Abnormal Psychology PDF

Module1 Part1: Introduction to Abnormal Psychology RMDEALA Abnormal psychology focuses on psychopathology, the study of the symptoms and causes of mental distress and the various treatments for behavioral and mental disorders. Those who study psychopathology attempt to desc...

Module1 Part1: Introduction to Abnormal Psychology RMDEALA Abnormal psychology focuses on psychopathology, the study of the symptoms and causes of mental distress and the various treatments for behavioral and mental disorders. Those who study psychopathology attempt to describe, explain, predict, and modify the behaviors, emotions or thoughts associated with various mental conditions. People who work in the field of psychopathology strive to alleviate the distress and life disruption experienced by those with mental disorders and the concerns of their friends and family members. Abnormal psychology is the scientific study whose objectives are to describe, explain, predict, and modify behaviors associated with mental disorders (Sue et al., 2016). Definition of a Mental Disorder A mental disorder is a syndrome characterized by clinically significant disturbance in an individual’s cognition, emotion regulation, or behavior that reflects a dysfunction in the psychological, biological, or developmental processes underlying mental functioning. Mental disorders are usually associated with significant distress or disability in social, occupational, or other important activities. An expectable or culturally approved response to a common stressor or loss, such as the death of a loved one, is NOT a mental disorder. Socially deviant behavior (e.g., political, religious, or sexual) and conflicts that are primarily between the individual and society are NOT mental disorders unless the deviance or conflict results from a dysfunction in the individual. APA (2022) The diagnosis of a mental disorder should have clinical utility: it should help clinicians to determine prognosis, treatment plans, and potential treatment outcomes for their patients. Barlow & Durand (2018) define abnormal behavior as actions that are unexpected and often evaluated negatively because they differ from typical or usual behavior. x Four major factors involved in judging psychopathology distress, deviance, dysfunction, and dangerousness Distress: extreme discomfort, pain or suffering Most people who seek the help of therapists are experiencing psychological distress that affects social, emotional, or physical functioning. Manifestations of distress: Social: an individual may become withdrawn and avoid interactions with others or, at the other extreme, may engage in inappropriate or dangerous social interactions. Emotional distress: might involve extreme or prolonged reactions such as anxiety and depression. Physical distress: can surface in conditions such as asthma or hypertension or with symptoms of fatigue, pain, or heart palpitations. Reactions which are so intense, exaggerated, or prolonged that it interferes with your ability to function adequately. For some disorders, by definition, suffering and distress are absent (Durand & Barlow, 2016). E.g. Consider the person who feels elated and may act impulsively as part of a manic episode. Deviance Abnormal behaviors deviate or represent a significant deviation from social norms. Some examples of unusual behavior include false perceptions of reality (such as hallucinations), an intense preoccupation with repetitively washing one’s hands, or demonstrating extreme panic in a social setting. Sue et al. (2016) identified certain behaviors that are considered abnormal in most situations. These behaviors include refusal to leave your house; depression so severe that you sleep most of the day; starving yourself because you are so fearful of gaining weight; experiencing frequent nightmares involving a trauma you experienced; forgetting your own identity; feeling overwhelmed with fear at the sight of a spider, etc. Dangerousness- violence risk Only a small minority of acts of violence involve someone with a severe mental illness (Frazel & Grann, 2006). Drug and alcohol abuse is much more likely to result in violent behavior than are other kinds of mental illness (Friedman & Michels, 2013). Dysfunction refers to a breakdown in cognitive, emotional, or behavioral functioning. The behaviors or feelings prevent the person from functioning in daily life. Emotional problems sometimes interfere with the performance of one’s roles. How to assess dysfunction: 1. compare someone’s performance with the requirements of a role. 2. compare an individual’s performance with his or her potential.  Define: 1. clinical description 2. presenting problem 3. prevalence 4. etiology 5. incidence 6. course 7. prognosis 8. onset of the disorder 1. Clinical description: the unique combination of behaviors, thoughts, and feelings that make up a specific disorder. Durand and Barlow (2016) Function of clinical description: To specify what makes the disorder different from normal behavior or from other disorders. 2. Presenting problem: Original complaint reported by the client to the therapist. -initial symptom motivating the patient / client to consult a practitioner. -the chief complaint in the medical field (or CC) The actual treated problem may be a modification derived from the presenting problem. 3. prevalence – Number of people displaying a disorder in the total population at any given time -the percentage of individuals in a targeted population who have a particular disorder during a specific period of time Intellectual developmental disorder (IDD) has an overall general population prevalence of approximately 10 per 1,000 APA (2022) 4. etiology - the study of origins, has to do with why a disorder begins and includes biological, psychological, and social dimensions. - the cause or causes for a condition 5. Incidence : Number of new cases of a disorder appearing during a specific period. Difference between prevalence and incidence: Prevalence is a measurement of all individuals affected by the disease at a particular time (% of individuals in a targeted population). e.g. 12-month prevalence Incidence is a measurement of the number of new individuals who contract a disease during a particular period of time. 6. course: pattern of development and change of a disorder over time. Most disorders follow a particular pattern, or course. E.g. Schizophrenia follow a chronic course, meaning that they tend to last a long time. 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. Other disorders may have a time-limited course, meaning they will improve without treatment in a relatively short period. 7. prognosis: predicted development of a disorder over time. A prognosis is a prediction of the future course, duration, severity and likely outcome of a condition. 8. onset of the disorder - the first appearance of the signs or symptoms of an illness Some disorders have an acute onset, meaning they begin suddenly; others develop gradually over an extended period, which is called an insidious onset. Age of onset: the common age which an illness initially begins in susceptible people - childhood, adolescence, etc. References: APA (2022). Diagnostic statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5 TR (5th ed.). American Psychiatric Association. Barlow, D.H., Durand, V. M., & Hofman, S.G. (2018). Abnormal psychology: an integrative approach. (8th ed.). Cengage Learning. Sue, D., Sue, D. W., Sue, D., & Sue, S. (2016). Understanding abnormal behavior. (11th ed.). Cengage Learning. 9/2/24, 2:44 PM C-PSYM317 BSY35 ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY 1st Sem ( 2024-2025 ) - Period MH 1430-1600 - https://dlsud.edu20.org/student_l… Home C-PSYM317 BSY35 ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY 1st Sem ( 2024-2025 ) - Period MH 1430-1600 Midterm: Module 1 Part2: Historical Background of Abnormal Psychology Lesson: Part 2 Historical Background of Abnormal Psychology Immersive Reader Historical Perspectives on Abnormal Behavior Prehistoric and Ancient Beliefs Prehistoric societies some half a million years ago did not distinguish between mental and physical disorders. According to historians, these ancient peoples attributed many forms of illness to demonic possession, sorcery, or retribution from an offended ancestral spirit. Certain symptoms and behaviors, from simple headaches to convulsions, were ascribed to evil spirits residing within a person’s body. Within this system of belief, called demonology, the person displaying symptoms was often held at least partly responsible for the misfortune. It has been suggested that Stone Age cave dwellers may have treated behavior and mental disorders with a surgical method called trephining, in which part of the skull was chipped away to provide an opening through which the evil spirits could escape, in hopes that the person would return to his or her normal state. Surprisingly, anthropologists have discovered some trephined skulls with evidence of healing, indicating that some individuals survived this extremely crude operation. https://dlsud.edu20.org/student_lesson/complete_and_next/4892021?from=%2Fstudent_lesson%2Fshow%2F4892021%3Flesson_id%3D22651649… 1/11 9/2/24, 2:44 PM C-PSYM317 BSY35 ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY 1st Sem ( 2024-2025 ) - Period MH 1430-1600 - https://dlsud.edu20.org/student_l… Another treatment method used by the early Greeks, Chinese, Hebrews, and Egyptians was exorcism. In an exorcism, elaborate prayers, noises, emetics (drugs that induce vomiting), and extreme measures such as flogging and starvation were used to cast evil spirits out of an afflicted person’s body. Naturalistic Explanations: Greco-Roman Thought Early thinkers, such as Hippocrates (460–370 B.C.), a physician sometimes referred to as the father of Western medicine, actively questioned prevailing superstitious beliefs and proposed much more rational and scientific explanations for mental disorders. He believed that, because the brain was the central organ of intellectual activity, deviant behavior was caused by brain pathology, that is, a dysfunction or disease of the brain. He also considered heredity and the environment important factors in psychopathology. He classified mental illnesses into three categories— mania, melancholia (sadness or depression), and phrenitis (brain fever)—and provided detailed clinical descriptions of symptoms such as paranoia, alcoholic delirium, and epilepsy. Many of his descriptions of disorders are still used today, eloquent testimony to his keen powers of observation. To treat melancholia, Hippocrates recommended tranquility, moderate exercise, a careful diet, abstinence from sexual activity, and bloodletting when necessary. His belief in environmental influences on behavior sometimes led him to separate disturbed individuals from their families. Other thinkers who contributed to the organic explanation of behavior were the philosopher Plato and the Greek physician Galen, who practiced in Rome. Reversion to Supernatural Explanations: The Middle Ages https://dlsud.edu20.org/student_lesson/complete_and_next/4892021?from=%2Fstudent_lesson%2Fshow%2F4892021%3Flesson_id%3D22651649… 2/11 9/2/24, 2:44 PM C-PSYM317 BSY35 ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY 1st Sem ( 2024-2025 ) - Period MH 1430-1600 - https://dlsud.edu20.org/student_l… With the upheavals in society associated with the collapse of the Roman Empire, the rise of Christianity, and the devastating plagues sweeping through Europe, rational and scientific thought gave way to a renewed emphasis on the supernatural. Religious dogma reinforced the idea that nature is a reflection of divine will and beyond human reason and that earthly life is a prelude to the “true” life experienced after death. Scientific inquiry— attempts to understand, classify, explain, and control nature—became less important than accepting nature as a manifestation of God’s will. In fact, religious truths were viewed as sacred and those who challenged these ideas were denounced as heretics. Natural and supernatural explanations of illness were once again fused. Treatment was quite brutal, particularly when the illness was seen as resulting from God’s wrath or possession by the devil. When the illness was perceived to be punishment for sin, the sick person was assumed to be guilty of wrongdoing; relief could only come through atonement or repentance. The humane treatment that Hippocrates had advocated centuries earlier was replaced by torturous exorcism procedures designed to combat Satan and eject him from the possessed person’s body. Belief in the power of the supernatural became so prevalent and intense that it frequently affected whole populations. Beginning in Italy early in the 13th century, large numbers of people were affected by various forms of mass madness, or group hysteria, involving the sudden appearance of unusual symptoms that had no apparent physical cause. One of the better-known manifestations of this condition was tarantism, characterized by agitation and frenzied dancing. You may want to watch this in YouTube, for additional info. https://dlsud.edu20.org/student_lesson/complete_and_next/4892021?from=%2Fstudent_lesson%2Fshow%2F4892021%3Flesson_id%3D22651649… 3/11 9/2/24, 2:44 PM C-PSYM317 BSY35 ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY 1st Sem ( 2024-2025 ) - Period MH 1430-1600 - https://dlsud.edu20.org/student_l… Yorston, G. (2022, October 8). Tarantism – Dance or Die – History Documentary. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIVtPcDb21U Witchcraft: 15th Through 17th Centuries During the 15th and 16th centuries, social and religious reformers increasingly challenged the authority of the Catholic Church. Martin Luther attacked the corruption and the abuses of the clergy, precipitating the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century. Church officials viewed such protests as insurrections that threatened their power. According to the church, Satan himself fostered the attacks on church practices. In effect, the church actively endorsed an already popular belief in demonic possession and witches. To counter the satanic threat, Pope Innocent VIII issued a decree in 1484 calling on the clergy to identify and exterminate witches. Thousands of innocent men, women, and even children were beheaded, burned alive, or mutilated during the period of the witch hunts. It has been estimated that over 100,000 people (mainly women) were executed as witches from the middle of the 15th century to the end of the 17th century. Witch hunts also occurred in colonial America. Most psychiatric historians believe that individuals who were mentally ill were those initially suspected of witchcraft. The Rise of Humanism A resurgence of rational and scientific inquiry during the 14th through 16th centuries led https://dlsud.edu20.org/student_lesson/complete_and_next/4892021?from=%2Fstudent_lesson%2Fshow%2F4892021%3Flesson_id%3D22651649… 4/11 9/2/24, 2:44 PM C-PSYM317 BSY35 ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY 1st Sem ( 2024-2025 ) - Period MH 1430-1600 - https://dlsud.edu20.org/student_l… to great advances in science and humanism, a philosophical movement emphasizing human welfare and the worth and uniqueness of the individual. Prior to this time, most asylums were at best custodial centers in which people who were mentally disturbed were chained, caged, starved, whipped, and even exhibited to the public for a small fee, much like animals in a zoo (Dreher, 2013 in Sue, et al., 2016) Johann Weyer (1515–1588), a German physician, published a revolutionary book that challenged the prevailing beliefs about witchcraft. He personally investigated many cases of possession and asserted that many people who were tortured, imprisoned, and burned as witches were mentally disturbed, not possessed by demons (Metzger, 2013 in Sue et al., 2026). Although both the church and state severely criticized and banned his book, it helped pave the way for the humanistic perspective on mental illness. With the rise of humanism, a new way of thinking developed—if people were “mentally ill” and not possessed, they should be treated as though they were sick. The Moral Treatment Movement: 18th and 19th Centuries In France, Philippe Pinel (1745–1826), a physician, took charge of la Bicêtre, a hospital for mentally ill men in Paris. Pinel instituted what came to be known as the moral treatment movement—a shift to more humane treatment of https://dlsud.edu20.org/student_lesson/complete_and_next/4892021?from=%2Fstudent_lesson%2Fshow%2F4892021%3Flesson_id%3D22651649… 5/11 9/2/24, 2:44 PM C-PSYM317 BSY35 ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY 1st Sem ( 2024-2025 ) - Period MH 1430-1600 - https://dlsud.edu20.org/student_l… people who were mentally disturbed. Pinel later instituted similar, equally successful, reforms at la Salpêtrière, a large mental hospital for women in Paris. In England, William Tuke (1732–1822), a prominent Quaker tea merchant, established a retreat at York for the “moral treatment” of mental patients. At this pleasant country estate, the patients worked, prayed, rested, and talked out their problems—all in an atmosphere of kindness. This emphasis on moral treatment laid the groundwork for using psychological means to treat mental illness. Indeed, it resulted in much higher rates of “cure” than other treatments of that time (Charland, 2007). In the United States, three individuals—Benjamin Rush, Dorothea Dix, and Clifford Beers —made important contributions to the moral treatment movement. Benjamin Rush (1745–1813), widely acclaimed as the father of U.S. psychiatry, encouraged humane treatment of those residing in mental hospitals. He insisted that patients be treated with respect and dignity and that they be gainfully employed while hospitalized, an idea still evident in the modern concept of work therapy. https://dlsud.edu20.org/student_lesson/complete_and_next/4892021?from=%2Fstudent_lesson%2Fshow%2F4892021%3Flesson_id%3D22651649… 6/11 9/2/24, 2:44 PM C-PSYM317 BSY35 ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY 1st Sem ( 2024-2025 ) - Period MH 1430-1600 - https://dlsud.edu20.org/student_l… Dorothea Dix (1802–1887), a New England schoolteacher, was a leader in 19th century social reform in the United States. At the time, people who were mentally ill were often incarcerated in prisons and poor houses. While teaching Sunday school to female prisoners, she was appalled to find jailed mental patients living under deplorable conditions. For the next 40 years, Dix worked tirelessly on behalf of those experiencing mental disorders. The moral treatment movement was energized in 1908 with the publication of A Mind That Found Itself, a book by Clifford Beers (1876–1943) about his own mental collapse. His book describes the terrible treatment he and other patients experienced in three mental institutions, where they were beaten, choked, spat on, and restrained with straitjackets. His vivid account aroused public sympathy and attracted the interest and support of the psychiatric establishment, including such eminent figures as psychologist- philosopher William James. Beers founded the National Committee for Mental Hygiene (forerunner of the National Mental Health Association, now known as Mental Health America), an organization dedicated to educating the public about mental illness and advocating for effective treatment for people who are mentally ill. This organization continues to advocate against ineffective or inappropriate treatment of people with mental disorders. Causes of Mental Illness: Early Viewpoints https://dlsud.edu20.org/student_lesson/complete_and_next/4892021?from=%2Fstudent_lesson%2Fshow%2F4892021%3Flesson_id%3D22651649… 7/11 9/2/24, 2:44 PM C-PSYM317 BSY35 ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY 1st Sem ( 2024-2025 ) - Period MH 1430-1600 - https://dlsud.edu20.org/student_l… Two schools of thought emerged, the biological viewpoint which holds that mental disorders are the result of physiological damage or disease. The psychological viewpoint which stresses an emotional basis for mental illness. It is important to note that most people tended to combine elements of both positions rather than adhering only to one view. The Biological Viewpoint During the 19th century, the biological viewpoint—the belief that mental disorders have a physical or physiological basis—flourish. The ideas of Wilhelm Griesinger (1817–1868), a German psychiatrist who believed that all mental disorders had physiological causes, received considerable attention. Emil Kraepelin (1856–1926), a follower of Griesinger, observed that certain symptoms tend to occur regularly in clusters, called syndromes. Kraepelin believed that each cluster of symptoms represented a mental disorder with its own unique—and clearly specifiable — cause, course, and outcome. In his Textbook of Psychiatry (1883/1923), Kraepelin outlined a system for classifying mental illnesses based on their physiological causes. That system was the foundation for the diagnostic categories in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), the classification system of the American Psychiatric Association that is still in use today. https://dlsud.edu20.org/student_lesson/complete_and_next/4892021?from=%2Fstudent_lesson%2Fshow%2F4892021%3Flesson_id%3D22651649… 8/11 9/2/24, 2:44 PM C-PSYM317 BSY35 ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY 1st Sem ( 2024-2025 ) - Period MH 1430-1600 - https://dlsud.edu20.org/student_l… The Psychological Viewpoint Some scientists noted, however, that certain types of emotional disorders do not appear to be associated with any obvious biological cause. Such observations led to the psychological viewpoint—the belief that mental disorders are caused by psychological and emotional factors. For example, personal challenges or interpersonal conflicts can lead to intense feelings of frustration, depression, and anger, which may consequently lead to deteriorating mental health. This perspective received support with the discovery that psychological interventions could both produce and treat hysteria, a condition involving physical symptoms that have a psychological rather than a physical cause. Mesmerism and Hypnotism The unique and exotic techniques to treat hysteria used by Friedrich Anton Mesmer (1734–1815), an Austrian physician who practiced in Paris, presented an early challenge to the biological viewpoint. Mesmer developed a theory of “animal magnetism” contending that disruptions in the flow of magnetic forces in the body could produce physical problems and that the use of magnetism could restore the flow to normal. Based on this theory, Mesmer developed a highly controversial treatment referred to as mesmerism, a technique that evolved into the modern practice of hypnotism. Breuer and Freud https://dlsud.edu20.org/student_lesson/complete_and_next/4892021?from=%2Fstudent_lesson%2Fshow%2F4892021%3Flesson_id%3D22651649… 9/11 9/2/24, 2:44 PM C-PSYM317 BSY35 ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY 1st Sem ( 2024-2025 ) - Period MH 1430-1600 - https://dlsud.edu20.org/student_l… The idea that psychological processes could produce mental and physical dysfunction soon gained credence among physicians who were using hypnosis. Among them was the Viennese doctor Josef Breuer (1842–1925). He discovered that after one of his female patients spoke quite freely about her past traumatic experiences while in a trance, many of her physical symptoms disappeared. There was even greater improvement when the patient recalled and talked about previously forgotten memories of emotionally distressing events. This technique became known as the cathartic method, the therapeutic use of verbal expression to release pent- up emotional conflicts. It foreshadowed the practice of psycho- analysis initiated by Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) —techniques that have had a lasting influence in the field of abnormal psychology. Behaviorism The behavioristic perspective stressed the importance of directly observable behaviors and the conditions that evoked, reinforced, and extinguished them. Behaviorism not only provided an alternative explanation regarding the development of both normal and abnormal behaviors but also offered successful procedures for treating some psychological conditions. https://dlsud.edu20.org/student_lesson/complete_and_next/4892021?from=%2Fstudent_lesson%2Fshow%2F4892021%3Flesson_id%3D22651649… 10/11 9/2/24, 2:44 PM C-PSYM317 BSY35 ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY 1st Sem ( 2024-2025 ) - Period MH 1430-1600 - https://dlsud.edu20.org/student_l… Reference: Sue, D., Sue, D. W., Sue, D., & Sue, S. (2016). Understanding abnormal behavior. (11th ed.). Cengage Learning https://dlsud.edu20.org/student_lesson/complete_and_next/4892021?from=%2Fstudent_lesson%2Fshow%2F4892021%3Flesson_id%3D22651649… 11/11