Transcript 27. ABNORMAL.2016

CLASS 27
Abnormal
Behavior
Chapter 14
Many Related Terms
• Crazy – too colloquial
• Psycho-pathological – too formal
• Mentally ill – standard but implies it’s medical
• Abnormal behavior – can extend beyond
mental illness
Also…
• Milder versions: maladjusted
• Temporary version: distressed
symptoms & cause
Abnormal Behavior <--- Psychological Disorder
(observable symptoms) <--- (underlying cause)
BUT
• Other possible reasons for abnormal behavior
• All we have are the symptoms
Our definition
• Mental illness is abnormal behavior caused
by an underlying psychological disorder
Analyzing “Abnormal
Behavior”
Some combination of four criteria:
1. Statistical deviance
2. Cultural deviance
3. Emotional distress
4. Dysfunction
Examples of abnormality:
Are they mentally ill?
Charlie Manson?
JUST PLAIN CRIMINAL ?
http://serialkillercalendar.com/charlesmanson.html
Vincent
van Gogh
TROUBLED GENIUS ?
Howie Mandel?
ABLE TO ADAPT
Scary
guy?
EXTREME
SUBCULTURE
Celebrity Excess:
Britney Spears
STRESS OVERLOAD?
Celebrity Excess:
Charlie Sheen
NARCISSISTIC
Osama Bin Laden?
RELIGIOUS EXTREMIST
Berkeley’s naked guy?
Andrea Yates
-bizarre but
incoherent
CLEAR-CUT CASE ?
Colonel Russell
Williams
-bizarre but
coherent and
successful
-an exception to
any definition?
Two Models of Mental Illness
• Medical model
• Sociological model
Medical Model
-Abnormal behavior is caused by a disease
-Categorical
-Measurable symptoms
-Cured with appropriate therapy
Sociological Model
• completely arbitrary
• emphasizes cultural deviance criterion
• e.g., homosexuality – now only if distressing
• e.g., pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS)
• repression of artists, writers, political extremists
Mental illness vs. Insanity
• Insanity is a legal concept
• Awareness of right-wrong at the time of the crime
• Implication: if insane, then not guilty of the crime
• Paradox:
– the more abnormal the behavior is:
– (a) the less guilty they are legally, but
– (b) the more people want to punish
DSM
• Diagnostic and Statistical Manual
• Bible for clinical psychologists and
psychiatrists
• Organizes and categorizes mental illness
Five axes of the DSM
• I: Clinical disorders
• II: Personality disorders
• III: Medical conditions
• IV: Environmental conditions
• V: Global functioning
DSM-5
• New since 2013
• Even more controversial
• Even more disorders (tobacco-use disorder)
• Psychologists vs. psychiatrists