Abnormal Psychology Lecture 1 Abnormal Behavior in Historical

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 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, 4 th 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 • 18 th century – treating patients as normally as possible in normal environments • Philippe Pinel, Benjamin Rush (father of american psychiatry) – Mental hygiene movement • Dorothea Dix – 19 th 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