Abnormal Psychology:

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Chapter 1

• Abnormal Psychology
• Definition
• The Core Concepts

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Core Concepts in Abnormal Psychology

• Core Concepts in Defining Abnormality
• 1. The importance of context in defining and
  understanding abnormality

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Core Concepts in Abnormal Psychology

• 2. The continuum between normal and abnormal
  behavior

Intelligence
Suicidality
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Core Concepts in Abnormal Psychology

• 3. Cultural and historical relativism in defining
  and classifying abnormal behavior
• No universal definition of abnormality

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Approaches to Defining Abnormal Behavior

• Does Infrequency Define Abnormality?
• Does Suffering Define Abnormality?
• Does Strangeness Define Abnormality?
• Does the Behavior Itself Define Abnormality?
• Should Normality Serve as a Guide?

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Commonly Used Criteria for Defining Abnormality
(HIDES)

• Help Seeking
• Irrationality/Dangerousness
• Deviance
• Emotional Distress
• Significant Impairment

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Core Concepts in Abnormal Psychology

• describes behavioral, emotional, or cognitive
  dysfunctions that are unexpected in their
  cultural context and associated with personal
  distress or substantial impairment in
  functioning
• (DSM-IV)

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Psychopathology Defined

• A psychological dysfunction associated with
  distress or impairment in functioning that is not
  a typical or culturally expected response
• Mental Illness is a less preferred term
• Psychopathology is the scientific study of
  psychological disorders

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Core Concepts in Abnormal Psychology

• Science of Pathology
• Roles
• PhD vs. MD vs. MSW
• Clinical descriptions
• Prevalence, onset, prognosis, course

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The Science of Psychopathology

• What Factors Contribute to the Development of
  Psychopathology?
• Study of etiology
• How Can We Best Improve the Lives of People
  Suffering From Psychopathology?
• Study of treatment development
• Includes pharmacologic, psychosocial, and/or
  combined treatment
• How Do We Know That We Have Alleviated
  Psychological Suffering?
• Study of treatment outcome
• Limited in specifying actual causes of disorders

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Historical Conceptions of Abnormal Behavior

• Major Psychological Disorders Have Existed
• In all cultures
• Across all time periods
• Supernatural Theory

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Historical Conceptions of Abnormal Behavior

• Disorders caused by demons and supernatural
  powers
• Treatments include exorcisms

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Historical Conceptions of Abnormal Behavior

• Biological Theory
• Hippocrates
• Syphilis
• John Grey
• Treatment Options

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Historical Conceptions of Abnormal Behavior

• Psychoanalytic Theory
• Freud
• Structure of the mind
• Defense mechanisms
• Stages of development
• Humanistic Theory
• Jung, Alder, Rogers
• Self actualization

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Historical Conceptions of Abnormal Behavior

• Behaviorism
• Pavlovs classical conditioning
• Watsons Albert experiment
• Skinners operant conditioning

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Historical Conceptions of Abnormal Behavior

• Thomas Szasz
• Anti-psychiatry movements
• Myth of Mental Illness
• if you talk to God, you are praying if God
  talks to you, you have schizophrenia

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