CHAPTER 1
Abnormal Psychology: Past and Present
- Abnormal psychology
o Scientific study of abnormal behavior in an effort to describe, predict, explain, and
change abnormal patterns of functioning
o Many definitions have been proposed, yet none has won total acceptance
PsychWatch: Verbal Debuts
What Is Psychological Abnormality?
- Common feature across definitions
o The Four Ds
Deviance
Distress
Dysfunction
Danger
So distressed, thinking about hurting oneself
So dysfunctional, not thinking straight
o Influences
Societal norms
Culture
Context
The Elusive Nature of Abnormality (Part 1)
- Abnormality is defined by general criteria in society
- Criteria are used to judge particular cases
- Szasz posits that societal involvement may validate the concept of mental illness
o Most mental health problems, “problems of living”
Up to you, you decide what you want to do about it
- Any definition of abnormality may be unable to be applied consistently
Changing Times
- Just decades ago, the elaborate body art on people’s bodies would have been considered
outrageous, strange, and abnormal
o Today, tattoos are relatively common
o As many as 40% of adults in the U.S. have at least 1 tattoo, while 25% have multiple
What is Treatment? (Part 1)
- Treatment or therapy
, o Procedure designed to change abnormal behavior into more normal behavior
o Definitional challenges closely related to defining abnormality
What is Treatment? (Part 2)
- Essential features of all therapy forms
o Sufferer or patient
o Trained, socially accepted healer or therapist
o Series of therapeutic contacts between the healer and the sufferer
o Despite their differences, most clinicians agree that large numbers of people need
therapy of one kind or another
What is Treatment? (Part 3)
- Despite this straightforward definition, clinical treatment is surrounded by conflict and
confusion:
o Lack of agreement about goals or aims
o Lack of agreement about successful outcome
o Lack of agreement about failure
o Are clinicians seeking to cure? To teach?
o Are sufferers patients (ill) or clients (having difficulty)?
How Was Abnormality Viewed and Treated in the Past?
- Every society, past and present, has witnessed psychological abnormality
- Many present-day ideas and treatments have roots in the past
- In any given year as many as 30% of adults and 19% of children and adolescents in the U.S.
display serious psychological disturbances and are in need of clinical treatment
- In addition, most people have difficulty coping at various times
- Is this the fault of modern society?
o Although modern pressures may contribute, they are hardly the primary cause; every
society, past and present, has witnessed psychological abnormality
Ancient Views and Treatments
- Ancient societies
o Probably regarded abnormal behavior as the work of evil spirits
o May have begun as far back as the Stone Age
o Animism, animistic theory
Every person has a soul
Could potentially get taken over by external forces
Aka possession
Historically much broader
o By ancestors, wizard, shaman, spirits
Something was making you act that way
- Treatment
o Trephination and exorcism
o Ostracism
Greek and Roman Views and Treatments
- 500 B.C.E. to 500 C.E.
Abnormal Psychology: Past and Present
- Abnormal psychology
o Scientific study of abnormal behavior in an effort to describe, predict, explain, and
change abnormal patterns of functioning
o Many definitions have been proposed, yet none has won total acceptance
PsychWatch: Verbal Debuts
What Is Psychological Abnormality?
- Common feature across definitions
o The Four Ds
Deviance
Distress
Dysfunction
Danger
So distressed, thinking about hurting oneself
So dysfunctional, not thinking straight
o Influences
Societal norms
Culture
Context
The Elusive Nature of Abnormality (Part 1)
- Abnormality is defined by general criteria in society
- Criteria are used to judge particular cases
- Szasz posits that societal involvement may validate the concept of mental illness
o Most mental health problems, “problems of living”
Up to you, you decide what you want to do about it
- Any definition of abnormality may be unable to be applied consistently
Changing Times
- Just decades ago, the elaborate body art on people’s bodies would have been considered
outrageous, strange, and abnormal
o Today, tattoos are relatively common
o As many as 40% of adults in the U.S. have at least 1 tattoo, while 25% have multiple
What is Treatment? (Part 1)
- Treatment or therapy
, o Procedure designed to change abnormal behavior into more normal behavior
o Definitional challenges closely related to defining abnormality
What is Treatment? (Part 2)
- Essential features of all therapy forms
o Sufferer or patient
o Trained, socially accepted healer or therapist
o Series of therapeutic contacts between the healer and the sufferer
o Despite their differences, most clinicians agree that large numbers of people need
therapy of one kind or another
What is Treatment? (Part 3)
- Despite this straightforward definition, clinical treatment is surrounded by conflict and
confusion:
o Lack of agreement about goals or aims
o Lack of agreement about successful outcome
o Lack of agreement about failure
o Are clinicians seeking to cure? To teach?
o Are sufferers patients (ill) or clients (having difficulty)?
How Was Abnormality Viewed and Treated in the Past?
- Every society, past and present, has witnessed psychological abnormality
- Many present-day ideas and treatments have roots in the past
- In any given year as many as 30% of adults and 19% of children and adolescents in the U.S.
display serious psychological disturbances and are in need of clinical treatment
- In addition, most people have difficulty coping at various times
- Is this the fault of modern society?
o Although modern pressures may contribute, they are hardly the primary cause; every
society, past and present, has witnessed psychological abnormality
Ancient Views and Treatments
- Ancient societies
o Probably regarded abnormal behavior as the work of evil spirits
o May have begun as far back as the Stone Age
o Animism, animistic theory
Every person has a soul
Could potentially get taken over by external forces
Aka possession
Historically much broader
o By ancestors, wizard, shaman, spirits
Something was making you act that way
- Treatment
o Trephination and exorcism
o Ostracism
Greek and Roman Views and Treatments
- 500 B.C.E. to 500 C.E.
