Download What is Abnormality?

Psychological Disorders
Defining Abnormality
THREE CLASSIC SYMPTOMS of MENTAL
DISORDER:
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Hallucinations: false sensory experiences
Delusions: disorders of logical thinking
Affective Disturbances: inappropriately strong
or absent emotional response
Spectrum of Disorders
No
Mild
Moderate
Disorder Disorder Disorder
Severe
Disorder
Models of Pathology
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Medical Model: Mental disorder is a disease with
physical causes
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Important step in validating pathology as real illness
and lifting it from suspicion of demonic possession
and similar “lay” theories
Psychological Model: Mental disorder is an
interaction of biological, cognitive, social and
other environmental factors.
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Considers factors outside of the person (environment,
family, stress, etc.)
The Diathesis - Stress Model
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Diathesis:
Pre-disposition to a
particular disorder.
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Stress:
Environmental
factors that increase
the likelihood of a
disorder appearing.
You can have a pre-disposition to a disorder
without ever manifesting it. You can also have
very stressful circumstances and never develop a
disorder.
The DSM
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Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorders
Five Axes of assessment
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Clinical problem
Aspects of personality
Medical conditions
Social and environmental stressors
Level of functioning
The Effects of Labels
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Provides us comfort and a sense of
control
BUT, they can be “sticky” and affect our
construal of people and situations
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Rosenhan’s Pseudo-Patient Study
Self-Fulfilling Prophesies
We risk treating the label, not the person
Difficulty Defining Abnormality
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Distress
Maladaptiveness
Irrationality
Unpredictability
Unconventionality
Observer
Discomfort
Cultural Variability
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Reasons for differences in rates of disorders and
types of symptoms -- are there real cultural
differences?
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Personality / cognitive style
Definitions of mental illness
Acceptability of mental (as opposed to physical) distress
Usage of medical and psychological services
Views of the origins and treatment of illness
Or, are clinicians biased?
Or, are there problems with assessment or
assessment tools?
Historical “Variability”
Social and Political Uses of
Labels