Abnormal Psychology Overview

Abnormal Psychology: History and Models

• Abnormal psychology is the scientific study of abnormal behavior, aiming to describe, predict, explain, and change abnormal patterns of functioning.
• The four D's are used to help define abnormal behavior: Deviance, Distress, Dysfunction, and Danger.
• Deviance from social norms, unusual or inappropriate behavior.
• Distress causing emotional discomfort to oneself or others.
• Dysfunction interfering with daily functioning.
• Danger potentially harmful behavior to oneself or others.
• The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) is a widely used system for classifying mental disorders.
• The DSM-5 includes symptoms, clinical presentation, etiology, developmental stage, and functional impairment.

Models of Abnormality

• Various models attempt to explain abnormal behavior, each with strengths and limitations.

• Psychoanalytic model: Rooted in Sigmund Freud's theories. Links unconscious processes and early childhood experiences to personality development, though modern theories generally move away from focusing solely on sexual motivations. Object relations theory emphasizes the importance of early attachments.

• Biological model: Emphasizes biological processes, (brain, genes), as contributors to abnormal behavior.

• Brain Structure: Structural changes can cause some disorders (Alzheimer's Disease) or result from some disorders (Major Depressive Disorder) – Biological scarring, FMRI and PET scans explore brain function differences in people with disorders and those without.

• Behavioral model: Learned behaviors explain abnormal behavior, using concepts like classical and operant conditioning, including systematic desensitization, reinforcement (positive/negative), punishment (positive/negative) and vicarious conditioning.

• Cognitive model: Distorted cognitions (thoughts, interpretations) may contribute to abnormal behavior. Aaron Beck developed cognitive therapy approaches, emphasizing changing negative thought patterns and cognitive distortions, such as: all-or-nothing thinking, overgeneralization, mental filtering, disqualifying the positive, jumping to conclusions, magnifying or minimizing. Cognition, emotions, and behavior interact.

• Cognitive-Behavioral Triad: Interconnected relationship between thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.

• Humanistic model: Focuses on self-actualization and personal growth. Carl Rogers' client-centered therapy emphasizes unconditional positive regard, genuineness, and empathetic understanding. Emphasizes psychological incongruence (discrepancy between real and ideal self). Hierarchy of needs (physiological, safety, belonging/love, esteem, self-actualization).

• Sociocultural model: Considers social and cultural factors (gender, socioeconomic status (SES), ethnicity) in understanding abnormal behavior. It notes how gender and SES correlate with internalizing and externalizing disorders.

• Biopsychosocial model: Recognizes that multiple factors contribute to abnormal behavior: biological, psychological, and social. A diathesis-stress model explains how predisposition interacts with environmental stressors to lead to mental illness.

History of Abnormal Psychology

• Throughout history, explanations for abnormal behavior have varied widely.
• Terms for psychological dysfunction evolved over time, reflecting society's changing understanding of mental illness from words like "madness" to terms like "insanity."
• History of treatment also shows progress from methods like institutionalization towards new psychotropic medications in the 1950s. That led to deinstitutionalization.