Abnormal Psychology
a “harmful dysfunction” in which behavior is
judged to be disturbing (to the observer),
atypical (not normal), maladaptive (harmful)
and unjustifiable (not rational).
Historical Perspective
 Perceived Causes
 movements of sun or moon
 lunacy--full moon
 evil spirits
 Ancient Treatments
 exorcism, caged like animals, beaten,
burned, castrated, mutilated, blood
replaced with animal’s blood
Early Theories
• Abnormal behavior was evil
spirits trying to get out
• Trephening was often used
Early Theories
•trephening:
cutting a hole in
the head of the
afflicted to let
out the evil spirit
Early Theories
• Another idea was to make the body
extremely uncomfortable, exorcising
the “demons”.
Philippe Pinel
• French doctor who
was the “first” to
call to “take the
chains off”, calling
for treatment of
mental disorders as
disease, sickness
History of Mental Disorders
• In the 1800’s,
psychologically disturbed
people were no longer
thought of as “madmen”,
but as mentally ill.
• They were first put in
hospitals.
• Did this mean better
treatment?
Early Mental Hospitals
• They were nothing more than barbaric
prisons.
• The patients were
chained and locked away.
• Some hospitals even charged admission
for the public to see the “crazies”,
just like a zoo.
DSM
• Diagnostic &
Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorders: the
big book of
psychological
disorders
• classifies disorders
and describe the
symptoms
• does NOT explain the
causes or possible
cures
Sane or Insane?
• a legal term used to determine one’s
ability to stand trial
• infers one’s mental state during the
time a crime was committed
• not used in the field of psychology, only
in the legal arena
Current Perspectives
• Medical Perspective: psychological
disorders are sicknesses and can be
diagnosed, treated and cured
• Bio-Psycho-Social Perspective:
assumes biological, psychological and
sociocultural factors combine to
interact causing psychological disorders
Anxiety Disorders
• a group of conditions
where the primary
symptoms are anxiety
or defenses against
anxiety
• the patient fears
something awful will
happen to them
• in a state of intense
apprehension,
uneasiness,
uncertainty, or fear
Phobias
• a person experiences
sudden episodes of
intense dread
• must be an irrational fear
• Phobia List
Anxiety Disorders
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
• a person is continuously
tense, apprehensive and
in a state of autonomic
nervous system arousal
 constantly tense and
worried
 feels inadequate
 oversensitive
 lack of concentration
 insomnia
Anxiety Disorders
Panic Disorder
• marked by a minuteslong episode of intense
dread in which a person
experiences:
 terror
 chest pain
 choking and other
frightening sensations
Anxiety Disorders
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
• Persistent unwanted
thoughts
(obsessions) cause
someone to feel the
need (compulsion)
to engage in a
particular action.
• i.e. - Obsession
about dirt and
germs may lead to
compulsive hand
washing.
Anxiety Disorders
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
(PTSD)
• flashbacks or
nightmares following
a person’s
involvement in or
observation of an
extremely stressful
event
• memories of the
event cause anxiety
Anxiety Disorders
Mood Disorders
• experience extreme or inappropriate emotion
Major Depressive Disorder
• aka - unipolar
depression
• unhappy for at least
two weeks with no
apparent/specific
cause
• Depression is the
“common cold” of
psychological
disorders.
Mood Disorders
First Period
Dysthymic Disorder
• suffering from
mild symptoms
of depression
for at least two
years
Mood Disorders
Depression
Mood Disorders
Depression
Mood Disorders
Seasonal Affective Disorder
• depression during
the winter months
• thought to be based
not on temperature,
but on amount of
sunlight
• treated with light
therapy
Mood Disorders
Bipolar Disorder
• formerly “manic
depression”
• involves periods of
depression and manic
episodes
• Manic episodes involve
feelings of high energy
& euphoria.
• engage in risky
behavior during the
manic episode
Mood Disorders
Bipolar Brain
Mood Disorders
Dissociative Disorders
• These disorders
involve a disruption
in the conscious
process.
Psychogenic Amnesia
• a person cannot
remember things
with no physiological
basis for the
disruption in memory
Dissociative Disorders
Dissociative Fugue
• People with
psychogenic amnesia
that find themselves
in an unfamiliar
environment.
Dissociative Disorders
Dissociative Identity Disorder
• formerly known as
Multiple Personality
Disorder
• a person has several
rather than one
integrated
personality
• People with DID
commonly have a
history of childhood
abuse or trauma.
Dissociative Disorders
Schizophrenic Disorders
• About 1 in every 100
people are diagnosed
with schizophrenia.
Symptoms of
Schizophrenia
1. Disorganized Thinking
2. Disturbed Perceptions
3. Inappropriate
Emotions and Actions
1. Disorganized Thinking
• The thinking of a
person with
Schizophrenia is
fragmented and
bizarre and distorted
with false beliefs.
• Disorganized thinking
comes from a
breakdown in selective
attention; they cannot
filter out information.
Schizophrenic Disorders
Delusions (false beliefs)
• Delusions of
Persecution
Schizophrenic Disorders
• Delusions of
Grandeur
2. Disturbed Perceptions
• hallucinationssensory experiences
without sensory
stimulation
Schizophrenic Disorders
3. Inappropriate Emotions
and Actions
• laugh at inappropriate
times
• flat affect
• senseless, compulsive
acts
• Catatonia- motionless,
waxy flexibility
Schizophrenic Disorders
Positive v. Negative Symptoms
Positive Symptoms
•Presence of
inappropriate symptoms
Negative Symptoms
•Absence of
appropriate ones.
Types of Schizophrenia
TLC, “Born
Schizophrenic”
Summary Video
TLC, “Born
Schizophrenic” Full
Video Youtube Playlist
Disorganized Schizophrenia
• disorganized speech
or behavior, or flat or
inappropriate emotion.
• Clang associations
• "Imagine the worst
systematic,
sympathetic,
quite pathetic,
apologetic, paramedic.
Your heart is
prosthetic."
Schizophrenic Disorders
Paranoid Schizophrenia
• preoccupation with
delusions or
hallucinations, often
with themes of
persecution or
grandiosity
• “Somebody is out to
get me!” or “Shhhh..
I am a CIA secret
agent.”
Schizophrenic Disorders
Catatonic Schizophrenia
• flat affect
• waxy flexibility
• parrot like repeating
of another’s speech
and/or movements
Schizophrenic Disorders
Undifferentiated Schizophrenia
• many and
varied
symptoms
Schizophrenic Disorders
What “causes” Schizophrenia?
• Genetic Predispositions
• Abnormal Brain Structure
• Biochemistry (dopamine)
• Diathesis-stress hypothesis –
genetic factors place the individual at risk,
but environmental stress factors transform
this potential into an actual schizophrenic
disorder
Personality Disorders
• inflexible and
enduring behavior
patterns that impair
social functioning
Antisocial Personality Disorder
• lack of empathy
• little regard for other’s
feelings
• view the world as hostile
and look out for
themselves
• lack impulse control (frontal
lobe)
– take action without thinking
about consequences
• formerly called “sociopaths”
or “psychopaths”
Personality Disorders
Dependent Personality Disorder
• display excessive
levels of
submissiveness,
need for approval,
desire to be taken
care of, etc.
Personality Disorders
Histrionic Personality Disorder
• overly dramatic,
attention seeking
behavior (i.e. - acting
silly or dressing
provocatively)
Personality Disorders
Narcissistic Personality Disorder
• having an
unwarranted
sense of selfimportance
• thinking that one
is “the center of
the universe”
Personality Disorders
Obsessive–Compulsive
Personality Disorder
• overly concerned
with orderliness,
neatness, control, or
achieving perfection
• not as extreme as
the anxiety
disorder, OCD
Personality Disorders
Somatoform Disorders
• occur when a person
manifests a
psychological
problem through a
physiological
symptom.
• two types…
Hypochondriasis
• interpret normal
physical sensations
as indicative of
major illnesses or
diseases
Somatoform Disorders
Conversion Disorder
• report the existence
of severe physical
problems (i.e. –
blindness, paralysis)
with no biological
reason
Somatoform Disorders
Pol Pot
1st Period
5th Period
Other Disorders
• Paraphilias
(pedophilia, zoophilia,
hybristophilia)
• Sadism / Masochism
• Eating Disorders
• Substance Abuse
Disorders
• Developmental
Disorders (ADHD,
Autism, etc.)
3rd / 4th / 6th
The Rosenhan Study
• Rosenhan’s and associates made an
appointment with a mental institution,
reporting symptoms of hearing voices.
• ALL were admitted for schizophrenia.
• None were exposed as imposters.
• They all left diagnosed with
“Schizophrenia in Remission”.
• Conclusions of the study were related
to…
• patient care
• labeling and its effects
• stigmas associated with mental health
problems
Do “Mental Disorders” really exist?
• Thomas Szasz: mental illnesses are a
myth; they are “problems in living” that
have social/environmental causes
– labelling gives society the right to treat
what are really social problems
– Once labelled, people can be treated for
being different
Perspectives & Disorders
Psychological School/Perspective
Psychoanalytic/Psychodynamic
Cause of the Disorder
internal, unconscious drives
Humanistic
failure to strive to one’s potential or
being out of touch with one’s feelings;
emphasizes environmental factors
(because humans are “innately good”)
Behavioral
reinforcement history; the
environment
Cognitive
irrational, dysfunctional thoughts or
ways of thinking
Sociocultural
Biomedical/Neuroscience
dysfunctional society
organic problems, biochemical
imbalances, genetic predispositions.
What’s the disorder?