1
Abnormal Psychology
Psych 32 – Spring 2014
Instructor: Ellen J Wright, PhD
Office Phone #: 781-736-2809
Office: Brown 128
Office Hours: Tu, Wed 9-10:30, or by appointment
Email ejwright@brandeis.edu (best way to contact)
Golding 110, TuTh 3:30-4:50
Graduate Teaching Fellow: Nicholas Brisbon
Office and Office Hours: Brown 104; office hours – Thursdays, 5-6:30, or by appointment
Email: nbris@brandeis.edu
Graduate Teaching Fellow: Franklyn Graham
Office and Office Hours: Brown 15, office hours – Mondays 9:30-11, or by appointment
Email: fjgraham@brandeis.edu
Undergraduate Teaching Fellow: Lauryn Garner
Office and Office Hours: Library Green room, office hours – Mondays 1-2
Email: lgarner@brandeis.edu
Required Texts:
Barlow and Durand
Clipson & Steer
Abnormal Psychology: An integrated approach
Cengage
Case Studies in Abnormal Psychology
Houghton Mifflin
7e (or the 6th ed1)
1998
Explanation of Reading Assignments:
Required.
Minimal reading for the course. These are on the course Latté.
Recommended. A more thorough exposition of the material that is covered briefly in the required
readings or in class. This is helpful to those who want a fuller understanding of the
material in the course and provides a source of ideas for the optional paper.
Course Objectives
 To gain an understanding of those behaviors and syndromes that have traditionally fallen under the
heading of “abnormal” or “psychopathological”
 To gain an understanding of the very exciting research on the etiology, dynamics, description, and
course of “maladaptive” behavior
 To gain an understanding of how nature and nurture interact in the process of developing “maladaptive”
behavior, and to understand the factors that affect developmental trajectories (including risk and
protective factors)
 To learn how to evaluate the clinical evidence regarding psychopathology
Obviously, these are big goals. I hope to get the ball rolling to help you become life-long learners who are
excited by the world you see, yet skeptical about explanations you receive.
Attendance: Attendance of this class is NOT mandatory. The professor (sometimes erroneously) assumes that
presence in a college class is synonymous with adulthood. However, lecture material will NOT duplicate the
text, as the professor (also often erroneously) assumes the students can and will read the assigned information
and would like more from the course than that. Further, test questions will be sampled from lecture and
assigned text readings. We will NOT repeat lectures on an individual basis.
Special Needs If you are a student with a documented disability on record at Brandeis University and wish to
have a reasonable accommodation made for you in this class, please see me immediately.
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Please note that the earlier edition of the text does not cover the DSM-V, so much of the actual diagnoses is out of date
2
Academic Honesty: You are expected to be honest in all of your academic work. The University policy on
academic honesty is distributed annually as section 5 of the Rights and Responsibilities handbook. Instances of
alleged dishonesty will be forwarded to the Office of Campus Life for possible referral to the Student Judicial
System. Potential sanctions include failure in the course and suspension from the University. If you have any
questions about my expectations, please ask.
Course Requirements
1. Exams: you will have two in-class examinations, with the second exam occurring during finals week. Both
tests will be worth 100 points each, and will include a combination of multiple choice, matching, and shortanswer questions. Each exam is a unit exam (no comprehensive exams). Lecture, all in-class materials and
discussions, and reading assignments will be covered in both exams. The second test will include a case history
component and that is worth an additional 50 points. The case study portion is to be accomplished
independently and uploaded no later than midnight of the final exam.
The ONLY excuses acceptable for missing an exam is illness (documented by a note from a physician), funeral
of close friend/relative (documented by a funeral notice or funeral bulletin), mandatory religious obligations or
other unavoidable circumstances or University activities. If you must be away at the time of an examination,
you may schedule an early exam. You will receive a review sheet (posted on Latté) that will serve as a general
guide. Test questions will not be limited to this review sheet, but the short questions posed on the review sheet
and the case history practice should help prepare you for the short-answer questions and the case history
segment.
2. Forum questions: each section will include a series of forum questions designed to provoke critical thinking
about the research reading. Thought questions will be posted and students are expected to post at least once on
each section throughout the course of the semester.
3. Creative assignment: Literature plays a critical role in each culture’s view of humanity. For this assignment,
you are expected to choose one of the books listed below and complete the assigned essay (essay questions will
be posted on Latté). Topic due 9/16, Creative Project Due – 10/30
Choice of...
Jamison, K. R. (1997). An unquiet mind: A memoir of moods and madness. Random House.
Lamb, W. (1992). She's come undone. NY: Washington Square Press.
Hornbacher, M. (1998). Wasted. Harper.
Lamb, W. (2008). I know this much is true. Harper Perennial.
Harris, T. (1993). Silence of the lambs. Mass Market Paperback.
(Potentially one other option – A Yellow Raft in Blue Water, Michael Dorris)
Journal Assignment
I would like you to keep a journal regarding their experiences in learning about abnormal psychology. Once a
week, please answer the following questions. Use a word document to complete the assignment so that it may
be uploaded.
o What is the most significant fact that I learned about abnormal psychology this week?
o What did I learn this week about the field of abnormal psychology that changed my existing perceptions
(e.g., what “myth” did I once believe that I now see differently)?
o One idea I had for a research study in abnormal psychology this week is _______.
The journal will be turned in at the end of the course. Please remember that you should only disclose
information that you are comfortable with me reading!
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Please Note:
The content on this syllabus is tentative. The instructor maintains the right to make changes to the
readings and the timing of the content as the course progresses. This need will be dictated by the interest
of the class and the uncontrollable loquacity of the instructor. We will cover as much material as we can,
but I will go neither so quickly that students are lost, nor so slowly that the lecture becomes unbearably
repetitive. However, assignment and exam dates are inflexible.
TOPICS
Dates
Topics
8/28
Introduction - Abnormal Behavior in Historical Text 1
Context
9/2
9/4
An Integrative Approach to Psychopathology
(Paradigms contd.)
Text 2
Rosenhan, Szasz, Spitzer,
Kendler
9/9
Clinical Assessment and Diagnosis, Research
Methods
Case Dynamics and Coping
Text 3,4, Case #1, Ausubel,
Snyder et al.
Lazarus
Anxiety, Trauma, and Stressor-Related and
Obsessive-Compulsive Related Disorders
Anxiety (contd.)
Text 5, Moffitt et al., Nestadt
et al., Case 2
Cases 3, 4
Text 6, Lilienfeld & Lynn
9/25
Somatic Symptom and Related Disorders and
Dissociative Disorders (Brandeis Thursday)
Rosh Hashannah – no class
9/30
Physical Disorders and Health Psychology
10/2
Substance-Related, Addictive and ImpulseControl Disorders
Text 9, Case 8, Adler &
Matthews
Text 11, Case 9
10/7
10/9
Substance (contd.)
Sukkot – no class
10/13
10/14
10/16
Midterm Exam (Brandeis Thursday)
Personality Disorders
Shmni Atzeret – no class
10/21
10/23
PDs (contd.)
PDs (contd.)
Cases 12-13
Blackburn; Waldman &
Rhee
10/28
10/30
Mood Disorders and Suicide
MDs (contd.)
Text 7, Cases 5-6
Alloy et al.
9/11
9/16
9/18
9/23
Readings
Assignments/Due
Dates
Creative Paper
Topic due
Text 12
Creative Paper
due
4
Dates
Topics
Readings
11/4
MDs (contd.)
11/6
Eating and Sleep-Wake Disorders
Flynn et al., Gotlib &
Robinson
Text 8, Case 15
11/11
11/13
EDs (contd.)
EDs (contd.)
Fairburn, Fladung et al.
11/18
Sexual Dysfunctions, Paraphilic Disorders and
Gender Dysphoria
Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic
Disorders
Text 15
11/20
11/24
11/26
Sz & PsyD (contd.)
Thanksgiving
12/2
12/4
Sz & PsyD (contd.)
Sz & PsyD (contd.)
Assignments/Due
Dates
Text 13
Upload journal
Final Exam + Case Study – Exam period
I.
Introduction
Required Readings:
Barlow & Durand (2014). Chapters 1 through 4.
Clipson & Steer (1998): Case #1.
Ausubel, D. (1961). Personality disorder is disease. American Psychologist, 16, 69-74.
Kendler, K.S. (2005). Toward a philosophical structure for psychiatry. American Journal of Psychiatry, 162,
433-440.
Rosenhan, D. L. (1973). On being sane in insane places. Science, 179, 250-258.
Spitzer, R. L. (1976). More on pseudoscience in science and the case for psychiatric diagnosis. Archives of
General Psychiatry, 33, 459-470.
Snyder, C. R., Shenkel, R. J., & Lowery, C. R. (1977). Acceptance of personality interpretations: The "Barnum
Effect" and beyond. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 45, 104-114.
Szasz, T. S. (1960). The myth of mental illness. American Psychologist, 15, 113-118.
Recommended Readings:
Bromberg, W. (1959). The mind of man: A history of psychotherapy and psycho-analysis. New York: Harper
& Row.
Eysenck, H. J. (1986). A critique of contemporary classification and diagnosis. In T. Millon & G. Klerman
(Eds.), Contemporary directions in psychopathology. New York: Guilford Press.
Grove, W. M., & Meehl, P. E. (1996). Comparative efficiency of informal (subjective, impressionistic) and
formal (mechanical, algorithmic) prediction procedures: The clinical-statistical controversy. Psychology,
Public Policy, and Law, 2, 293-323.
Grove, W. M., Zald, D. H., Lebow, B. S., Snitz, B. E., & Nelson, C. (2000). Clinical versus mechanical
prediction: A meta-analysis. Psychological Assessment, 12, 19-30.
Lilienfeld, S. O., & Marino, L. (1995). Mental disorder as a Roschian concept: A critique of Wakefield’s
‘harmful dysfunction’ analysis. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 104, 411-420.
Nathan, P. E., & Langenbucher, J. W. (1999). Psychopathology: Description and classification. Annual Review
of Psychology, 50, 79-107.
Raulin, M. L., & Lilienfeld, S. O. (1999). Research methods for studying psychopathology. In T. Millon, P. H. Blaney,
and R. D. Davis (Eds.), Oxford textbook of psychopathology (pp 49-78). New York: Oxford University Press.
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Wakefield, J. C. (1992). The concept of mental disorder: On the boundary between biological facts and social
values. American Psychologist, 47, 373-388.
II.
Stress, Coping, Anxiety Disorders
Required Readings:
Barlow & Durand (2014). Chapters 5, 6
Clipson & Steer (1998): Cases #2, 3, 4
Lazarus, R. S. (2000). Toward better research on stress and coping. American Psychologist, 55, 665-673.
Lilienfeld, S. O., & Lynn, S. J. (2003). Dissociative Identity Disorder: Multiple personalities, multiple
controversies. In S. O. Lilienfeld, S. J. Lynn, & J. M. Lohr (Eds.), Science and pseudoscience in clinical
psychology (pp. 109-142). New York: Guilford Press.
Moffitt, T. E., Harrington, H., Caspi, A., Kim-Cohen, J., Goldberg, D., Gregory, A. M., & Poulton, R. (2007).
Depression and Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Cumulative and sequential comorbidity in a birth cohort
followed prospectively to age 32 years. Archives of General Psychiatry, 64, 651-660.
Recommended Readings:
Copeland, W. E., Keeler, G., Angold, A., & Costello, E. J. (2007). Traumatic events and posttraumatic stress in
childhood. Archives of General Psychiatry, 64, 577-584.
Cramer, P. (2000). Defense mechanisms in psychology today: Further processes for adaptation. American
Psychologist, 55, 637-646.
Craske, M. G., & Barlow, D. H. (2001). Panic disorder and agoraphobia. In D. H. Barlow (Ed.). Clinical
handbook of psychological disorders (pp. 1-59). New York: The Guilford Press.
Hirsch, C.R., & Clark, D.M. (2004). Information-processing bias in social phobia. Clinical Psychology Review,
24, 799-825.
Nestadt, G., Samuels, J., Riddle, M., Bienvenu, O. J., Liang, K. Y., LaBuda, M., Walkup, J., Grados, M., &
Hoehn-Saric, R. (2000). A family study of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Archives of General
Psychiatry, 57, 358-363.
Rachman, S. (1997). A cognitive theory of obsessions. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 35, 793-802.
Rapoport, J. L., & Fiske, A. (1998). The new biology of obsessive-compulsive disorder: Implications for
evolutionary psychology. Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, 41, 159-175.
Roth, W.T., Wilhelm, F.H., & Pettit, D. (2005). Are current theories of panic falsifiable? Psychological
Bulletin, 131, 171-192.
Somerfield, M. R., & McCrae, R. R. (2000). Stress and coping research: Methodological challenges, theoretical
advances, and clinical applications. American Psychologist, 55, 620-625.
Spanos, N.P. (1994). Multiple identity enactments and multiple personality disorder: A sociocognitive
perspective. Psychological Bulletin, 116, 143-165.
Yehuda, R. (2002). Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. New England Journal of Medicine, 346, 108-114.
III.
Psychophysiological Disorders
Required Readings:
Barlow & Durand (2014). Chapter 9
Clipson & Steer (1998): Case: 8
Recommended Readings:
Adler, N., & Matthews, K. (1994). Health psychology: Why do some people get sick and others stay well? In L.
Porter & M.R. Rosenweig, (Eds.) Annual Review of Psychology, 45, 229-259.
Everly, G. S. (1986). A biopsychosocial analysis of psychosomatic disease. In T. Millon & G. Klerman (Eds.),
Contemporary directions in psychopathology. New York: Guilford Press.
IV.
Substance Issues and Personality Disorders
Required Readings:
Barlow & Durand (2014). Chapters 9, 11, 12
Clipson & Steer (1998): Cases #12 & 13.
Blackburn, R. (2006). Other theoretical models of psychopathy. In C. Patrick (Ed.), Handbook of psychopathy,
pp. 35-57. New York: Wiley.
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Recommended Readings:
Battle, C. L., Shea, M. T., Johnson, D. M., Yen, S., Zlotnick, C., Zanarini, M.C. et al. (2004). Childhood
maltreatment associated with adult personality disorders: Findings from the collaborative longitudinal
personality disorders study. Journal of Personality Disorders, 18, 193-211.
Hare, R. D. (1998). Psychopaths and their nature: Implications for the mental health and criminal justice
system. In T. Millon, E. Simonson, M. Birket-Smith, & R.D. Davis, (Eds.), Psychopathy: Antisocial,
criminal, and violent behavior (pp. 188–212). New York: Guilford Press.
Iacono, W. G., Malone, S. M., & McGue, M. (2003). Substance use disorders, externalizing psychopathology,
and P300 event-related potential amplitude. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 48, 147-178.
Krueger, R. F., Markon, K. E., Patrick, C. J., & Iacono, W. G. (2005). Externalizing psychopathology in
adulthood: A dimensional-spectrum conceptualization and its implications for DSM-V. Journal of
Abnormal Psychology, 114(4), 537-550.
Lenzenweger, M. F., & Clarkin, J. E. (1996). The personality disorders: History, classification, and research
issues. In J. E Clarkin & M. F Lenzenweger, (Eds.), Major theories of personality disorder (pp. 1-35).
New York: The Guilford Press.
Pettit, G. S., & Dodge, K. A. (Eds.). (2003). Violent children [Special Issue]. Developmental Psychology, 39(2).
Waldman, I. D., & Rhee, S. H. (2006). Genetic and environmental influences on psychopathy and antisocial
behavior. In C. l (Ed.), Handbook of psychopathy, pp. 205-228. New York: Wiley.
Widiger, T. A. & Simonsen, E. (2005). Alternative dimensional models of personality disorder: Finding a
common ground. Journal of Personality Disorders, 19, 110-130.
V.
Mood and Eating Disorders
Required Readings:
Barlow & Durand (2014). Chapters 7, 8 (pp. 268-295)
Clipson & Steer (1998): Cases #5, 6, 15.
Alloy, L. B., Abramson, L. Y., Walshaw, P. D., Gerstein, R. K., Keyser, J. D., Whitehouse, W. G., Urosevic, S.,
Nusslock, R., Hogan, M. E., & Harmon-Jones, E. (2009). Behavioral approach system (BAS)–relevant
cognitive styles and bipolar spectrum disorders: Concurrent and prospective associations. Journal of Abnormal
Psychology, 118, 459-471.
Flynn, M., Kecmanovic, J., & Alloy, L.B. (2010). An examination of integrated cognitive-interpersonal
vulnerability to depression: The role of rumination, perceived social support, and interpersonal stress
generation. Cognitive Therapy Research, 34, 456–466.
Gotlib, I.H., & Robinson, L.A. (1982). Responses to depressed individuals: Discrepancies between self-report
and observer-rated behavior, Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 91, 231-240.
Recommended Readings:
Cuellar, A.K., Johnson, S.L., & Winters, R. (2005). Distinctions between bipolar and unipolar depression. Clinical
Psychology Review, 25, 307-339.
Davidson, R. J., Pizzagalli, D., Nitschke, J. B., & Putnam, K. (2002). Depression: Perspectives from affective
neuroscience. Annual Review of Psychology, 53, 545-574.
Fairburn, C.G. et al. (2007). The severity and status of eating disorder NOS: Implications for DSM-V.
Behaviour Research and Therapy, 45, 1705-1715.
Fairburn, C.G. et al. (2003). Understanding persistence in Bulimia Nervosa: A 5-year naturalistic study. Journal
of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 71, 103-109
Fladung et al. (2010). A neural signature of Anorexia Nervosa in the ventral striatal reward system. American
Journal of Psychiatry, 167, 206–212.
Gotlib, I. H., Krasnoperova, E., Yue, D. N., & Joormann, J. (2004). Attentional biases for negative interpersonal stimuli
in clinical depression. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 113, 127-135.
Hatch et al. (2010). Emotion brain alterations in Anorexia Nervosa: A candidate biological marker and
implications for treatment. Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, 35, 267-274.
Kessler, R. et al. (2003). The epidemiology of major depression disorder: Results from the National
Comorbidity Survey Replication. Journal of the American Medical Association, 289, 3095-3105.
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Lewinsohn, P. M., Allen, M. B., Seeley, J. R., & Gotlib, I. H. (1999). First onset versus recurrence of
depression: Differential processes of psychosocial risk. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 108, 483-489.
Monroe, S. M., Slavich, G. M., Torres, L. D., & Gotlib, I. H. (2007). Major life events and major chronic
difficulties are differentially associated with history of major depressive episodes. Journal of Abnormal
Psychology, 116, 116-124.
Nesse, R. M. (2000). Is depression an adaptation? Archives of General Psychiatry, 57, 14-20.
Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (1987). Sex differences in unipolar depression: Evidence and theory. Psychological
Bulletin, 101, 259-282.
Paul, T., Schroeter, K., Dahme, B., & Nutzinger, D.O. (2002). Self-injurious behavior in women with eating
disorders. American Journal of Psychiatry, 159, 408-411.
V. Eating Disorders, Sleep-Wake Disorders, Sexual Dysfunctions
Text 8 (contd.) and 15
VII. Schizophrenia
Required Readings:
Barlow & Durand (2014). Chapter 13
Clipson & Steer (1998): Case #7.
Erlenmeyer-Kimling, L., Roberts, S. A., Rock, D. (2004) Longitudinal prediction of schizophrenia in a
prospective high-risk study. In L. F. DiLalla (Ed.), Behavior genetics principles: Perspectives in
development, personality, and psychopathology (pp. 135-144). Washington, DC: American
Psychological Association.
Walker, E., Kestler, L., Bollini, A., & Hochman, K. M. (2004). Schizophrenia: Etiology and course. Annual Review of
Psychology, 55, 401-430.
Recommended Readings:
Andreasen, N. C., Paradiso, S., & O’Leary, D. S. (1998). “Cognitive Dysmetria” an integrative theory of
schizophrenia: A dysfunction in cortical-subcortical-cerebella circuitry. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 24, 203218.
Fowles, D.C. (19920. Schizophrenia: Diathesis-stress revisited. Annual Review of Psychology, 43, 303-336.
Gottesman, I. I., & Moldin, S. O. (1998). Genotypes, genes, genesis, and pathogenesis in schizophrenia. In M.
F. Lenzenweger & R. H. Dworkin (Eds.), Origins and development of schizophrenia: Advances in
experimental psychopathology (pp. 247-295). Washington DC: APA Press.
Heston, L.L. (1966). Psychiatric disorders in foster home reared children of schizophrenic mothers. British
Journal of Psychiatry, 112, 819-826.
Hooley, J. M., & Gotlib, I. H. (2000). A diathesis-stress conceptualization of expressed emotion and clinical
outcome. Applied & Preventive Psychology, 9, 135-151.
Kempf, L., Hussain, N., & Potash, J.B. (2005). Mood disorder with psychotic features, schizoaffective disorder,
and schizophrenia with mood features: Trouble at the borders. International Review of Psychiatry, 17(1),
9-19.
Knight, R.A. & Valner, J.B. (1993). Affective deficits in schizophrenia. In C. G. Costello (Ed.), Symptoms of
Schizophrenia. New York: John Wiley.
Meehl, P.E. (1990). Toward an integrated theory of schizotaxia, schizotypy, and schizophrenia. Journal of
Personality Disorders, 4, 1-99.
Sullivan, P. F., Kendler, K. S., & Neale, M. C. (2003). Archives of General Psychiatry, 60, 1187-1192.
VII.
Treatment - Psychotherapy, Behavior Modification, etc.
We will not have time to discuss treatment in class. If you are interested in treatment, you should take
Psych. 167b, Schools of Psychotherapy and Behavior Change. Chapter 16 is a brief introduction to various
methods and can be read at your leisure. This chapter is not, however, required.