Abnormal Psychology
Part I. Setting the Stage
Module 1: What is Abnormal Psychology?
Module Learning Outcomes
Explain what it means to display abnormal behavior.
Clarify how mental health professionals classify mental disorders.
Describe the effect of stigma on those who have a mental illness.
Outline the history of mental illness.
Describe the research methods used to study abnormal behavior and mental illness.
Identify types of mental health professionals, societies they may join, and journals they can
publish their work in.
1.1 Understanding Abnormal Behavior
1800-1950 focus on curing mental illness
o Psychonalytics: Freud, Adler, Klein, Jung, and Erickson
o 1930 Behaviorism: Skinner
Worldview of human beings serve as smaller machines in the larger machine
of the universe, modifiable via reinforcements and punishments
1960s Humanistic Psy: Maslow, Rogers
Personal fulfillment, client-centered, hierarchy of needs, full range of
human condition and functioning
relied on qualitative methods
o Mid 20 : positive psychology: Seligman
th
Builds on humanistic, rather quantitative
Criticized previous establishment for it being…
1) too pathological and view patients as less responsible for their fate
2) not just curing illness, but preventing it by improving people’s lives
3) lack of positive interventions (like mindfulness etc.)
Subjective well-being, creativity, life satisfaction, love, optimism, leisure, goal
setting, interpersonal relations
o abnormal behavior combination of
personal distress
psychological dysfunction
deviance from social norms
dangerousness to self and others
costliness to society
,How do we determine what abnormal behavior is?
the 4 D’s
o Dsyfunction
disturbance in cognition, emotion regulation, or behavior
reflects a dysfunction in psychological, biological, or developmental processes
underlying mental functioning
o Distress
disabling condition in social, occupational, or other important activities
not sufficient criteria (pain due to losing a loved one normative; some people
who exhibit abnormal behavior are generally positive while doing so)
o Deviance
a person is said to be deviant when he or she fails to follow social norms
culture, societal change, context of situations important to consider
deviant behavior is not necessarily negative (Genius, Artists etc.)
o dangerousness
a threat to the safety of the person or others
more the exception than the rule
The Costs of Mental Illness
depression is the number one cause of disability across the world
suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S
o 90% have mental illness
$2.5 trillion in global costs in 2010 ($6 trillion by 2030)
o costs for mental illness are greater than (chronic) medical diseases
Definition of abnormal psychology or psychopathology
abnormal psyhology
o scientific intent to be able to predict reliably, explain, diagnose, identify the causes of,
and treat maladaptive behavior
1.2. Classifying Mental Disorders
via classification & nomenclature
Epidemiology
o frequency and causes of diseases in a given population
o presenting problem & clinical description
information about thoughts, feelings, behaviors, occurrence, cause, course,
treatment possibilities
prevalence
, o percentage of people in a population that has a mental disorder
Point prevalence (number of active cases)
Period prevalence (cases in time period)
Lifetime prevalence (cases in any timepoint of their lives)
Incidence
o number of new cases in a population over a specific period
comorbidity
o two or more mental disorders are occurring at the same time and in the same person
o 45% of those with one mental disorder met the diagnostic criteria for two or more
disorder
o severity of mental illness is strongly related to comorbidity
o often with substance abuse disorders
etiology
o cause of the disorder
course
o acute (short time)
o chronic, meaning
o time-limited (recovery will occur after some time)
Prognosis
o anticipated course the mental disorder will take
o age is important
Treatment
o procedure intended to modify abnormal behavior into normal
assistance of a trained professional
medication, psychotherapy, primary care, outpatient, inpatient care,
hospitalization, psychiatry
1.3. The Stigma of Mental Illness
many people who need care never seek it out
o influenced by social cognition
categorical thinking and schemas
affect how we interpret and interact with people and the world
primacy effect may turns into belief perseverance.
Stereotypes
Heuristical schemas, very simplistic, very strongly held, not based on
firsthand experience
Social identity theory
o people categorize their social world into meaningfully simplistic representations of
groups of people
, o prototypes, in-groups and out-groups, normative behaviors, conformity, self-
categorization
o prejudice, Out-group homogeneity, discrimination
o most people do not act on their attitudes toward others due to social norms against
such behavior, or due to an implicit attitude
stigma
o Public stigma
When members of a society endorse negative stereotypes of people
social isolation
o Label avoidance
Not seeking help to avoid being labeled as crazy
o Self-stigma
internalize the negative stereotypes and prejudice, and in turn, discriminate
against themselves
shame, lower self-esteem, hopelessness, low self-efficacy, reduction in coping
o courtesy stigma
e.g. families are blamed, rejected, or devalued when others learned that a
family member had a serious mental illness
stigma decreases help-seeking behavior
studies found professional staff can have stigma attitudes to
o one-time contact-based educational intervention as a solution
schizophrenia, depression, and heroin addiction as untreated and symptomatic increased
negative public attitudes towards people with these conditions
o less so if condition portrayed as successfully treated
1.4. The History of Mental Illness Abnormal Psychology
Prehistoric and Ancient Beliefs
supernatural view, spirits, demons, possessions, witches
often when person deviates from religious teachings of that time
o trephination, remove part of skull with stone, demon escapes
o exorcism
Greco-Roman Thought
Hippocrates: mental disorders were akin to physical ailments and had natural causes
o melancholia, mania, and phrenitis
o imbalance of humors: blood, black bile, yellow bile, and phlegm
Plato: mentally ill were not responsible for their actions and should not be punished
Rome rejected Hippocrates
o E.g. melancholy arises from grief, fear, and rage
Part I. Setting the Stage
Module 1: What is Abnormal Psychology?
Module Learning Outcomes
Explain what it means to display abnormal behavior.
Clarify how mental health professionals classify mental disorders.
Describe the effect of stigma on those who have a mental illness.
Outline the history of mental illness.
Describe the research methods used to study abnormal behavior and mental illness.
Identify types of mental health professionals, societies they may join, and journals they can
publish their work in.
1.1 Understanding Abnormal Behavior
1800-1950 focus on curing mental illness
o Psychonalytics: Freud, Adler, Klein, Jung, and Erickson
o 1930 Behaviorism: Skinner
Worldview of human beings serve as smaller machines in the larger machine
of the universe, modifiable via reinforcements and punishments
1960s Humanistic Psy: Maslow, Rogers
Personal fulfillment, client-centered, hierarchy of needs, full range of
human condition and functioning
relied on qualitative methods
o Mid 20 : positive psychology: Seligman
th
Builds on humanistic, rather quantitative
Criticized previous establishment for it being…
1) too pathological and view patients as less responsible for their fate
2) not just curing illness, but preventing it by improving people’s lives
3) lack of positive interventions (like mindfulness etc.)
Subjective well-being, creativity, life satisfaction, love, optimism, leisure, goal
setting, interpersonal relations
o abnormal behavior combination of
personal distress
psychological dysfunction
deviance from social norms
dangerousness to self and others
costliness to society
,How do we determine what abnormal behavior is?
the 4 D’s
o Dsyfunction
disturbance in cognition, emotion regulation, or behavior
reflects a dysfunction in psychological, biological, or developmental processes
underlying mental functioning
o Distress
disabling condition in social, occupational, or other important activities
not sufficient criteria (pain due to losing a loved one normative; some people
who exhibit abnormal behavior are generally positive while doing so)
o Deviance
a person is said to be deviant when he or she fails to follow social norms
culture, societal change, context of situations important to consider
deviant behavior is not necessarily negative (Genius, Artists etc.)
o dangerousness
a threat to the safety of the person or others
more the exception than the rule
The Costs of Mental Illness
depression is the number one cause of disability across the world
suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S
o 90% have mental illness
$2.5 trillion in global costs in 2010 ($6 trillion by 2030)
o costs for mental illness are greater than (chronic) medical diseases
Definition of abnormal psychology or psychopathology
abnormal psyhology
o scientific intent to be able to predict reliably, explain, diagnose, identify the causes of,
and treat maladaptive behavior
1.2. Classifying Mental Disorders
via classification & nomenclature
Epidemiology
o frequency and causes of diseases in a given population
o presenting problem & clinical description
information about thoughts, feelings, behaviors, occurrence, cause, course,
treatment possibilities
prevalence
, o percentage of people in a population that has a mental disorder
Point prevalence (number of active cases)
Period prevalence (cases in time period)
Lifetime prevalence (cases in any timepoint of their lives)
Incidence
o number of new cases in a population over a specific period
comorbidity
o two or more mental disorders are occurring at the same time and in the same person
o 45% of those with one mental disorder met the diagnostic criteria for two or more
disorder
o severity of mental illness is strongly related to comorbidity
o often with substance abuse disorders
etiology
o cause of the disorder
course
o acute (short time)
o chronic, meaning
o time-limited (recovery will occur after some time)
Prognosis
o anticipated course the mental disorder will take
o age is important
Treatment
o procedure intended to modify abnormal behavior into normal
assistance of a trained professional
medication, psychotherapy, primary care, outpatient, inpatient care,
hospitalization, psychiatry
1.3. The Stigma of Mental Illness
many people who need care never seek it out
o influenced by social cognition
categorical thinking and schemas
affect how we interpret and interact with people and the world
primacy effect may turns into belief perseverance.
Stereotypes
Heuristical schemas, very simplistic, very strongly held, not based on
firsthand experience
Social identity theory
o people categorize their social world into meaningfully simplistic representations of
groups of people
, o prototypes, in-groups and out-groups, normative behaviors, conformity, self-
categorization
o prejudice, Out-group homogeneity, discrimination
o most people do not act on their attitudes toward others due to social norms against
such behavior, or due to an implicit attitude
stigma
o Public stigma
When members of a society endorse negative stereotypes of people
social isolation
o Label avoidance
Not seeking help to avoid being labeled as crazy
o Self-stigma
internalize the negative stereotypes and prejudice, and in turn, discriminate
against themselves
shame, lower self-esteem, hopelessness, low self-efficacy, reduction in coping
o courtesy stigma
e.g. families are blamed, rejected, or devalued when others learned that a
family member had a serious mental illness
stigma decreases help-seeking behavior
studies found professional staff can have stigma attitudes to
o one-time contact-based educational intervention as a solution
schizophrenia, depression, and heroin addiction as untreated and symptomatic increased
negative public attitudes towards people with these conditions
o less so if condition portrayed as successfully treated
1.4. The History of Mental Illness Abnormal Psychology
Prehistoric and Ancient Beliefs
supernatural view, spirits, demons, possessions, witches
often when person deviates from religious teachings of that time
o trephination, remove part of skull with stone, demon escapes
o exorcism
Greco-Roman Thought
Hippocrates: mental disorders were akin to physical ailments and had natural causes
o melancholia, mania, and phrenitis
o imbalance of humors: blood, black bile, yellow bile, and phlegm
Plato: mentally ill were not responsible for their actions and should not be punished
Rome rejected Hippocrates
o E.g. melancholy arises from grief, fear, and rage
