Chapter 1

Abnormal Behavior
in Historical
Context
Objectives
Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching
themes in psychology

Develop a working knowledge of the content

domains of psychology

Use scientific reasoning to interpret behavior.

 Judy..... The Girl Who Fainted at
the Sight of Blood
Judy, a 16-year-old, was referred to our anxiety disorders clinic after increasing
episodes of fainting. About 2 years earlier, in Judy’s first biology class, the teacher
had shown a movie of a frog dissection to illustrate various points about anatomy.
This was a particularly graphic film, with vivid images of blood, tissue, and muscle.
About halfway through, Judy felt a bit lightheaded and left the room. But the images
did not leave her. She continued to be bothered by them and occasionally felt slightly
queasy. She began to avoid situations in which she might see blood or injury. She
stopped looking at magazines that might have gory pictures. She found it difficult to
look at raw meat, or even Band-Aids because they brought the feared images to
mind.
 Judy..... The Girl Who Fainted at
the Sight of Blood
Eventually, anything her friends or parents said that evoked an image of blood or
injury caused Judy to feel lightheaded. It got so bad that if one of her friends
exclaimed, “Cut it out!” she felt faint. Beginning about 6 months before her visit to
the clinic, Judy actually fainted when she unavoidably encountered something
bloody. Her family physician could find nothing wrong with her, nor could several
other physicians. By the time she was referred to our clinic, she was fainting 5 to 10
times a week, often in class. Clearly, this was problematic for her and disruptive in
school; each time Judy fainted, the other students flocked around her, trying to help,
and the class was interrupted.

 Judy..... The Girl Who Fainted at

the Sight of Blood

Because no one could find anything wrong with her, the principal finally concluded
that she was being manipulative and suspended her from school, even though she
was an honor student. Judy was suffering from what we now call blood– injection–
injury phobia. Her reaction was quite severe, thereby meeting the criteria for phobia,
a psychological disorder characterized by marked and persistent fear of an object or
situation. But many people have similar reactions that are not as severe when they
receive an injection or see someone who is injured, whether blood is visible or not.

 Judy..... The Girl Who Fainted at

the Sight of Blood

For people who react as severely as Judy, this phobia can be disabling. They may
avoid certain careers, such as medicine or nursing, and, if they are so afraid of
needles and injections that they avoid them even when they need them, they put
their health at risk.
Understanding Psychopathology

PSYCHOPATHOLOGY IS THE
SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF
PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS
Understanding Psychopathology

CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY IS AN APPLIED

BRANCH OF PSYCHOLOGY THAT ASSESS,
DIAGNOSE, TREAT AND PREVENT
MENTAL DISORDERS IN CLINICAL
SETTING..
Understanding Psychopathology

ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY – THE BRANCH

OF PSYCHOLOGY THAT STUDIES UNUSUAL
PATTERNS OF BEHAVIORS, EMOTIONS AND
THOUGHT WHICH MAY AND MAY NOT
INDICATE AN UNDERLYING CONDITION.
OR SIMPLY PUT, THIS FIELDS STUDIES ALL
KINDS OF BEHAVIOR AS LONG AS THEY
CLASSIFIED AS ABNORMAL .
What is Abnormal
Behavior?

bizarre behavior, Three proposed

dangerous definitions of abnormal
behavior, behavior:
shameful behavior.
 1. Conformity to Norms means
Norms
is a definition of abnormality
where a person's thinking or are expected ways of
behavior is classified as behaving in a society
abnormal if it violates the according to the majority and
(unwritten) rules about what is those members of a society
expected or acceptable
behavior in a particular social
group.
 Advantage of this Definition

1. . Cutoff Points: The statistical infrequency approach is appealing

because it establishes cutoff points that are quantitative in
nature.
2. Intuitive Appeal: It may seem obvious to us that those behaviors
we ourselves consider abnormal would be evaluated similarly by
others.
Bell Curve
 Disadvantage of this Definition
1. 1. Choice of Cut off Points: Conformity oriented definitions are
limited by the difficulty of establishing agreed-upon cut off
points.
2. 2. The Number of Deviations: Another difficulty with
nonconformity standards is the number of behaviors that one
must evidence in order to earn the label "deviant.
3. 3. Cultural Relativity: what is deviant for one group is not
necessarily so for another. Thus, the notion of cultural relativity is
important.
2. Subjective Distress
The focus from the
perceptions of the
observer to the
perceptions of the affected
individual, the subjective
feelings and sense of well-
being of the individual.
 Advantage of this Definition
1. this relieves the clinician of the burden of making an
absolute judgment as to the respondent's degree of
maladjustment.
2. It seems reasonable to expect that individuals can assess
whether they are experiencing emotional or behavioral
problems and can share this information when asked to do
so.
 Disdvantage of this Definition
1. The judgment will depend upon one criteria or values.
2. All of us become aware of our own anxieties from time to
time, so the total absence of such feelings cannot be the sole
criterion of adjustment.
3. There is a certain charm to the idea that if we want to know
whether a person is maladjusted, we should ask that person,
but there are obvious pitfalls in doing so.
3. Psychological
Dysfunction
For behavior to be
considered abnormal, it
must create some degree
of social (interpersonal) or
occupational problems for
the individual.
 Advantage of this Definition
Perhaps the greatest advantage to adopting this definition of
abnormal behavior is that relatively little inference is required.
Problems in both the social and occupational sphere often
prompt individuals to seek out treatment. It is often the case
that individuals come to realize the extent of their emotional
problems when these problems affect their family or social
relationships as well as significantly affect their performance at
either work or school.
Disadvantage of this
Definition
Who should establish the standards for social or
occupational dysfunction?
Judgments regarding both social and occupational
functioning are relative-----not absolute----- and involve
value-oriented standards.
 So what is really
Abnormal?
is possible only with reference to a set of value
judgments.
To characterize someone as abnormal is to assert that
he needs treatment.
In short, someone has decided that the patient needs
help in changing his behaviors- a relative, a court, or
perhaps the patient himself.
 Note:
it is also important to note that
abnormal behavior does not
necessarily indicate mental
illness
What Is a Psychological The 4 D's
Disorder?
It is a psychological Dysfunction
dysfunction within an
individual that is associated
Distress
with distress or impairment in Deviance
functioning and a response
that is not typical or culturally Dangerousness
expected
Mental Illness (DSM -5
Definition)
IS A SYNDROME CHARACTERIZED BY CLINICALLY SIGNIFICANT
DISTURBANCE IN INDIVIDUALS COGNITION, EMOTION
REGULATION, OR BEHAVIOR THAT REFLECTS A DYSFUNCTION
IN PSYCHOLOGICAL, BIOLOGICAL OR DEVELOPMENTAL
PROCESSES UNDERLYING MENTAL FUNCTIONING.
IT IS ASSOCIATED WITH SIGNIFICANT DISTRESS OR
DISABILITY IN SOCIAL, OCCUPATIONAL OR OTHER
IMPORTANT ACTIVITIES.
Mental Illness (DSM -5
Definition)
AN EXPECTED OR CULTURALLY APPROVED RESPONSE TO A
COMMON STRESSOR OR LOSS SUCH AS DEATH OF A BELOVED ONE,
IS NOT A MENTAL DISORDER. SOCIALLY DEVIANT BEHAVIOR ( EG,
POLITICAL , RELIGIOUS OR SEXUAL), AND CONFLICTS THAT ARE
PRIMARILY BETWEEN THE INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIETY ARE NOT
MENTAL DISORDERS, UNLESS THE DEVIANCE AND CONFLICT
RESULTS FROM DYSFUNCTION INT THE INDIVIDUAL AS DESCRIBE
ABOVE.
The Science of
Psychopathology
The Science of
Psychopathology
Within this field are specially trained
professionals, including clinical and
counseling psychologists, psychiatrists,
psychiatric social
workers, and psychiatric nurses, as well
as marriage and family
therapists and mental health counselors
The Scientist-Practitioner
Clinical Description

one important function of the clinical description

is to specify what makes the disorder different
from normal behavior or from other disorders.
 is a traditional shorthand way of
Presents indicating why the person came to the clinic.

Clinical refers both to the types of problems or disorders

that you would find in a clinic or hospital and to the activities
connected with assessment and treatment
 Prevalence is the proportion of a population
prevalence who have a specific characteristic in a given
time period.

 refers to the occurrence of new cases of

Incidence disease or injury in a population over a
specified period of time
Course

The course of the disorder is its particular

pattern. A disorder may be acute, meaning that
it lasts a short time, or chronic, meaning it
persists for a long time. It can also be classified
as time-limited, meaning that recovery will occur
after some time regardless of whether any
treatment occurs.
Prognosis
is the anticipated course the mental disorder will take. A key
factor in determining the course is age, with some disorders
presenting differently in childhood than adulthood.

Ex. "The Prognosis is good" meaning the disorder meaning

the individual will probably recover, or “the prognosis is
guarded,” meaning the probable outcome doesn’t look good.
 comorbidity
describes when two or more mental disorders are occurring
at the same time and in the same person.

Ex. The most common comorbidities of GAD are major

depressive disorder (MDD), bipolar disorder (BD), and
substance use disorder (SUD), due to the similar symptoms of
these disorders.
 etiology
is the cause of the disorder.

There may be social, biological, or psychological

explanations for the disorder which need to be understood to
identify the appropriate treatment.
 Treatment
is any procedure intended to modify abnormal behavior into
normal behavior.

The person suffering from the mental disorder seeks the

assistance of a trained professional to provide some degree
of relief over a series of therapy sessions
Developmental Psychology
the study of changes in behavior over time
Developmental Psychopathology
refer to the study of changes in abnormal behavior
 Concept Check
Part A Write the letter for any or all of the following definitions of
abnormality in the blanks: (a) societal norm violation, (b) impairment in
functioning, (c) dysfunction, and (d) distress.

1. Miguel recently began feeling sad and lonely. Although still able to
function at work and fulfill other responsibilities, he finds himself feeling
down much of the time and he worries about what is happening to him.
Which of the definitions of abnormality apply to Miguel’s situation?
_____________
 Concept Check

Three weeks ago, Jane, a 35-year-old business executive, stopped

showering, refused to leave her apartment, and started watching
television talk shows. Threats of being fired have failed to bring Jane
back to reality, and she continues to spend her days staring blankly at the
television screen. Which of the definitions seems to describe Jane’s
behavior? _____________
 Concept Check
Part B. Match the following words that are used in clinical descriptions
with their corresponding examples: (a) presenting problem, (b)
prevalence, (c) incidence, (d) prognosis, (e) course, and (f) etiology.

Maria should recover quickly with no intervention necessary. Without

treatment, John will deteriorate rapidly. ________________

Three new cases of bulimia have been reported in this county during the
past month and only one in the next county. _____________
 Concept Check
Elizabeth visited the campus mental health center because of her
increasing feelings of guilt and anxiety. _________________

Biological, psychological, and social influences all contribute to a variety

of disorders. ______________

The pattern a disorder follows can be chronic, time limited, or episodic.

_________
 Concept Check

How many people in the population as a whole suffer from obsessive-

compulsive disorder? ___________________________
THANK YOU!
Miss Emz