What is Abnormal Psychology?

• behaviors, thoughts, & moods outside what is considered “normal” in culture - atypical

• However… what is normal? what is abnormal?

Psychopathology

CATEGORIES

• Neuroses - anxiety based

- Phobias - Panic Disorders - GAD - OCD - Hypochondriasis - Depressions - Amnesias - PTSD - DID

• Psychoses – physiological based

- Personality Disorders *Addictions *Schizoid * Borderline - Depressions - Bipolar Disorder - Paranoia - Schizophrenias

Whitlock’s Line of Psychopathology

Reality

Neuroses

Psychoses

DID

PTSD

Phobias

Self-mutilation

Bi-Polar Disorder

BDD

Paranoid

Schizophrenia

SAD

Psychogenic Pain

Sexual Deviance

Addictions

Eating Disorders

Pseudocysis

Pyromania

RADOCDKleptomania

Trichotillomania

Hypochondriasis

Fugue

GAD

Munchausen(Pedophilia)

Historical Views of Abnormal Behavior

• Demonology, Gods, & Magic– Abnormal behavior often attributed to possession– “Good”or“Bad” possession depended on symptoms

• Hippocrates (460-377 B.C.)

- Mental disorders due to natural causes

- Humors = Fluids

Twentieth Century Treatment

• 1946 – 1963: Changing views of mental health services– National Institute of Mental Health organized– DSM-I published– Mary Jane Ward published The

Snake Pit– Goffman published Asylums– Hill-Burton Act is passed – Community Health Services Act of

1963

20th Century Deinstitutionalization

Deinstitutionalization and Community Mental Health Care1970s

• Forces that initiated– Miracle drugs– Reconceptualization of Mental Illness– Recognition of Institutional Hazards– Economic Incentives

Is this a mental disorder?

• A man can’t get through the day without crying

• A woman stays in bed until noon

• A woman believes that her daughter’s spirit is escaping from her body

• A man sets fire to his land

What are we studying?

• Abnormal Behaviors

• Psychopathology

• Mental Disorders

• Mental Illnesses

• Deviant Behaviors

Defining Mental Disorder

Must Have….

• Distress

• Maladaptiveness

• Irrationality

• Unpredictability

• Unconventionality

• Observer Discomfort

• Violation of Moral and Ideal Standards

Mental Health Professionals

• Clinical Psychologist (Ph.D., C. Psych.)

• Psychiatrist (M.D.)

• Psychiatric Social Worker (M.S.W.)

• Psychoanalyst

• Therapist/Counselor

Being Sane in Insane Places• Rosenhan Pseudopatient Study, 1973• Eight healthy participants complained of hearing

voices saying “thud,” “hollow,” and “empty,” but did not feign any other symptoms

• Admitted to inpatient hospital• Once admitted, “stopped” hearing these voices• Seven received diagnosis of Schizophrenia• Stays ranged from 7 to 52 days, average of 19 days

• Family and friends could identify no significant differences in behavior of “pseudo-patients”

• 35/118 other patients identified “pseudo-patients” as being sane– “You’re not crazy. You’re a journalist or a professor.

You’re checking up on the hospital.”

• Otherwise normal behavior was interpreted by hospital staff as symptoms of illness– Writing in journal was interpreted as compulsive

behavior– Walking around floor was interpreted as anxiety

Key points• When thinking about mental disorders, it is

important to remember:– Knowing person’s diagnosis and understanding that

diagnosis is important, but it is not sufficient to understanding person

– It is important to take person’s culture into consideration when thinking about their symptoms

– People are not defined by their diagnosis

• No one would talk about a cancer patient and say, “He’s cancerian” but people will say “He’s schizophrenic” when talking about someone suffering from schizophrenia