abnormal psychology
psychopathology -
✅study of nature, symptomatology, development, and treatment of psychological disorders
challenges to the study of psychopathology -
✅Maintain objectivity
Avoid preconceived notions
Reduce stigma
key characteristics in the DSM definition of mental disorder -
✅personal distress
disability
violation of social norms
dysfunction
psychological dysfunction -
✅breakdown in cognitive, emotional, or behavioral functioning
psychological dysfunction -
✅considered to be on a continuum or a dimension rather than to be categories that are either
present or absent
personal distress -
✅a person's behavior may be classified as disordered if it causes him or her great distress
disability -
✅impairment in some important area of life (e.g. work or personal relationships) - can also
characterize mental disorder
disability -
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, ✅impairment is set in the context of a person's background
violation of social norms -
✅Reaction is outside cultural norms
violation of social norms -
✅something is considered abnormal because it occurs infrequently
violation of social norms -
✅it deviates from the average
diagnostic and statistical manual (dsm) -
✅widely accepted system
used to classify psychological problems and disorders
DSM contains diagnostic criteria for behaviors that -
✅fit a pattern, cause dysfunction or subjective distress, are present for a specific duration, and
for behaviors that are not otherwise explainable
abnormality -
✅accdg to dsm-iv tr (& drafts of dsm-v): describes behavioral, psychological, or biological
dysfunctionss that are unexpected in their cultural context and associated with present distress and
impairment in functioning, or increase risk of suffering, death, pain, or impairment
abnormality -
✅labels and terminology: psychological disorder or psychological abnormality
mental illness is a less preferred term
presents -
✅what is the presenting problem?
prevalence -
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, ✅how many people in the population as a whole have the disorder?
incidence -
✅how many new cases occur during a given period, such as year?
onset -
✅how's the beginning of the disorder
course -
✅disorders follow a somewhat individual pattern
etiology -
✅what contributes to the development of psychopathology?
treatment development -
✅How can we help alleviate psychological suffering?
Includes pharmacological, psychosocial, and/or combined treatments
prognosis -
✅anticipated course of a disorder (e.g. good or guarded)
treatment outcome research -
✅How do we know that we have helped?
Limited in specifying actual causes of disorders
demonology -
✅the doctrine that an evil being or spirit can dwell within a person and control his or her mind
and body thereby can be treated by exorcism
exorcism -
✅the ritualistic casting out of evil spirits
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psychopathology -
✅study of nature, symptomatology, development, and treatment of psychological disorders
challenges to the study of psychopathology -
✅Maintain objectivity
Avoid preconceived notions
Reduce stigma
key characteristics in the DSM definition of mental disorder -
✅personal distress
disability
violation of social norms
dysfunction
psychological dysfunction -
✅breakdown in cognitive, emotional, or behavioral functioning
psychological dysfunction -
✅considered to be on a continuum or a dimension rather than to be categories that are either
present or absent
personal distress -
✅a person's behavior may be classified as disordered if it causes him or her great distress
disability -
✅impairment in some important area of life (e.g. work or personal relationships) - can also
characterize mental disorder
disability -
1|Page
, ✅impairment is set in the context of a person's background
violation of social norms -
✅Reaction is outside cultural norms
violation of social norms -
✅something is considered abnormal because it occurs infrequently
violation of social norms -
✅it deviates from the average
diagnostic and statistical manual (dsm) -
✅widely accepted system
used to classify psychological problems and disorders
DSM contains diagnostic criteria for behaviors that -
✅fit a pattern, cause dysfunction or subjective distress, are present for a specific duration, and
for behaviors that are not otherwise explainable
abnormality -
✅accdg to dsm-iv tr (& drafts of dsm-v): describes behavioral, psychological, or biological
dysfunctionss that are unexpected in their cultural context and associated with present distress and
impairment in functioning, or increase risk of suffering, death, pain, or impairment
abnormality -
✅labels and terminology: psychological disorder or psychological abnormality
mental illness is a less preferred term
presents -
✅what is the presenting problem?
prevalence -
2|Page
, ✅how many people in the population as a whole have the disorder?
incidence -
✅how many new cases occur during a given period, such as year?
onset -
✅how's the beginning of the disorder
course -
✅disorders follow a somewhat individual pattern
etiology -
✅what contributes to the development of psychopathology?
treatment development -
✅How can we help alleviate psychological suffering?
Includes pharmacological, psychosocial, and/or combined treatments
prognosis -
✅anticipated course of a disorder (e.g. good or guarded)
treatment outcome research -
✅How do we know that we have helped?
Limited in specifying actual causes of disorders
demonology -
✅the doctrine that an evil being or spirit can dwell within a person and control his or her mind
and body thereby can be treated by exorcism
exorcism -
✅the ritualistic casting out of evil spirits
3|Page
