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 isnt 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)

Pasteurs 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)

Freuds 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