Abnormal Psychology A.K.A. Psychological Disorders

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Abnormal PsychologyA.K.A. Psychological Disorders

• A behavior which is judged to be deviant
  (atypical), distressful (disturbing), and
  dysfunctional. Could also be maladaptive and
  unjustifiable.

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Defining Psychological Well-Being

• Self-acceptance
• Positive relations
• Autonomy
• Environmental Mastery
• Purpose in life
• Personal Growth

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Early Theories

• Abnormal behavior was evil spirits trying to get
  out.
• Trephining was often used.

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Trephening
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Early Theories

• Another way to deal with the demons was to make
  the body extremely uncomfortable.

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History of Mental Disorders

• In the 1800s, disturbed people were no longer
  thought of as madmen, but as mentally ill.

They were first put in hospitals.
Did this mean better treatment?
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Early Mental Hospitals

• They were nothing more than barbaric prisons.

• The patients were chained and locked away.

• Some hospitals even charged admission for the
  public to see the crazies, just like a zoo.

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Philippe Pinel

• French doctor who was the first to take the
  chains off (and declare that these people are
  sick and a cure must be found).

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Somatogenic or Medical Model

• Late 1800s - it was believed that mental illness
  had a physical / organic cause - Somatogenic.

General Paresis from Syphilis is an example.
But Somatogenic could not explain disorders such
as hysteria (now called conversion disorder).
Many disorders are psychogenic the origin is
psychological, not physical.
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Current Perspectives

• Biopsychosocial Approach assumes biological,
  psychological and socio-cultural factors interact
  to produce specific psychological disorders. Most
  common view today.

Some disorders occur worldwide while others are
culture-bound.
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Perspectives and Disorders
Psychological School/Perspective Cause of the Disorder
Psychoanalytic/Psychodynamic Internal, unconscious drives
Humanistic Failure to strive to ones potential or being out of touch with ones feelings.
Behavioral Reinforcement history, the environment.
Cognitive Irrational, dysfunctional thoughts or ways of thinking.
Sociocultural Dysfunctional Society
Biomedical/Neuroscience Organic problems, biochemical imbalances, genetic predispositions.
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DSM-V

• Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental
  Disorders the big book of disorders.
• DSM will classify disorders and describe the
  symptoms.
• DSM will NOT explain the causes or possible cures.

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Two Major Classifications in the DSM

• Neurotic Disorders

• Psychotic Disorders

• Distressing but one can still function in society
  and act rationally.

• Person loses contact with reality, experiences
  distorted perceptions.

John Wayne Gacy
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The Rosenhan Study

• Rosenhans associates were faking symptoms of
  hearing voices.
• They were ALL admitted for schizophrenia.
• None were exposed as imposters.
• They all left diagnosed with schizophrenia in
  remission.
• What are some of the questions raised by this
  study?
• 1.) It showed the biasing power of diagnostic
  labels.
• 2.) And those labels can serve as self-fulfilling
  prophecies (when the belief you have about a
  person makes you act in a way that induces the
  person to appear to confirm your belief).

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Labeling Psychological Disorders
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Do you think the mentally ill suffer
discrimination today?
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Why is Mental Illness though of differently in
society?
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Myths and Facts of Mental illness