necessary to integrate the different and valuable contributions from all schools and orientations in Clinical Psychology. Moreover, the engineering approach embraced by the MAPP offers a methodological direction through which such contributions can be further developed. The focus is on the individual psychological differences caused by the information stored in a standard, organically healthy brain substrate. As its name suggests, the theory is divided into the following three parts.1. An architecture of the mind (and motivational systems), which provides a general model of its structures and functions consisting of a multitude of interconnected modules. Motivational and data systems are the central part of the architecture, and the attachment motivational system and data module play a pivotal role in human psychology.2. A model of personality according to which attachment is at its core. Attachment theory is revised and extended, identifying seven attachment dimensions – disorganization, avoidance, ambivalence, phobicity, depressivity, somaticity, and obsessivity – acquired through imprinting in attachment-caregiving interactions. We are biological machines programmed by our caregivers.3. A Model of (behavior and) psychopathology. The outlined models of motivation and personality underpin a new model of behavioral dynamics and mental disorders. Psychopathology is characterized by a central causal chain: negative social relationships cause dysfunctional knowledge to be acquired, and this knowledge causes mental disorders. The most common pathologies stem from attachment dimensions. By clarifying their etiology, the model allows for a deeper understanding of mental disorders and the development of more effective assessment tools and treatments.Finally, the MAPP is tested through the discussion of ten complex case studies inspired by the literature.Overall, the MAPP provides a novel theoretical framework for Clinical Psychology that empowers the discipline to overcome its current principal limits with a significant impact on assessment and treatment. The theory is particularly suitable for Artificial Intelligence applications and the development of automatic assessment tools.