Abnormal Psychology
History & Intro
Abnormal Psychology Defined
The 4 “Ds”:
Deviance
Unusual behavior
Socially unacceptable behavior
Break from reality
Distress
Dysfunction
Maladaptive, self-defeating behavior
Dangerous behavior
Thomas Szaz
Diagnosis & Treatment Views
Treatment includes:
A sufferer
A trained healer
A series of contacts between the healer and the sufferer
Illness/patient
Living problem/client
Stats: USA: 30% of adults & 20% of children/adolescents
Historical Views
Ancient Views & Treatment
Trephination
Exorcism
Greek & Roman views
Hippocrates
Europe in Middle Ages
Tarantism & Lycanthropy
Exorcism
Historical Views (con)
Renaissance (15th, 16th & 17th centuries)
Johann Weyer
asylums
19th century: Reform & Moral Treatment
Pinel, Tuke, Rush, Dix
Early 20th century
Somatogenic and psychogenic perspectives
Current Trends
Psychotropic meds
deinstitutionalization
Outpatient treatment
Community Mental Health centers
Crisis Intervention Centers
Family Service Centers
Programs exclusive to one disorder (suicide, substance-abuse, eating disorders, etc)
Prevention Programs
Positive Psychology
Insurance coverage
Managed Care Program
Current Trends
Today’s Professionals
Outline
1) The task of a clinical scientist
2) Different methods of research utilized in Abnormal Psych
3) Advantages & Disadv. Of each method
4) The best strategy for research today
Clinical Scientist
Search for nomothetic truths
Scientific Method
Theory
Hypothesis
variables
Research Methods
Case Study
Correlational research
Experimental research
Validity
Internal
External
Reliability
Confounds
Sampling of the population
Case Study
A detailed & interpretive description of one person or group
Behavior observation
Contributions:
A) individual understanding
B) can study unusual cases
C) source of new ideas
Problems:
A) biased observer
B) subjective evidence
C) low internal & external validity
Correlational Research
Determines co-relationship between variables
Line of best fit
Direction: Positive/Negative
Magnitude: strong/weak
Pearson’s Correlation coefficient (r)
Correlation (con)
Contributions:
A) high external validity
B) can be basis for further research
C) have predictive values
Problems:
A) low on internal validity
B) correlation does NOT imply causation
Experimental Research
Variables manipulated
IV
DV
Controlling for Confounds
Control Group
Experimental Group
Random Assignment
 Blind design protects against bias
Single, double
Experiment (con)
Contributions:
A) provides causal info
B) reliable
C) high internal validity
Problems:
A) humans multi-dimensional
B) laboratory not always real-life
C) animals comparable to humans?
Other Research
Genotype/phenotype
Kinship Studies: helps to determine genotype/phenotype
Twin studies
Adoptee studies
Special
Correlational Studies:
A) Longitudinal study
B) The Epidemiological Method
The survey: rates of occurrence of disorders
Incidence (new) & prevalence (total)
Helps researchers identify groups at risk for a particular disorder
WHO Global Status Report on Alcohol (2004):
Global deaths in 2001 from alcohol use disorders, by age group and sex
Variations in Experimental Design
Help deal with the “human problem”
Quasi-Experimental Design: do not form groups, but use pre-existing groups
Natural Experiment: study natural occurrences (terrorist attack, hurricane)
Variations in Experimental Design (con)
Analogue experiment: lab depicting real life (Ex. Harlow’s classic “Contact Comfort”
Study)
Single-Subject Exp.: observe single subj. before & after IV manipulation
ABAB
Multiple baseline