Abnormal Behavior in
Historical Context
Abnormal Psychology
Chapter 1
What is Psychopathology?
 A field concerned with the nature and
development of abnormal behavior, thoughts,
and feelings
Psychological Disorders
 “A psychological dysfunction within an
individual associated with distress and
impairment in functioning and a response that
is not typical or culturally expected”
(Proposed) Components of
Abnormal Behavior
 Statistical infrequency
 Psychological
dysfunction
 Violation of norms
 Unexpectedness
 Personal distress
 Atypical/not culturally
expected
Statistical Infrequency
 One aspect of abnormal behavior- it is
infrequent
 The majority of individuals fall in the middle,
with few falling at either extreme
 Limitations to this approach?
Statistical Infrequency
Violation of Norms
 Behavior that violates social rules- Deviance
 Examples of deviance/rule violations?
 Limitations to this approach?
Personal Distress
 Personal suffering- the individual is tormented
by their symptoms
 Examples of distress in the context of a
psychological disorder?
 Limitations to this approach?
Psychological Dysfunction
 An impairment affecting some aspect of the
individual’s life

cognitive functioning, behavioral functioning,
emotional functioning, work, personal
relationships

Limitations to this approach? Dysfunction
exists on a continuum, with few clear
boundaries
Unexpectedness
 An unexpected response to an environmental
stressor
 Is the response out of proportion to the
situation?
 Limitations to this approach? How do we
construct what is an expected vs. an
unexpected response?
Atypical and Not Culturally Expected
 Deviates from the average
 Behavior that is deviant and unexpected in
the context of a particular culture
 Limitations to this approach?
Historical Perspectives:
Focus on the Supernatural
 Supernatural explanations- good vs. evil;
displeasure of the gods, possession by the
devil
 Demonology- early Egyptians, Greeks,
Chinese; the devil takes control of the mind
 Exorcism and drilling into the skull
Focus on the Supernatural
 14th Century- belief in demons and witches;
this view was endorsed by the Catholic
Church
 15th Century- evil was blamed for abnormal
behavior- Salem witch trials
Focus on the Supernatural
 Confinement, beating, and torture of those
exhibiting abnormal behavior
 Cold water dunking; hanging people over
snake pits, etc.
Historical Perspectives:
Asylums
 Began in the 15th/16th Century; confinement
of the mentally ill
 Deplorable conditions; cruel medical
treatments
 London- St. Mary of Bethlehem; a tourist
attraction
Historical Perspectives:
The Moral Turn
 Philippe Pinel (1745-1826)- “struck the chains
from the insane”; freeing patients from
dungeons

Differential treatment based on social class
 Patients improved dramatically with humane
treatment
Historical Perspectives:
The Moral Turn
 William Tuke (1732-1822): created an
institution that was a retreat in the countryside
 Moral Treatment Movement: attendants
developed supportive relationships with
patients
Historical Perspectives:
The Moral Turn
 Dorothea Dix (1802-1877): a school teacher
who crusaded for institutional reform and
humane care
 Lead to the construction of large state
hospitals- discrimination toward immigrants
 The Moral paradigm was replaced by notions
of brain pathology- biological perspectives
Historical Perspectives: Somatogenesis
 Somatogenesis- belief that there is something
wrong with the soma (physical body) which
causes abnormal behavior
 Hippocrates (460-377B.C.)- recognizing
abnormal behavior as rooted in illness
Historical Perspectives: Somatogenesis
 Hippocrates: hypothesized that mental illness
resulted from an imbalance in bodily fluids“humors”

Parallel to modern day chemical imbalances
 Treatment; rest, sleep, changing the
environment
Historical Perspectives: Somatogenesis
 Resurgence of the biological perspective in
the 19th Century
 Research on syphilis: an STD which causes
delusions
 Renewed interest in biological perspectives-
lead to brain surgery and ECT
Historical Perspective
 Consequences of the biological tradition:

Emil Kraeplin (1856-1926)

Modern psychiatry; focus on diagnosis and
classification; based on behavioral symptoms
Historical Perspectives:
Competing Paradigms
 Schools of Thought: 20th Century

Psychoanalysis

Behaviorism

Humanism
Psychoanalysis
 Sigmund Freud

Emphasis on the unconscious mind

Psychoanalysis- to reach catharsis

Psychosexual stages
Psychoanalysis
 Structure of the mind: largely unconscious

Id: governed by the pleasure principle

Ego: governed by the reality principle

Superego: “internalized parent”
Psychoanalysis
 Defense Mechanisms: unconscious reactions
to prevent us from overwhelming anxiety

Denial, displacement, projection,
rationalization, reaction formation, repression,
sublimation
Behaviorism
 Classical conditioning
 Operant conditioning
 B.F. Skinner & John Watson
Behaviorism
 Behavior Therapy
 Joseph Wolpe- systematic desensitization
 Present day- anxiety reduction strategies
Humanism
 Reflections on the positive, optimistic side of
human nature
 Self actualization: reaching our highest
potential
 Carl Rogers- unconditional positive regard
Toward a Holistic Perspective
 Each tradition has shortcomings
 No one influence occurs in isolation:

Biological, behavioral, cognitive, social, and
social influences interact in complex ways

Understanding psychopathology through
integrative models