By Irwin G. Sarason Abnormal Psychology The Problem of Maladaptive Behavior, 11E Email: iii Table of Contents Abnormal Psychology: The Problem of Maladaptive Behavior 11/e Preface, Acknowledgments, and Author Biography iv Organization of the Instructor’s Manual iv Content Description v Media Services Locator vi Chapter 1 Abnormal Psychology 1 Chapter 2 Theoretical Perspectives on Maladaptive Behavior 17 Chapter 3 Therapies 26 Chapter 4 Classification and Assessment 34 Chapter 5 Stress, Coping, and Maladaptive Behavior 43 Chapter 6 Bodily Maladaptation: Eating, Sleeping, and Physiological 51 Chapter 7 Disorders of Bodily Preoccupation 60 Chapter 8 Anxiety Disorders 66 Chapter 9 Sexual Variants and Disorders 76 Chapter 10 Personality Disorders 84 Chapter 11 Mood Disorders 93 Chapter 12 Schizophrenia and Other Psychotic Disorders 104 Chapter 13 Cognitive Impairment Disorders 114 Chapter 14 Substance -Related Disorders 120 Chapter 15 Disorders of Childhood and Adolescence 130 Chapter 16 Pervasive Developmental Disorders and Mental Retardation 139 Chapter 17 Society’s Response to Maladaptive Behavior 150 1 Chapter 1 Abnormal Psychology OVERVIEW Chapter 1 provides the framework for the discussion of abnormal behavior. The chapter includes topics such as epidemiological factors such as prevalence, incidence, and risk factors. Sources of help for abnormal behavior are discussed including the different professional fields of psychology, psychiatry, social work, and psychiatric nursing. Research methods used to study both normal and abnormal behaviors are defined. Ethical considerations and regulations are discussed CONTENTS The Range of Abnormal Behavior What Is Abnormal Behavior? Triggers of Mental Health Problems The Stigma of Abnormal Behavior Adaptive and Maladaptive Behavior Historical Background of Modern Abnormal Psychology The Ancient Western World The Middle Ages The Renaissance The Age of Reason and the Enlightenment The Reform Movement Recent Concepts of Abnormal Behavior The Psychological Approach The Organic Approach Vulnerability, Resilience, and Coping The Epidemiology of Maladaptive Behavior – Incidence, Prevalence, and Risk Factors Seeking Help for Abnormal Behavior Reasons for Clinical Contacts Sources of Help Research in Abnormal Psychology Observing Behavior The Role of Theory The Research Journey Types of Research Research Design, Statistical Analyses, and Inference Ethical Aspects of Research Take -Away Message LEARNING OBJECTIVES After completing this chapter students should be able to: 1. Define the focus of “abnormal psychology” and “mental health.” 2. Describe differences among adaptive, maladaptive, and deviant behaviors. 3. Discuss the negative effects of stigma on mental health consumers and their families. 4. List several of the methods for treating mental disorders used in the ancient Western world. 5. Discuss the roles played by Dorthea Dix and Clifford Beers in the development of today’s mental health system in the United States. 6. Explain the differences between the psychological approach and the organic approach. 7. Describe the concepts of risk -vulnerability and resilience -protective factors, specifically with regard to an individual’s ability to cope with stress. 8. Describe a few of the epidemiological patterns of mental illness in the United States in identifying incidence, prevalence, and risk. 9. Describe the range of mental health treatment facilities available today. 10. Identify different mental health specialists. 11. List the four steps followed in the path of scientific understanding. 2 12. Compare the information gained from a correlational study with that gained from an experimental study. 13. State the two types of statistics most frequently used in psychological studies. 14. State four of the ethical responsibilities in human research. LECTURE AND DISCUSSION TOPICS 1. Describe differences between adaptive and maladaptive behavior. 2. What is mental illness? Who decides if someone’s behavior is maladaptive or deviant? (Ex. DSM -III designated homosexuality as a mental disorder.) 3. Are there broad categories like those defined in early England? 4. Encourage the students to discuss the following: When is unusual behavior not considered "mental illness?” 5. Can you name famous people whose behavior was "unusual"? Name several of the current films that depict a person with a mental disorder. 6. How does stigma affect people who have been diagnosed with mental illness? 7. Does our attitude toward individuals change if we hear they have been "mentally ill"? Do you have friends who have been diagnosed as "mentally ill"? Do your attitudes or behaviors toward them change? Do they hesitate to tell you? Why? 8. Guest Lecturer: Invite a consumer from the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill to talk sensitively about their illness. 9. Discuss behaviors that distinguish between the constructs of maladaptive and deviant (pg. 9). 10. Deviant behavior might be highly adaptive within a situation. Have class members list behaviors that could be deviant but adaptive. Create a similar list of deviant behaviors that are maladaptive. 11. Differences in Mental Health Professionals: Provide a list of the different professionals involved in diagnosis, treatment, and research in the field of abnormal psychology. These should include the psychologist, psychiatrist, social worker, psychiatric nurse, and other professionals such as psychotherapist, licensed counselor or family counselor. Include in the discussion the differences in schooling, licensing, responsibilities, and duties of the different professionals. Include in this discussion the different fields represented in psychology. List the percentage representation of each field. Briefly discuss the differences of each field. STUDENT ACTIVITIES Classroom 1. The State Decides Discuss the state -based requirements for commitment of a person to a mental facility. If possible provide a list of the criteria for committing a person to a state mental institution. Organize the class into groups of 4 to 8 students. Declare that each group is the Mental Health Commission in a state (each group can create a name for their state). Ask them to generate the requirements for commitment in their state. Review them or post them for discussion the next week. Ask several students to describe the difficulty in agreeing to the critical factors that decided whether a person should be hospitalized. 2. Stigma - The Green NIMBYs Jane Elliott is well known for the "Blue Eyes, Brown Eyes" discrimination experiment she did with her third grade class in all -white, all -Christian Riceville, Iowa, immediately after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968. In her experiment, Elliott divided the class by something they couldn't control — the color of their eyes. She told her brown -eyed students they were superior to the blue -
eyed ones. She gave the brown -eyed students special privileges and told the blue -eyed children they had made mistakes because of the color of their eyes. (Javelina Bulletin. (1999, March). Texas A and M University -Kingsville.) (http://www.tamuk.edu/news/bulletin/1999/march/jane -elliot.html) (Note: This is a very effective exercise that is commonly used to increase sensitivity and self -
examination about prejudice. It is not as personal as separating blue -eyed students from the remainder of the class but it may not be as personally devastating because it allows students a level of control. Be certain that students agree to participate and that time is allotted for debriefing.)
eyed ones. She gave the brown -eyed students special privileges and told the blue -eyed children they had made mistakes because of the color of their eyes. (Javelina Bulletin. (1999, March). Texas A and M University -Kingsville.) (http://www.tamuk.edu/news/bulletin/1999/march/jane -elliot.html) (Note: This is a very effective exercise that is commonly used to increase sensitivity and self -
examination about prejudice. It is not as personal as separating blue -eyed students from the remainder of the class but it may not be as personally devastating because it allows students a level of control. Be certain that students agree to participate and that time is allotted for debriefing.)
