@PROFDOCDIGITALLIBRARIES
Abnormal Psychology
David Barlow
Board Exam Reviewer
Nino-Mhar Malana, RPm
Abnormal Behavior in Historical Context
⚫ Psychological disorder, a psychological dysfunction within an individual associated with distress or
impairment in functioning and a response that is not typical or culturally expected.
➢ Psychological dysfunction refers to a breakdown in cognitive, emotional, or behavioral functioning.
➢ That the behavior must be associated with distress to be classified as abnormal adds an important
component and seems clear: the criterion is satisfied if the individual is extremely upset.
➢ The concept of impairment is useful, although not entirely satisfactory. For example, many people
consider themselves shy or lazy. This doesn’t mean that they’re abnormal. But if you are so shy that
you find it impossible to date or even interact with people and you make every attempt to avoid
interactions even though you would like to have friends, then your social functioning is impaired.
➢ Atypical or not culturally expected. At times, something is considered abnormal because it occurs
infrequently; it deviates from the average. The greater the deviation, the more abnormal it is.
⚫ The most widely accepted definition used in DSM-5 describes behavioral, 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.
⚫ Psychopathology is the scientific study of psychological disorders.
⚫ Although there is a great deal of overlap, counseling psychologists tend to study and treat adjustment
and vocational issues encountered by relatively healthy individuals, and clinical psychologists usually
concentrate on more severe psychological disorders.
⚫ Also, programs in professional schools of psychology, where the degree is often a Psy.D., focus on clinical
training and de-emphasize or eliminate research training. In contrast, Ph.D. programs in universities
integrate clinical and research training.
,@PROFDOCDIGITALLIBRARIES
⚫ Psychiatrists first earn an M.D. degree in medical school and then specialize in psychiatry during
residency training that lasts 3 to 4 years. Psychiatrists also investigate the nature and causes of
psychological disorders, often from a biological point of view; make diagnoses; and offer treatments.
⚫ Psychiatric social workers typically earn a master’s degree in social work as they develop expertise in
collecting information relevant to the social and family situation of the individual with a psychological
disorder. Social workers also treat disorders, often concentrating on family problems associated with
them.
⚫ Psychiatric nurses have advanced degrees, such as a master’s or even a Ph.D., and specialize in the care
and treatment of patients with psychological disorders, usually in hospitals as part of a treatment team.
⚫ Finally, marriage and family therapists and mental health counselors typically spend 1–2 years earning a
master’s degree and are employed to provide clinical services by hospitals or clinics, usually under the
supervision of a doctoral-level clinician.
⚫ Many mental health professionals take a scientific approach to their clinical work and therefore are
called scientist-practitioners.
⚫ How many people in the population as a whole have the disorder? This figure is called the prevalence of
the disorder.
⚫ Statistics on how many new cases occur during a given period, such as a year, represent the incidence of
the disorder.
⚫ Most disorders follow a somewhat individual pattern, or course. For example, some disorders, such as
schizophrenia, follow a chronic course, meaning that they tend to last a long time, sometimes a lifetime.
Other disorders, like mood disorders, follow an episodic course, in that the individual is likely to recover
within a few months only to suffer a recurrence of the disorder at a later time. This pattern may repeat
throughout a person’s life. Still other disorders may have a time-limited course, meaning the disorder will
improve without treatment in a relatively short period.
⚫ The anticipated course of a disorder is called the prognosis. So we might say, “the prognosis is good”,
meaning the individual will probably recover, or “the prognosis is guarded”, meaning the probable
outcome doesn’t look good.
⚫ Etiology, or the study of origins, has to do with why a disorder begins (what causes it) and includes
biological, psychological, and social dimensions.
,@PROFDOCDIGITALLIBRARIES
Historical Conceptions of Abnormal Behavior
The Supernatural Tradition
⚫ Humans have always supposed that agents outside our bodies and environment influence our behavior,
thinking, and emotions. These agents—which might be divinities, demons, spirits, or other phenomena
such as magnetic fields or the moon or the stars—are the driving forces behind the supernatural model.
⚫ Although many have thought that the mind can influence the body and, in turn, the body can influence
the mind, most philosophers looked for causes of abnormal behavior in one or the other. This split gave
rise to two traditions of thought about abnormal behavior, summarized as the biological model and the
psychological model.
⚫ During the last quarter of the 14th century, religious and lay authorities supported these popular
superstitions and society as a whole began to believe more strongly in the existence and power of
demons and witches. The Catholic Church had split, and a second center, complete with a pope,
emerged in the south of France to compete with Rome. In reaction to this schism, the Roman Church
fought back against the evil in the world that it believed must have been behind this heresy.
⚫ During these turbulent times, the bizarre behavior of people afflicted with psychological disorders was
seen as the work of the devil and witches.
⚫ Treatments included exorcism, in which various religious rituals were performed in an effort to rid the
victim of evil spirits.
⚫ Other approaches included shaving the pattern of a cross in the hair of the victim’s head and securing
sufferers to a wall near the front of a church so that they might benefit from hearing Mass.
⚫ Mental depression and anxiety were recognized as illnesses, although symptoms such as despair and
lethargy were often identified by the church with the sin of acedia, or sloth.
⚫ Common treatments were rest, sleep, and a healthy and happy environment. Other treatments included
baths, ointments, and various potions.
⚫ In the 14th century, one of the chief advisers to the king of France, a bishop and philosopher named
Nicholas Oresme, also suggested that the disease of melancholy (depression) was the source of some
bizarre behavior, rather than demons.
⚫ As we see in the handling of the severe psychological disorder experienced by late-14th-century King
Charles VI of France, both influences were strong, sometimes alternating in the treatment of the same
case. King Charles VI of France was under a great deal of stress, partly because of the division of the
Catholic Church. A variety of remedies and rituals of all kinds were tried, but none worked. High-ranking
officials and doctors of the university called for the “sorcerers” to be discovered and punished.
, @PROFDOCDIGITALLIBRARIES
⚫ With a perceived connection between evil deeds and sin on the one hand and psychological disorders on
the other, it is logical to conclude that the sufferer is largely responsible for the disorder, which might
well be a punishment for evil deeds.
⚫ In the Middle Ages, if exorcism failed, some authorities thought that steps were necessary to make the
body uninhabitable by evil spirits, and many people were subjected to confinement, beatings, and other
forms of torture.
⚫ Mass hysteria may simply demonstrate the phenomenon of emotion contagion, in which the experience
of an emotion seems to spread to those around us.
⚫ Paracelsus, a Swiss physician who lived from 1493 to 1541, rejected notions of possession by the devil,
suggesting instead that the movements of the moon and stars had profound effects on people’s
psychological functioning.
⚫ The Roman Catholic Church requires that all healthcare resources be exhausted first before spiritual
solutions such as exorcism can be considered.
The Biological Tradition
⚫ The Greek physician Hippocrates is considered to be the father of modern Western medicine. He and his
associates left a body of work called the Hippocratic Corpus, written between 450 and 350 b.c., in which
they suggested that psychological disorders could be treated like any other disease.
⚫ Hippocrates considered the brain to be the seat of wisdom, consciousness, intelligence, and emotion.
Therefore, disorders involving these functions would logically be located in the brain.
⚫ Hippocrates also recognized the importance of psychological and interpersonal contributions to
psychopathology, such as the sometimes negative effects of family stress; on some occasions, he
removed patients from their families.
⚫ The Roman physician Galen, later adopted the ideas of Hippocrates and his associates and developed
them further, creating a powerful and influential school of thought within the biological tradition that
extended well into the 19th century.
⚫ One of the more interesting and influential legacies of the Hippocratic-Galenic approach is the
humoral theory of disorders.
➢ Hippocrates assumed that normal brain functioning was related to four bodily fluids or humors:
blood, black bile, yellow bile, and phlegm.
➢ Blood came from the heart, black bile from the spleen, phlegm from the brain, and choler or yellow
bile from the liver.
Abnormal Psychology
David Barlow
Board Exam Reviewer
Nino-Mhar Malana, RPm
Abnormal Behavior in Historical Context
⚫ Psychological disorder, a psychological dysfunction within an individual associated with distress or
impairment in functioning and a response that is not typical or culturally expected.
➢ Psychological dysfunction refers to a breakdown in cognitive, emotional, or behavioral functioning.
➢ That the behavior must be associated with distress to be classified as abnormal adds an important
component and seems clear: the criterion is satisfied if the individual is extremely upset.
➢ The concept of impairment is useful, although not entirely satisfactory. For example, many people
consider themselves shy or lazy. This doesn’t mean that they’re abnormal. But if you are so shy that
you find it impossible to date or even interact with people and you make every attempt to avoid
interactions even though you would like to have friends, then your social functioning is impaired.
➢ Atypical or not culturally expected. At times, something is considered abnormal because it occurs
infrequently; it deviates from the average. The greater the deviation, the more abnormal it is.
⚫ The most widely accepted definition used in DSM-5 describes behavioral, 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.
⚫ Psychopathology is the scientific study of psychological disorders.
⚫ Although there is a great deal of overlap, counseling psychologists tend to study and treat adjustment
and vocational issues encountered by relatively healthy individuals, and clinical psychologists usually
concentrate on more severe psychological disorders.
⚫ Also, programs in professional schools of psychology, where the degree is often a Psy.D., focus on clinical
training and de-emphasize or eliminate research training. In contrast, Ph.D. programs in universities
integrate clinical and research training.
,@PROFDOCDIGITALLIBRARIES
⚫ Psychiatrists first earn an M.D. degree in medical school and then specialize in psychiatry during
residency training that lasts 3 to 4 years. Psychiatrists also investigate the nature and causes of
psychological disorders, often from a biological point of view; make diagnoses; and offer treatments.
⚫ Psychiatric social workers typically earn a master’s degree in social work as they develop expertise in
collecting information relevant to the social and family situation of the individual with a psychological
disorder. Social workers also treat disorders, often concentrating on family problems associated with
them.
⚫ Psychiatric nurses have advanced degrees, such as a master’s or even a Ph.D., and specialize in the care
and treatment of patients with psychological disorders, usually in hospitals as part of a treatment team.
⚫ Finally, marriage and family therapists and mental health counselors typically spend 1–2 years earning a
master’s degree and are employed to provide clinical services by hospitals or clinics, usually under the
supervision of a doctoral-level clinician.
⚫ Many mental health professionals take a scientific approach to their clinical work and therefore are
called scientist-practitioners.
⚫ How many people in the population as a whole have the disorder? This figure is called the prevalence of
the disorder.
⚫ Statistics on how many new cases occur during a given period, such as a year, represent the incidence of
the disorder.
⚫ Most disorders follow a somewhat individual pattern, or course. For example, some disorders, such as
schizophrenia, follow a chronic course, meaning that they tend to last a long time, sometimes a lifetime.
Other disorders, like mood disorders, follow an episodic course, in that the individual is likely to recover
within a few months only to suffer a recurrence of the disorder at a later time. This pattern may repeat
throughout a person’s life. Still other disorders may have a time-limited course, meaning the disorder will
improve without treatment in a relatively short period.
⚫ The anticipated course of a disorder is called the prognosis. So we might say, “the prognosis is good”,
meaning the individual will probably recover, or “the prognosis is guarded”, meaning the probable
outcome doesn’t look good.
⚫ Etiology, or the study of origins, has to do with why a disorder begins (what causes it) and includes
biological, psychological, and social dimensions.
,@PROFDOCDIGITALLIBRARIES
Historical Conceptions of Abnormal Behavior
The Supernatural Tradition
⚫ Humans have always supposed that agents outside our bodies and environment influence our behavior,
thinking, and emotions. These agents—which might be divinities, demons, spirits, or other phenomena
such as magnetic fields or the moon or the stars—are the driving forces behind the supernatural model.
⚫ Although many have thought that the mind can influence the body and, in turn, the body can influence
the mind, most philosophers looked for causes of abnormal behavior in one or the other. This split gave
rise to two traditions of thought about abnormal behavior, summarized as the biological model and the
psychological model.
⚫ During the last quarter of the 14th century, religious and lay authorities supported these popular
superstitions and society as a whole began to believe more strongly in the existence and power of
demons and witches. The Catholic Church had split, and a second center, complete with a pope,
emerged in the south of France to compete with Rome. In reaction to this schism, the Roman Church
fought back against the evil in the world that it believed must have been behind this heresy.
⚫ During these turbulent times, the bizarre behavior of people afflicted with psychological disorders was
seen as the work of the devil and witches.
⚫ Treatments included exorcism, in which various religious rituals were performed in an effort to rid the
victim of evil spirits.
⚫ Other approaches included shaving the pattern of a cross in the hair of the victim’s head and securing
sufferers to a wall near the front of a church so that they might benefit from hearing Mass.
⚫ Mental depression and anxiety were recognized as illnesses, although symptoms such as despair and
lethargy were often identified by the church with the sin of acedia, or sloth.
⚫ Common treatments were rest, sleep, and a healthy and happy environment. Other treatments included
baths, ointments, and various potions.
⚫ In the 14th century, one of the chief advisers to the king of France, a bishop and philosopher named
Nicholas Oresme, also suggested that the disease of melancholy (depression) was the source of some
bizarre behavior, rather than demons.
⚫ As we see in the handling of the severe psychological disorder experienced by late-14th-century King
Charles VI of France, both influences were strong, sometimes alternating in the treatment of the same
case. King Charles VI of France was under a great deal of stress, partly because of the division of the
Catholic Church. A variety of remedies and rituals of all kinds were tried, but none worked. High-ranking
officials and doctors of the university called for the “sorcerers” to be discovered and punished.
, @PROFDOCDIGITALLIBRARIES
⚫ With a perceived connection between evil deeds and sin on the one hand and psychological disorders on
the other, it is logical to conclude that the sufferer is largely responsible for the disorder, which might
well be a punishment for evil deeds.
⚫ In the Middle Ages, if exorcism failed, some authorities thought that steps were necessary to make the
body uninhabitable by evil spirits, and many people were subjected to confinement, beatings, and other
forms of torture.
⚫ Mass hysteria may simply demonstrate the phenomenon of emotion contagion, in which the experience
of an emotion seems to spread to those around us.
⚫ Paracelsus, a Swiss physician who lived from 1493 to 1541, rejected notions of possession by the devil,
suggesting instead that the movements of the moon and stars had profound effects on people’s
psychological functioning.
⚫ The Roman Catholic Church requires that all healthcare resources be exhausted first before spiritual
solutions such as exorcism can be considered.
The Biological Tradition
⚫ The Greek physician Hippocrates is considered to be the father of modern Western medicine. He and his
associates left a body of work called the Hippocratic Corpus, written between 450 and 350 b.c., in which
they suggested that psychological disorders could be treated like any other disease.
⚫ Hippocrates considered the brain to be the seat of wisdom, consciousness, intelligence, and emotion.
Therefore, disorders involving these functions would logically be located in the brain.
⚫ Hippocrates also recognized the importance of psychological and interpersonal contributions to
psychopathology, such as the sometimes negative effects of family stress; on some occasions, he
removed patients from their families.
⚫ The Roman physician Galen, later adopted the ideas of Hippocrates and his associates and developed
them further, creating a powerful and influential school of thought within the biological tradition that
extended well into the 19th century.
⚫ One of the more interesting and influential legacies of the Hippocratic-Galenic approach is the
humoral theory of disorders.
➢ Hippocrates assumed that normal brain functioning was related to four bodily fluids or humors:
blood, black bile, yellow bile, and phlegm.
➢ Blood came from the heart, black bile from the spleen, phlegm from the brain, and choler or yellow
bile from the liver.
