ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY
PY362, Block 1, 2005-2006
Professor: Kristi Erdal
Office: Tutt Science Center 306I
Phone: 389-6598
Office Hours: by appointment
Pre-requisite: PY201 (Research Design in Psychology) or PY202 (Research Design)
This syllabus can be found at http://www.coloradocollege.edu/dept/PY/Faculty/Erdal.html
This course will provide a survey of the theories and research about the major psychological disorders.
Psychopathology will be studied simultaneously as a biological and socio-cultural construct. Prevalence,
assessment and classification methods, causal factors, treatment approaches, and prognosis will be covered, and
the legal and ethical implications of "abnormality" will be discussed. In addition, factors that place individuals
at risk for psychological disorders and preventive approaches will be examined.
REQUIRED READINGS:
Text: Davison, G., Neale, J., & Kring, A. (2004). Abnormal psychology (9th edition). New York: John Wiley
& Sons, Inc.
[Available in the bookstore.]
Additional readings. [Linked to web page above.]
EXAMS: There will be a total of three exams, worth 100 points each. They will all be part multiple choice,
part fill-in-the-blank, part short answer, and part essay. You will have from 9:00 am - 12:00 noon to take the
exams. The nature of the course requires that all exams have a cumulative component. There are NO "make-up"
exams for any reason.
PAPER: On the first day of class, you will be divided into small groups. Your group will decide on a general
topic of common interest (e.g., depression, anxiety disorders, legal issues, etc.). Within the general topic, each
individual group member will then pick an independent sub-topic on which to write his/her paper (e.g., maternal
effects on childhood depression, etiology of OCD, violence in mental illness). Your sub-topics should be
approved by your group members to assure no duplications. Your sub-topic must then be approved by me by
Friday, 9/9. Based on your review of the literature, your sub-topic may change its focus over time, but not its
content. Therefore, you must make sure there are enough "retrievable" references in Colorado Springs for your
given topic prior to having it approved by me because you will not be able to change groups.
Your paper will be an approximately 10 page critical summary of the literature in your sub-topic area, with the
majority of sources being empirical research. Utilize your Research Design experience to critique the articles
you select and offer up directions for future research. Your research group members should be valuable
research associates. That is, group members may come across articles that another group member might find
relevant, and you are encouraged to share your resources.
The paper, in perfect APA style (5th edition), will be due on 9/23 at 1:00 pm. "Late" is defined as any time
after 1:00 pm. There are NO EXCUSES for a late paper (including computer, printer, and brain malfunctions).
Needless to say, late papers will be marked down accordingly by their degree of lateness.
GROUP PRESENTATIONS: As a future graduate of a liberal arts institution, it is imperative that you are not
only able to write effectively, but that you are also able to communicate what you know orally. As such, during
the last week of class, your research group will make an approximately 30 minute presentation to the class on
your common topic. You should get together with your group members beforehand to organize your
presentation thoughtfully. By presentation, I do not mean reading your paper to the class. I mean briefly (this
will be timed) reviewing the topic area, summarizing the research of your sub-topic utilizing visual aids (i.e.,
transparency, blackboard, powerpoint), briefly discussing the problems and future directions of the research, and
then effectively fielding questions. Your group's presentation will serve as the review on that topic for the final
exam. Your presentation grade will be based primarily on your contribution to the group presentation.
GRADING: Your final grade will be calculated as follows:
Exam I
Exam II
Exam III
Paper
Presentation
=
=
=
=
=
20%
20%
20%
20%
20%
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CD+
D
NC
S
70-100
CR
65-69
93-100
90-92
88-89
83-87
80-82
78-79
73-77
70-72
68-69
65-67
<65
D+, D, CR, or NC would have to be retaken to fulfill Psychology department requirements.
A
B
C
D
NC
Excellent work that reflects superior understanding and insight, creativity, or skill.
Good work that reflects a high level of understanding and insight, creativity, or skill.
Adequate work that indicates readiness to continue study in the field.
Marginal work, only minimally adequate, indicating lack of readiness to continue in the field.
Failing work, clearly inadequate and unworthy of credit.
COURSE SCHEDULE
Date
Topic
Readings (to be read prior to class)
Monday, September 5:
10:30 am
Introduction to Course
Video: Looking at Abnormal Behavior
Assignment to RESEARCH GROUPS
Tuesday, September 6:
9:00 am
Defining abnormal behavior
1:00 pm
Video: Mental Illness: Fact or Myth?
DNK, ch. 1
Rosenhan (1973)
Szasz (1960)
Wednesday, September 7:
9:00 am
Psychological perspectives
Group Research Topic Due
DNK, ch. 2
Freud (1909)
Wolpe et al. (1960)
Psychological Assessment
DNK, ch. 4
Draguns et al. (2003)
Manson (1995)
9:00 am
Mood Disorders
Individual Sub-topics Due
Visitor: Esther
DNK, ch. 10
Blatt (1995)
Antonuccio et al. (1995)
1:30 pm
Mood Disorders (continued)
Thursday, September 8:
9:00 am
Friday, September 9:
Monday, September 12:
9:00 am
Anxiety Disorders
1:00 pm(?)
Meet with RESEARCH GROUPS
DNK, ch. 6
Kozaric- et al. (1995)
Marks (1997)
Tuesday, September 13:
9:00 am
Schizophrenia
Video: The New Asylums
Exam I content ends here.
DNK, ch. 11
Shergill et al. (2004)
Levin et al. (1996)
Wednesday, September 14:
9:00 am – 11:00 am
Personality Disorders
noon - 5:00 pm
Tour of Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo
Meet the CC bus behind Tutt Science Center at the Loading Dock
DNK, ch. 13
Kiehl et al. (2001)
Oldham et al. (1996)
Thursday, September 15:
9:00 am
Exam I
Friday, September 16:
9:00 am
Substance Abuse
DNK, ch. 12
McCann et al. (1997)
MacCoun (1998)
9:00 am
Sexual Disorders
DNK, ch. 14
McConaghy (1999); pp. 285-302,
306-318
Craissati and Beech (2004)
1:30 pm
Visitor: Avy
Go over Exam
Meet with RESEARCH GROUPS
Monday, September 19:
Tuesday, September 20:
9:00 am
Somatoform & Dissociative Disorders
1:00 pm
Video: Mind of a Murderer
DNK, ch. 7
Schacter et al. (1996)
Krahn et al. (2003)
Wednesday, September 21:
9:00 am
Exam II
Thursday, September 22:
9:00 am
Childhood Disorders
DNK, pp. 475-482, 506-515
Sacks (1995)
Friday, September 23:
9:00 am
Aging and psychopathology
DNK, ch. 16
Rodin & Langer (1977)
1:00 pm
Papers Due / Go over Exam / Group Workshop for Presentations
Monday, September 26:
9:00 am
GROUP PRESENTATIONS
1:00 pm
GROUP PRESENTATIONS (if needed)
Tuesday, September 27:
9:00 am
Legal and ethical issues
Video: My Doctor, My Lover
Wednesday, September 28:
9:00 am
EXAM III
DNK, ch. 18
APA Monitor (1996)
Kan (2004)
References
American Psychological Association Monitor. (1996, Dec.). APA files amicus brief in gay-rights case before
Supreme court.
Antonuccio, D., Danton, W., & DeNelsky, G. (1995). Psychotherapy versus medication for depression:
Challenging the conventional wisdom with data. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice,
26(6), 574-585.
Blatt, S. (1995). The destructiveness of perfectionism: Implications for the treatment of depression. American
Psychologist, 50(12), 1003-1020.
Craissati, J. and Beech, A. (2004). The characteristics of a geographical sample of convicted rapists: Sexual
victimization and compliance in comparison to child molesters. Journal of Interpersonal Violence,
19(4),
371-388.
Draguns, J. and Tanaka-Matsumi, J. (2003). Assessment of psychopathology across and within cultures: Issues
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Freud, S. (1959). The Collected Papers of Sigmund Freud, vol. 3, pp. 243-289. (ed. E. Jones). NY: Basic
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Kiehl, K., Smith, A., Hare, R., Mendrek, A., Forster, B., Brink, J., & Liddle, P. (2001). Limbic abnormalities in
affective processing by criminal psychopaths as revealed by functional magnetic resonance imaging.
Biological Psychiatry, 50, 677-684.
Kozaric-Kovacic, D., Folnegovic-Smalc, V., Skrinjaric, J., Szajnberg, N., & Marusic, A. (1995). Rape, torture,
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Krahn, L., Li, H., & O’Connor, M. (2003). Patients who strive to be ill: Factitious disorder with physical
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Levin, E., Wilson, W., Rose, J., & McEvoy, J. (1996). Nicotine-haloperidol interactions and cognitive
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MacCoun, R. (1998). Toward a psychology of harm reduction. American Psychologist, 53(11), 1199-1208.
Manson, S. (1995). Culture and major depression: Current challenges in the diagnosis of mood disorders.
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Marks, I. (1997). Behavior therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder: A decade of progress. Canadian Journal
of Psychiatry, 42, 1021-1027.
McCann, U., Lowe, K., & Ricaurte, G. (1997). Long-lasting effects of recreational drugs of abuse on the central
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McConaghy, N. (1999). Unresolved issues in scientific sexology. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 28(4), 285-318.
Oldham, J., Skodol, A., Gallaher, P., & Kroll, M. (1996). Relationship of borderline symptoms to histories of
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Rodin, J. and Langer, E. (1977). Long-term effects of a control-relevant intervention with the institutionalized
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Rosenhan, D. (1973). On being sane in insane places. Science, 179, 250-258.
Sacks, O. (1995). An anthropologist on Mars (pp. 244-296). In An Anthropologist on Mars: Seven Paradoxical
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Schacter, D., Koutstaal, W., & Norman, K. (1996). Can cognitive neuroscience illuminate the nature of
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Shergill, S., Brammer, M., Amaro, E., Williams, S., Murray, R., & McGuire, P. (2004). Temporal course of
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Szasz, T. (1960). The myth of mental illness. American Psychologist, 15, 113-118.
Wolpe, J. and Rachman, S. (1960). Psychoanalytic "evidence": A critique based on Freud's case of Little Hans.
Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 130, 135-148.