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Abnormal Psychology
Abnormal Psychology: study of behavior & mental
processes connected with emotional distress or
impairment in functioning
Historical Perspectives on Abnormal
Behavior – Old Beliefs
• Perceived Causes
– Movements of sun or moon
(lunacy = full moon)
– Evil spirits, demonic possession
• Ancient Treatments
– Exorcism, caged like animals, beaten/burned,
castrated, mutilated, blood replaced with
animal’s blood, trephening
Historical Perspectives on Abnormal
Behavior
• In the 1800s, disturbed people no longer
thought of as “madmen” but as “mentally
ill”
• Early mental hospitals
– Barbaric prisons
– Patients chained & locked away
– Charged admission to see “crazies”
Historical Perspectives on Abnormal
Behavior – 18th & 19th Centuries
• Philippe Pinel (France)
– Compassionate model for treatment – humane hospital in
Paris
• William Tuke (England)
– Trained nurses for
mentally ill, change
public attitudes
• Benjamin Rush (U.S.)
– Founder of American
psychiatry
– Encouraged humane treatment, establishment of hospitals
It’s All a Matter of Degree
Epidemiology v. Etiology
• Epidemiology is the study of diseases in populations of
humans or other animals, specifically how, when and
where they occur.
– Epidemiological studies can never prove causation
– Incidence = new cases of a condition which occur
during a specified period
– Prevalence = cases (both new and existing) of a
condition observed at a point in time or during a
period of time.
• Etiology is the study of the origins and causes of
disease
Rosenhan’s “Labeling” Study
• How does being “labeled” affect one’s
treatment by others?
• Had 7 confederates admitted to mental
hospitals, labeled as schizophrenic
• The confederates were told not to show any
unusual behaviors at all, but be completely
normal
• Normal events/behaviors were perceived as
irregular and abnormal by hospital staff
• Rosenhan reasoned that labels were so
powerful that they profoundly affected the
way information was processed & perceived
What is “Abnormal”?
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Maladaptive or harmful to individual
Disturbing to others
Atypical or uncommon
Unjustifiable – does not
make sense, irrational
Psych disorders must cause significant personal distress
and impair the ability to function in one or more areas
of life
Psychological Disorders- Etiology
• Neurotic disorder (term seldom used now)
– usually distressing but that allows one to think
rationally
– Freud saw the neurotic disorders as ways of dealing
with anxiety
• Psychotic disorder
– person loses contact with reality
– experiences irrational ideas and distorted
perceptions
Psychological Disorders- Etiology
• Organic Mental Disorder: mental or emotional
problem caused by brain pathology (injury, disease)
• Substance Related Disorders: abuse or dependence on
a mind- or mood-altering drug, like alcohol or cocaine
– Person cannot stop using the substance & suffer withdrawal
symptoms of they do
How are psychological disorders diagnosed?
• Interviews, self-reports
• Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorders, 4th Ed.
 known as DSM-IV
• Published by the American Psychiatric
Association
• Provides set of criteria, but does NOT
identify causes or treatments
The DSM-IV defines symptoms & diagnoses using
hierarchy (Five Axes)
Axis 1: Adult psychological disorders (depression,
schizophrenia, etc.)
Axis 2: Developmental disorders (mental retardation,
learning disability), personality disorders
Axis 3: Medical conditions
Axis 4: Social and environmental sources of stress (loss of
job, death of loved one, divorce)
Axis 5: Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) score
Scale ranges from 1 to 100
Score of 100 = unimpaired
Score of 1 = severe dysfunction
The DSM-IV defines symptoms & diagnoses using
hierarchy (Five Axes)
Axis 1: Alcohol dependence
Axis 2: Dependent personality disorder
Axis 3: Diabetes
Axis 4: Death of spouse, unemployment
Axis 5: GAF = 60 (moderate symptoms, occasional
panic attacks, difficulty in school/work/social
functioning)
Perspective
Biological
(Biomedical)
Causes of Disorder
Organic problems (i.e. brain
functioning), biochemical imbalances
(neurotransmitters), heredity
Psychoanalytic
Unconscious conflicts & impulses
stemming from childhood
Humanistic
Failure to strive to one’s potential,
out of touch with one’s feelings
Perspective
Cognitive
Behavioral
(Learning)
Sociocultural
Causes of Disorder
Irrational, dysfunctional thoughts
or thought processes
Abnormal behaviors are observed
and/or reinforced
Dysfunctional society (i.e. society’s
pressure to be thin or powerful,
gender socialization, etc.)
• DIATHESIS-STRESS MODEL – nature
interacts with nurture in contributing to
disorders
Biopsychosocial
Model
Assumes that biological, sociocultural, and psychological factors
combine and interact to produce
psychological disorders
Biological
(Evolution,
individual
genes, brain
structures
and chemistry)
Sociocultural
(Roles, expectations,
definition of normality
and disorder)
Psychological
(Stress, trauma,
learned helplessness,
mood-related perceptions
and memories)
• Medical Model  mental illness should be
diagnosed & treated like a physical illness
(biological, not under individual’s control/faked)
FYI:
• Intern’s syndrome  tendency to
see self as having symptoms &
characteristics of disorder that one
is learning
• Comorbidity  disorders
can occur together (depression
is sometimes comorbid
with an anxiety disorder)
Categories of Disorders
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Anxiety
Somatoform
Dissociative
Mood
Personality
Schizophrenic
Sexual &
Gender
Identity
• Eating
• Substance Abuse
• Etc.