Abnormal Psychology - Chapter 1
Psychological Disorder/Abnormal Behaviour -
✅Psychological dysfunction associated with distress or impairment in functioning that is not a
typical or culturally expected response.
Phobia -
✅Characterised by marked and persistent fear of an object or situation.
Criteria for a Psychological Disorder -
✅1. Psychological Dysfunction
2. Distress or Impairment
3. Atypical Response
Psychological dysfunction -
✅Refers to a breakdown in cognitive, emotional, or behavioural functioning.
Judy fainted at the site of blood, while others simply disliked the blood, this is an example of the
importance of impairment, not just distress within the definition of psychological disorders -
✅This difference again illustrates the important point that most psychological disorders are
simply extreme expressions of otherwise normal emotions, behaviours, and cognitive processes.
Atypical or not culturally expected -
✅1. Deviates from the average
"deviating from the average" doesn't work well as a definition for abnormal behaviour.
2. Violates social norms
cannot use this alone to determine someone as having a psychological disorder
Accepted definition of what is "abnormal" -
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, ✅The most widely accepted definition used in DSM-5 describes behavioural, psychological, or
biological dysfunctions that are unexpected in their cultural context and associated with present
distress and impairment in functioning, or increased risk of suffering, death, pain, or impairment.
This definition can be useful across cultures and subcultures if we pay careful attention to what is
functional or dysfunctional (or out of control) in a given society.
Psychopathology -
✅Scientific study of psychological disorders
What is the most important development in the recent history of psychopathology? -
✅The adoption of scientific methods to learn more about the nature of psychological disorders,
their causes, and their treatment
Scientist-practitioners -
✅Mental health professionals who are expected to apply scientific methods to their work. They
must keep current in the latest research on diagnosis and treatment, they must evaluate their own
methods for effectiveness, and they may generate their own research to discover new knowledge of
disorders and their treatment.
Mental health practitioners may function as scientist-practitioners in one or more of three ways -
✅1. Consumer of Science: Enhancing the practice
2. Evaluator of Science: Determining the effectiveness of a practice
3. Creator of Science: Conducting research that leads to new procedures useful in practice
Three major categories make up the study and discussion of psychological disorders. -
✅1. Clinical Description
2. Causation (etiology)
3. Treatment & Outcome
Presenting problem -
✅Original complaint reported by the client to the therapist. The actual treated problem may
sometimes be a modification derived from the presenting problem
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, Clinical description -
✅Details of the combination of behaviours, thoughts, and feelings of an individual that make up
a particular disorder.
Prevalence -
✅Number of people displaying a disorder in the total population at any given time (compare with
incidence).
Incidence -
✅Number of new cases of a disorder appearing during a specific period (compare with
prevalence).
Course -
✅Pattern of development and change of a disorder over time.
In addition to having different symptoms, age of onset, and possibly a different sex ratio and
prevalence, most disorders follow a somewhat individual pattern
Chronic Course -
✅Meaning the disorder tends to last a long time, sometimes a lifetime.
For example: Schizophrenia
Episodic Course -
✅Meaning the individual with the disorder is likely to recover within a few months only to suffer
a recurrence of the disorder at a later time.
Time-Limited Course -
✅Meaning the disorder will improve without treatment in a relatively short period.
Acute Onset -
✅Meaning that the disorder begins suddenly
Insidious Onset -
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Psychological Disorder/Abnormal Behaviour -
✅Psychological dysfunction associated with distress or impairment in functioning that is not a
typical or culturally expected response.
Phobia -
✅Characterised by marked and persistent fear of an object or situation.
Criteria for a Psychological Disorder -
✅1. Psychological Dysfunction
2. Distress or Impairment
3. Atypical Response
Psychological dysfunction -
✅Refers to a breakdown in cognitive, emotional, or behavioural functioning.
Judy fainted at the site of blood, while others simply disliked the blood, this is an example of the
importance of impairment, not just distress within the definition of psychological disorders -
✅This difference again illustrates the important point that most psychological disorders are
simply extreme expressions of otherwise normal emotions, behaviours, and cognitive processes.
Atypical or not culturally expected -
✅1. Deviates from the average
"deviating from the average" doesn't work well as a definition for abnormal behaviour.
2. Violates social norms
cannot use this alone to determine someone as having a psychological disorder
Accepted definition of what is "abnormal" -
1|Page
, ✅The most widely accepted definition used in DSM-5 describes behavioural, psychological, or
biological dysfunctions that are unexpected in their cultural context and associated with present
distress and impairment in functioning, or increased risk of suffering, death, pain, or impairment.
This definition can be useful across cultures and subcultures if we pay careful attention to what is
functional or dysfunctional (or out of control) in a given society.
Psychopathology -
✅Scientific study of psychological disorders
What is the most important development in the recent history of psychopathology? -
✅The adoption of scientific methods to learn more about the nature of psychological disorders,
their causes, and their treatment
Scientist-practitioners -
✅Mental health professionals who are expected to apply scientific methods to their work. They
must keep current in the latest research on diagnosis and treatment, they must evaluate their own
methods for effectiveness, and they may generate their own research to discover new knowledge of
disorders and their treatment.
Mental health practitioners may function as scientist-practitioners in one or more of three ways -
✅1. Consumer of Science: Enhancing the practice
2. Evaluator of Science: Determining the effectiveness of a practice
3. Creator of Science: Conducting research that leads to new procedures useful in practice
Three major categories make up the study and discussion of psychological disorders. -
✅1. Clinical Description
2. Causation (etiology)
3. Treatment & Outcome
Presenting problem -
✅Original complaint reported by the client to the therapist. The actual treated problem may
sometimes be a modification derived from the presenting problem
2|Page
, Clinical description -
✅Details of the combination of behaviours, thoughts, and feelings of an individual that make up
a particular disorder.
Prevalence -
✅Number of people displaying a disorder in the total population at any given time (compare with
incidence).
Incidence -
✅Number of new cases of a disorder appearing during a specific period (compare with
prevalence).
Course -
✅Pattern of development and change of a disorder over time.
In addition to having different symptoms, age of onset, and possibly a different sex ratio and
prevalence, most disorders follow a somewhat individual pattern
Chronic Course -
✅Meaning the disorder tends to last a long time, sometimes a lifetime.
For example: Schizophrenia
Episodic Course -
✅Meaning the individual with the disorder is likely to recover within a few months only to suffer
a recurrence of the disorder at a later time.
Time-Limited Course -
✅Meaning the disorder will improve without treatment in a relatively short period.
Acute Onset -
✅Meaning that the disorder begins suddenly
Insidious Onset -
3|Page
