Introduction to Abnormal

Psychology
 Psychopatholog
• study of people who y
suffer mental,
emotional, and often  study of significant
physical pain, often causes, processes
referred to as  and manifestations
in the development
of mental disorders.
Abnormal
Psychology
NORMAL
vs
ABNORMAL
What is NORMAL?

SOCIAL
PERSONAL
AVERAGE CONFORMI
COMFORT
TY

IDEAL PROCESS
 What is ABNORMAL?
MENTAL DISORDERS
• A collection of problems in thinking or
cognition, in emotional responding or
regulation (affect), and in social
behavior that causes significant
distress.
CULTURAL NORMS
• Cultural Relativism is the view that
there are no universal standards or
rules for labeling a behavior normal;
instead, behaviors can be labeled
abnormal only relative to cultural
norms.
 What is ABNORMAL?

CULTURAL NORMS
• Culture and gender can influence the ways people express symptoms
• Culture and gender can influence people’s willingness to admit to certain
types of behaviors or feelings
• Culture and gender can influence the types of treatments deemed acceptable
or helpful for people
What is ABNORMAL? 4D’s

Dysfunction

Distress

Deviance

Dangerousness
HISTORICAL
PERSPECTIV
ES
Supernatur Biological Psychologic
al Tradition Tradition al Tradition
result of divine approaches to the
intervention, similar to physical causation of
psychopathology
curses, demonic, disease, breakdown focuses on
possessions, and of bodily systems psychosocial, social,
personal sin and cultural factors

religious rituals, rest, relaxation,

restoration of
exorcism, change of
health,
confession and environment,
medication
atonement therapy
 Supernatural Tradition

Demons and Witches Possession Moon and Stars

Work of devil and witches
Treatments: exorcism, trephination,
shaving a cross pattern on the hair,
securing sufferers to wall near the front
of the church
Punishment for evil deeds, or may be moon  luna  Lunatic
seen as involuntary and victim is Paracelsus: moon and stars had an effect
considered blameless on human behavior
Treatments: exorcisms, confinement,
beatings, hanging people over a pit full
of poisonous snakes, hydrotherapy

Insanity was a natural phenomenon, Large-scale outbreaks of bizarre behavior

caused by mental and emotional stress, by whole group of people
and is curable
Psychic Epidemics
Treatments: rest, sleep, healthy
environment, baths, ointments, and Emotion Contagion
potions Mob Psychology

Stress and Melancholy Mass Hysteria

 Biological Tradition
Development Consequences
Hippocrates and Galen 19th Century of Biological of Biological
Treatments Tradition

• psychological disorders can • Humoral Theory of • unexplained mental

be treated like other
diseases and can be caused
by brain pathology, trauma
or genetics
• Hysteria  Somatic
Symptom Disorder 
Wandering Uterus
Hippocrates
Disorders
• normal brain functioning
was related to four bodily
fluids or humors
• disease resulted from too
much or too little of one of
the humors
Galen
disorders were caused by
blockages of wind or the
presence of cold,
• dark wind (yin) as
opposed to warm, life
sustaining (yang)
Yin and
Yang
 Biological Tradition
Development Consequences
Hippocrates and Galen 19th Century of Biological of Biological
Treatments Tradition

symptoms are like psychosis causes of insanity were

Syphilis

John P. Grey
(delusion or hallucinations, always physical
or both) mentally ill  physically ill
Advance Syphilis Treatments: rest, diet and
(Psychosis)  General proper room temperature
Paresis (consistent and ventilation
symptoms and course that
causes death) DEINSTITUTIONALIZA
TION
Treatment for Syphilis:
malaria, penicillin MANAGED CARE
 Biological Tradition
Development Consequences
Hippocrates and Galen 19th Century of Biological of Biological
Treatments Tradition

• increasingly higher • a mild and modest • observed that

Joseph Van Medina

Benjamin Franklin
Manfred Sakel

dosages until finally, electric shock to the schizophrenia was

patients convulsed head produced a rarely found in
and became brief convulsion and individuals with
temporarily amnesia but epilepsy
comatose otherwise did little o induced brain
• insulin shock harm seizures might cure
therapy schizophrenia
 Biological Tradition
Development Consequences
Hippocrates and Galen 19th Century of Biological of Biological
Treatments Tradition

• treated a depressed • general pattern of • experiment lead to a

Richard Krafft-Ebing
Ugo Cerletti and Lucio
Bini

Alexander and Selesnick

patient by sending drug therapy for contribution to the
six small shocks mental illness has idea that biological
directly through his been one of initial factors can cause
brain, producing enthusiasm followed abnormal behaviors
convulsion by disappointment
• electroconvulsive
therapy
 Biological Tradition
Development Consequences
Hippocrates and Galen 19th Century of Biological of Biological
Treatments Tradition

Grey and Colleagues reducing interest in treating mental patients

Hospitalization of Patients

Emil Kraeplin: seeing that each may have a different age of onset and time course, with
different clusters of presenting symptoms and a different cause

Treatment focuses on: diagnosis, responsibility of patients, brain pathology

Demons and Witches
Work of devil and witches
Treatments: exorcism, trephination,
shaving a cross pattern on the hair,
securing sufferers to wall near the front
of the church
Possession Moon and Stars
Punishment for evil deeds, or may be moon  luna  Lunatic
seen as involuntary and victim is Paracelsus: moon and stars had an effect
considered blameless on human behavior
Treatments: exorcisms, confinement,
beatings, hanging people over a pit full
of poisonous snakes, hydrotherapy

Insanity was a natural phenomenon, Large-scale outbreaks of bizarre behavior

caused by mental and emotional stress, by whole group of people
and is curable
Psychic Epidemics
Treatments: rest, sleep, healthy
environment, baths, ointments, and Emotion Contagion
potions Mob Psychology

Stress and Melancholy Mass Hysteria

Supernatural Tradition

DEMONS STRESS AND POSSESSION MASS MOON AND

AND MELANCHO HYSTERIA STARS
WITCHES LY