Transcript Abnormal Psychology Overview

Abnormal Psychology Overview
Intro
What does it mean
to be normal?
Has there ever
been a time in your
life where you have
not felt “normal”
Why?
Hypothetical Situation
A man living in the Ozark Mountains has a vision in
which God speaks to him. He begins preaching to
his relatives and neighbors, and soon he has the
whole town in a state of religious fervor. People say
he has a “calling.” His reputation as a prophet and
healer spreads, and in time he is drawing large
audiences everywhere he goes. However, when he
ventures to St Louis and attempts to hold a prayer
meeting, blocking traffic on a main street at rush
hour, he is arrested. He tells the policemen about
his conversations with God, and they hurry him off to
the nearest mental hospital.
Is the man normal or not?
HW Assignment: Reactions to Abnormal Behavior
Determining Abnormality
Three Criteria:
ATYPICAL BEHAVIOR
 unusual behavior that is also disturbing to the values or
beliefs of others is likely to be considered deviant.
 New Vocab: Norms
HARMFUL OR MALADAPTIVE
 Often it is a matter of degree.
 Ex. Drinking alcohol becomes a problem when the person is
no longer able to function well at home or one the job
although the person may deny he has a problem at all
PERSONAL DISTRESS
 When one feels psychological pain such as in depression or
debilitating anxiety
Diagnoses of psychological disorders all involve VALUE
JUDGEMENTS and CULTURAL NORMS about what is normal
or abnormal.
Both are fallible and change with social trends.
“Most people
have problems
from time to time
but are not
mentally ill.”
-Thomas Szasz
Classification of Behavior
Very difficult to
define
Causes and cures
are rarely obvious
or clear-cut
Must be ongoing
Use DSM-IV
Random Fact: don’t write down
In ancient times,
Egyptians and
Babylonians believed
that mental illness was
due primarily to evil
spirits. Archaeologists
frequently find
evidence of a practice
known as trephining,
which involved drilling
an opening in the skull
to let evil spirits
escape.
DSM-IV
Standard system for classifying
disorders by using the following
guidelines:
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Essential Featurescharacteristics that “define”
Associated FeaturesAdditional features that are
usually present
Differential Diagnosis- How to
distinguish this disorder from
others
Diagnostic Criteria- Essential
and associated features that
must be present for the patient
to be given a diagnostic label
Disorder Categories
Youth: Infancy, Childhood, & Adolescence
Delirium, Dementia, and other Cognitive
Disorders
Substance-Related
Schizophrenia & other Psychotic Disorders
Mood
Anxiety
Dissociative
Sexual
Eating
Sleep
Impulse Control
Interesting Stats
(do not write down)
National Institute of Mental Health (1985)
Over 20% of the adults interviewed had at least one psychiatric disorder during the
previous six months.
The most common mental illnesses were
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anxiety disorders (10-12% of the population)
alcohol and drug abuse (6-7%), affective disorders (5-6%)
schizophrenia, (1%)
antisocial personality (1%).
Men and women were found to have an equal chance of developing a mental
disorder although women suffered proportionately more from depression and men
from antisocial personality.

Multiple studies have indicated that all of us have a one in three chance of developing a
mental illness in our lifetime.
1994, the National Comorbidity Study (NCS)
48%, had experienced symptoms of psychological disorder sometime in their life,
30% within the previous year. Of those 30%, 80% had not sought treatment for their
symptoms during that year.
The NCS study also found that women had higher prevalence of anxiety disorders
(30+%) and depression (20+%) while men had a higher incidence of substance
abuse (35%) and antisocial personality disorders (5%). Reasons for genetic
differences are unknown but social roles and genetics are key suspects.
Final Thoughts…
Many people
develop a disorder
from the DSM-IV at
some point in their
lifetime
These disorders are
usually temporary