Abnormal Psychology
Lecture 1
Abnormal Behavior in
Historical Context
Chapter 1
Outline
• Understanding Psychopathology
– What is Normal?
– What is Psychological Disorder?
• Different Approaches to Psychopathology
– The Supernatural Tradition
– The Biological Tradition
– The Psychological Tradition
– The Present: The Scientific Method and an
Integrative Approach
Understanding Psychopathology
• What is normal?
– Provide examples of what is normal and what
isn’t
– How does the notion of what is normal differ
across cultures?
– Is there a fixed definition of normal just like
there are laws of physics?
– So, how do we construe the definition of what
is normal and what is not?
Understanding Psychopathology
• What is normal?
– The definition of ABNORMAL used in
DSM-IV-TR (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual
of Mental Disorders, 4th edition)
• Abnormal describes behavioral, emotional,
or cognitive dysfunctions that are
unexpected in their cultural context and
associated with personal distress or
substantial impairment in functioning.
Understanding Psychopathology
• Judy
• Psychological disorder consists of three
components:
– Psychological dysfunction
• Breakdown in cognitive, emotional, or behavioral
functioning (continuum vs. dimension)
– Personal distress
• Being extremely upset (caution – sometimes it is
normal to be extremely upset)
– Atypical or not culturally expected behavior
• Social norms and their possible misuse
Different Approaches to
Psychopathology
• The Supernatural Tradition
mental
– Mental illness is caused by demons and
witches
• Shock therapy (pit of snakes, ice-cold water)
• Exorcism (religious rituals to get rid of evil spirits)
– Mental illness is caused by stress
• Rest, sleep, a healthy and happy environment
– Mental illness is caused by the movements of
the moon and the stars
• Pracelsus
• lunatic
Different Approaches to
Psychopathology
• The Biological Tradition
– Hippocrates
• Mental illness caused by brain pathology, head trauma, heredity
– Galen
• Humoral theory of disorders (blood, black bile, yellow bile,
phlegm)
– Pasteur’s germ theory of disease
• Mental illness can be caused by a bacterial infection (syphilis)
– John P. Grey
• Insanity is always due to physical causes and patients suffering
from mental illness should be treated as physically ill
Different Approaches to
Psychopathology
• The Biological Tradition
– Focus on diagnosis
• Search for biological causes and classification
– Therapy
• Undiscovered psychopathology – reduced interest in
treating patients
• Insulin shock therapy
• Electroconvulsive therapy  ECT
• Chemical drugs
Different Approaches to
Psychopathology
• The Psychological Tradition
– Plato and Aristotle
– Moral therapy
• 18th century – treating patients as normally as
possible in normal environments
• Philippe Pinel, Benjamin Rush (father of american
psychiatry)
– Mental hygiene movement
• Dorothea Dix – 19th century
• Effort to improve care for mentally disordered and
make it more accessible
Different Approaches to
Psychopathology
• The Psychological Tradition
– Psychoanalytic theory
 Anna O.
• Mesmerism – ancestor of hypnosis, using
unconscious processes in therapy
• Catharsis – rapid and sudden release of emotional
tension
• Structure of the mind (id, ego, superego)
• Defense mechanisms (coping styles in response to
particular situations, e.g. displacement, denial,
projection, rationalization, sublimation)
• Psychosexual stages of development (oral, anal,
phallic, latency, and genital)
• Therapy (free association, dream analysis, hypnosis)
Freud’s structure of the mind
Different Approaches to
Psychopathology
• The Psychological Tradition
– Humanistic Theory
• Self-actualizing – we need a freedom to grow in
order to reach our highest potential
• Maslow (hierarchy of needs)
• Person-centered therapy (Rogers) – unconditional
positive regard and empathy
– Behaviorist Theory
•
•
•
•
Classical conditioning (Ivan Pavlov)
Little Albert (Watson)
Systematic desensitization (Joseph Wolpe)
Behavior therapy (conditioning and reward)
Different Approaches to
Psychopathology
• The Present: An Integrative Approach Bedlam
– Integration of biological, psychological, social and
other approaches to diagnosis and treatment of
psychological disorder
– Scientific approach to mental disorders
• Prevalence (number of people in the population suffering
from a disorder at a given time)
• Incidence (number of new cases appearing during a specific
time period)
• Course (pattern of development, e.g. chronic course,
episodic course, time-limited course)
• Prognosis (anticipated course of a disorder)
Different Approaches to
Psychopathology
• The Present: An Integrative Approach
– Psychopathology
• The scientific study of psychological disorders
– Mental health professionals
•
•
•
•
Clinical psychologists (more severe disorders)
Counseling psychologists (vocational issues)
Psychiatrists (emphasize biological treatments)
Psychiatric social workers (treatment focused on
social and family issues
• Psychiatric nurses (treatment in hospitals)
The Scientist-Practitioner Model