Abnormal Behavior
Abnormal Psychology
The scientific study of abnormal behavior
in order to describe, predict, explain, and
change abnormal patterns of functioning.
Goal of course:
Learn theories of abnormal behavior.
Learn scientific based knowledge about
abnormal behavior.
Decrease judgment of others.
What is Psychologically Abnormal?
 The Four D’s
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Deviance
Distress
Dysfunction
Danger
Four D’s in More Detail I.
 Deviance
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Deviance from or violation of a society’s ideas
about proper function.
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Norms- a society’s explicit and implicit rules for
proper conduct.
Culture- a society’s shared rules that govern the
behavior of its members, common history, values,
beliefs, habits, skills, technology, and arts.
Includes a valuational aspect which varies
from culture to culture.
Four D’s in More Detail II.
 Distress
 Pain or discomfort
 Dysfunctional or Maladaptive Behavior
 It interferes with daily functioning.
 Danger
 Behavior that becomes dangerous to self or
others.
 Note: Abnormal behavior is to some degree
arbitrary and culturally determined
 Medical Model vs. Bio-psychosocial Model
DSM DEFINITION: MENTAL DISORDER
 [A mental disorder] is conceptualized as a clinically significant
behavioral or psychological syndrome or pattern that occurs in an
individual and that is associated with present distress (a painful
symptom) or disability (impairment in one or more areas of
functioning) or with a significantly increased risk of suffering death,
pain, disability, or an important loss of freedom. In addition, this
syndrome or pattern must not be merely an expectable and culturally
sanctioned response to a particular event, for example, the death of a
loved one. Whatever its original cause, it must currently be
considered a manifestation of a behavioral, psychological, or
biological dysfunction in the individual. Neither deviant behavior (e.g.
political, religious, or sexual) nor conflicts that are primarily between
the individual and society are mental disorders unless the deviance or
conflict is a symptom of a dysfunction in the individual as described
above.
 Syndrome- a group of clinical observations or symptoms that tend to
co-occur.
Other Definitions
 Psychological Disorder – a harmful dysfunction in which
behavior is judged to be atypical, disturbing,
maladaptive, and unjustifiable.
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 Abnormal Behavior- we define behavior as abnormal, a
manifestation of mental disorder, if it is both persistent
and in serious degree contrary to the continued wellbeing of the individual and/or that of the human
community of which the individual is a member.
(Carson, Butcher, & Mineka)
Classification of Abnormal Behavior
 A useful classification system must be
reliable and valid.
 Three models of classification
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1. Categorical
2. Dimensional
3. Prototypal
Three Models of Classiciation
 Categorical Approach
Human behavior can be divided into two categories (health or
unhealthy).
 The unhealthy category consists of discrete, nonoverlapping,
classes or types.
 Dimensional Approach
 Bx= product of different dimensions (eg. anxiousness, extroversion)
 People differ in profile or configuration of these dimensional traits.
 Normal or abnormal is determined by looking at any particular
dimension and making a determination usually based on a
normative percentage.
 Prototypal Approach
 Assumes the existence of conceptual entities (prototypes) depicting
idealized combinations of characteristics, ones that more or less
regularly occur together.
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DSM Classification of Mental Disorders
 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders (DSM)
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Introduced in 1952
Moving from a subjective to operational
definition.
Diagnosis is based on signs and symptoms
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Signs- objective observations of a patients physical
or mental disorder by a diagnostician.
Symptoms- patient’s subjective description of a
physical or mental disorder.
The Five Axes of DSM-IV-TR
 Axis I - Particular clinical syndromes
 Axis II - Personality disorders
 Axis III - General medical conditions
 Axis IV - Psychosocial/environmental
problems
 Axis V - Global assessment of functioning
 The DSM is organized into major etiological
groupings (see next slide)
DSM Main Categories
Axis I & Axis II Disorders
 Disorders secondary to gross destruction or
malfunctioning of brain tissue
 Substance-use disorders
 Disorders of psychological or sociological
origin having no known brain pathology
 Disorders usually arising during childhood or
adolescence
Mental Disorder’s Qualifying Terms
 Comorbidity-existence of two or more disorders
 Acute- describes a disorder of sudden onset, usually
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with intense symptoms
Chronic- describes a long-standing or frequently
recurring disorder, often of progressing seriousness
Mild/Moderate/Severe- describes a disorder of a low
order of severity, intermediate order of severity, and a
high degree of seriousness.
Episodic Disorder- describes a disorder that tends to
abate and to recur
Recurrent- describes a disorder pattern that tends to
come and go.
Labeling: Positive and Negative
 Communication
 Social Label
 May limit Inquiry Once Applied
 Self-fulfilling Prophecy
 Have Pejorative and Stigmatizing Implications
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Second-Class Citizens
Devastate Self-Esteem and Morale
The Extent of Abnormal Behavior
 Epidemiology- study of the distribution of diseases,
disorders, or health-related behaviors in a given
population.
 Prevalence- the proportion of active cases of a
disorder that can be identified in a population at a
given point in, or during a given period, of time.
 Incidence- occurrence (onset) rate of a given disorder
in a given population.
 Lifetime Prevalence- the proportion of living persons
in a population who have ever had a disorder up to
the time of the epidemiological assessment.
The Extent of Abnormal Behavior
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Any mood disorder
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Any anxiety disorder
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(male) Lifetime % = 14.7; 12-month % = 8.5
(female) Lifetime % = 23.9; 12-month % = 14.1
(total) Lifetime % = 19.3; 12-month % = 11.3
Lifetime % = 19.2; 12-month % = 11.8
Lifetime % = 30.5; 12-month % = 22.6
Lifetime % = 24.9; 12-month % = 17.2
Any substance abuse d/o
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Lifetime % = 35.4; 12-month % = 16.1
Lifetime % = 17.9; 12-month % = 6.6
Lifetime % = 26.6; 12-month % = 11.3
Historical Views of Abnormal Behavior
 Demonology, Gods, and Magic
 Cause- possession of evil spirits
 Tx- exorcism
 Early Greek and Roman Thought
 Hippocrates (460-370 B.C)
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Cause
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Mental Disorders have natural causes
Brain Central Organ of Intellectual Activity
Heredity
Four Bodily Humors (blood, black bile, yellow bile, and
phlegm)
Tx
 Tranquil lifestyle, abstinence from excesses, bleeding,
exercise
 Pleasant surroundings, massage, hydrotherapy,
education,
 Bleeding, purging, mechanical restraints
Historical Views of Abnormal Behavior II
 Early Greek and Roman Thought (cont)
 Galen (130-200 A.D.)
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Anatomy of Nervous System
Causes
 Physical and Mental Categories
 Head injuries, alcoholic excess, shock, fear, menstruation
 Disappointment of love
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Tx
 Contrariis contrarius (opposite by opposite)
 Middle Ages (500-1500)
 Return to Demonology & Superstition and away
from Physical Causes
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Mass Madness (lycanthropy and tarantism)
Historical Views of Abnormal Behavior III
 Middle Ages (1500-1700s)
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Establishment of Asylums and Shrines
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Means of removing mentally ill from society
 Horrid condition of filth and deprivation including:
darkness, starvation, restraints, cold baths, tortures.
 Beginning of the Modern Era
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Biological Link between Brain and Mental Disorder
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General Paresis & Syphilis
Classification System (Kraeplin) & Medical Model
Historical Views of Abnormal Behavior IV
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Establishing the Psychological Basis
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Mesmerism
Nancy School
Psychoanalysis (Freud)
 Hypnosis and Catharsis
 Unconscious and Free Association
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Establishing An Experimental Research
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Laboratories
Behavioral Perspective
 Classical Conditioning
 Operant Conditioning
Research in Abnormal Psychology
 Observation of behavior
 Forming hypotheses about behavior
 Sampling
 Generalization
Research in Abnormal Psychology
 Control group
 Criterion group
Correlation versus Causation
Potential relationships between two variables:
 Variable A causes variable B
 Variable A and variable B are both caused by
variable C
 Variables A and B are both involved in a
complex pattern of variables influencing A
and B in similar ways
Research in Abnormal Psychology
 Independent Variable
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The manipulated factor
 Dependent Variable
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Changes as the manipulated factor is changed
Research in Abnormal Psychology
 Animal research
 Analogue studies
 Clinical case studies
Research in Abnormal Psychology
 Retrospective strategies
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Looking backward in order to reconstruct the
client’s developmental history
 Prospective strategies
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Focus on individuals who have a higher-thanaverage likelihood of becoming
psychologically disordered before abnormal
behavior shows up