Abnormal Psychology:

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Chapter 1

• Abnormal Psychology
• Past and Present

Slides Handouts by Karen Clay Rhines,
Ph.D. Seton Hall University
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Abnormal Psychology Past and Present

• What is abnormal psychology?
• Workers may be
• Clinical Scientists
• Clinical Practitioners

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What Is Psychological Abnormality?

• Many definitions, but none universally accepted
• Common features
• The Four Ds
• Deviance
• Distress
• Dysfunction
• Danger

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Deviance

• From what?
• Behaviors, thoughts, and emotions (specific time
  and specific people)
• From social norms
• Social context

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Distress

• According to many clinical guidelines, behavior
  must be personally distressing before it can be
  labeled abnormal
• Not always the case

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Dysfunction

• Interferes with daily functioning
• Culture has an influence
• Dysfunction alone does not mean abnormality

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Danger

• Abnormal behavior may become dangerous to oneself
  or others
• Exception rather than the rule

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The Elusive Nature of Abnormality

• Society decides
• Inconsistent
• Criteria vague and subjective

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Caution!! Proceed Carefully.

• We are diagnosing the behavior not the person

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How Was Abnormality Viewed and Treated in the
Past?

• In any given year in the US, 30 of adults and
  20 of children display serious psychological
  disturbances and are in need of treatment
• In addition, most people have difficulty coping
  at various times in their lives
• Is this the fault of modern society?
• Not entirely historical records demonstrate that
  every society has witnessed psychological
  abnormality and had its own form of treatment

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Ancient Views and Treatment

• Stone Age
• Spirit possession
• Trephination and exorcism
• Ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome
• Dominated by natural theories
• Hysteria
• Medieval Views
• Witchcraft

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Views of Abnormality, continued

• Seventeenth to Eighteenth Centuries
• Hippocrates
• Weyer
• Mesmer, Charcot, Bruer, Freud
• Treating the Mentally Ill
• Asylums
• Moral Therapy
• Twentieth Century

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Have We Come a Long Way, Baby?