Abnormal Behavior

Abnormal PsychologyThe scientific study of abnormal behavior in order to describe, predict, explain, and change abnormal patterns of functioning.

Goal of course:Learn theories of abnormal behavior.Learn scientific based knowledge aboutabnormal behavior.Decrease judgment of others.

What is Psychologically Abnormal?

The Four D’s Deviance Distress Dysfunction Danger

Four D’s in More Detail I.

Deviance Deviance from or violation of a society’s ideas

about proper function. Norms- a society’s explicit and implicit rules for

proper conduct. Culture- a society’s shared rules that govern the

behavior of its members, common history, values, beliefs, habits, skills, technology, and arts.

Includes a valuational aspect which varies from culture to culture.

Four D’s in More Detail II.

Distress Pain or discomfort

Dysfunctional or Maladaptive Behavior It interferes with daily functioning.

Danger Behavior that becomes dangerous to self or

others.

Note: Abnormal behavior is to some degree arbitrary and culturally determined

Medical Model vs. Bio-psychosocial Model

DSM DEFINITION: MENTAL DISORDER

[A mental disorder] is conceptualized as a clinically significant behavioral or psychological syndrome or pattern that occurs in an individual and that is associated with present distress (a painful symptom) or disability (impairment in one or more areas of functioning) or with a significantly increased risk of suffering death, pain, disability, or an important loss of freedom. In addition, this syndrome or pattern must not be merely an expectable and culturally sanctioned response to a particular event, for example, the death of a loved one. Whatever its original cause, it must currently be considered a manifestation of a behavioral, psychological, or biological dysfunction in the individual. Neither deviant behavior (e.g. political, religious, or sexual) nor conflicts that are primarily between the individual and society are mental disorders unless the deviance or conflict is a symptom of a dysfunction in the individual as described above.

Syndrome- a group of clinical observations or symptoms that tend to co-occur.

Other Definitions

Psychological Disorder – a harmful dysfunction in which behavior is judged to be atypical, disturbing, maladaptive, and unjustifiable.

Abnormal Behavior- we define behavior as abnormal, a

manifestation of mental disorder, if it is both persistent and in serious degree contrary to the continued well-being of the individual and/or that of the human community of which the individual is a member. (Carson, Butcher, & Mineka)

Classification of Abnormal Behavior

A useful classification system must be reliable and valid.

Three models of classification 1. Categorical 2. Dimensional 3. Prototypal

Three Models of Classiciation

Categorical Approach Human behavior can be divided into two categories (health or

unhealthy). The unhealthy category consists of discrete, nonoverlapping,

classes or types. Dimensional Approach

Bx= product of different dimensions (eg. anxiousness, extroversion) People differ in profile or configuration of these dimensional traits. Normal or abnormal is determined by looking at any particular

dimension and making a determination usually based on a normative percentage.

Prototypal Approach Assumes the existence of conceptual entities (prototypes) depicting

idealized combinations of characteristics, ones that more or less regularly occur together.

DSM Classification of Mental Disorders

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) Introduced in 1952 Moving from a subjective to operational

definition. Diagnosis is based on signs and symptoms

Signs- objective observations of a patients physical or mental disorder by a diagnostician.

Symptoms- patient’s subjective description of a physical or mental disorder.

The Five Axes of DSM-IV-TR

Axis I - Particular clinical syndromes Axis II - Personality disorders Axis III - General medical conditions Axis IV - Psychosocial/environmental

problems Axis V - Global assessment of functioning

The DSM is organized into major etiological groupings (see next slide)

DSM Main Categories Axis I & Axis II Disorders

Disorders secondary to gross destruction or malfunctioning of brain tissue

Substance-use disorders Disorders of psychological or sociological

origin having no known brain pathology Disorders usually arising during childhood or

adolescence

Mental Disorder’s Qualifying Terms

Comorbidity-existence of two or more disorders Acute- describes a disorder of sudden onset, usually

with intense symptoms Chronic- describes a long-standing or frequently

recurring disorder, often of progressing seriousness Mild/Moderate/Severe- describes a disorder of a low

order of severity, intermediate order of severity, and a high degree of seriousness.

Episodic Disorder- describes a disorder that tends to abate and to recur

Recurrent- describes a disorder pattern that tends to come and go.

Labeling: Positive and Negative

Communication Social Label May limit Inquiry Once Applied Self-fulfilling Prophecy Have Pejorative and Stigmatizing Implications

Second-Class Citizens Devastate Self-Esteem and Morale

The Extent of Abnormal Behavior

Epidemiology- study of the distribution of diseases, disorders, or health-related behaviors in a given population.

Prevalence- the proportion of active cases of a disorder that can be identified in a population at a given point in, or during a given period, of time.

Incidence- occurrence (onset) rate of a given disorder in a given population.

Lifetime Prevalence- the proportion of living persons in a population who have ever had a disorder up to the time of the epidemiological assessment.

The Extent of Abnormal Behavior

Any mood disorder (male) Lifetime % = 14.7; 12-month % = 8.5 (female) Lifetime % = 23.9; 12-month % = 14.1 (total) Lifetime % = 19.3; 12-month % = 11.3

Any anxiety disorder Lifetime % = 19.2; 12-month % = 11.8 Lifetime % = 30.5; 12-month % = 22.6 Lifetime % = 24.9; 12-month % = 17.2

Any substance abuse d/o Lifetime % = 35.4; 12-month % = 16.1 Lifetime % = 17.9; 12-month % = 6.6 Lifetime % = 26.6; 12-month % = 11.3

Historical Views of Abnormal Behavior Demonology, Gods, and Magic

Cause- possession of evil spirits Tx- exorcism

Early Greek and Roman Thought Hippocrates (460-370 B.C)

Cause Mental Disorders have natural causes Brain Central Organ of Intellectual Activity Heredity Four Bodily Humors (blood, black bile, yellow bile, and

phlegm) Tx

Tranquil lifestyle, abstinence from excesses, bleeding, exercise

Pleasant surroundings, massage, hydrotherapy, education,

Bleeding, purging, mechanical restraints

Historical Views of Abnormal Behavior II

Early Greek and Roman Thought (cont) Galen (130-200 A.D.)

Anatomy of Nervous System Causes

Physical and Mental Categories Head injuries, alcoholic excess, shock, fear, menstruation Disappointment of love

Tx Contrariis contrarius (opposite by opposite)

Middle Ages (500-1500) Return to Demonology & Superstition and away

from Physical Causes Mass Madness (lycanthropy and tarantism)

Historical Views of Abnormal Behavior III

Middle Ages (1500-1700s) Establishment of Asylums and Shrines

Means of removing mentally ill from society Horrid condition of filth and deprivation including:

darkness, starvation, restraints, cold baths, tortures.

Beginning of the Modern Era Biological Link between Brain and Mental Disorder

General Paresis & Syphilis Classification System (Kraeplin) & Medical Model

Historical Views of Abnormal Behavior IV

Establishing the Psychological Basis Mesmerism Nancy School Psychoanalysis (Freud)

Hypnosis and Catharsis Unconscious and Free Association

Establishing An Experimental Research Laboratories Behavioral Perspective

Classical Conditioning Operant Conditioning

Research in Abnormal Psychology

Observation of behavior Forming hypotheses about behavior Sampling Generalization

Research in Abnormal Psychology

Control group Criterion group

Correlation versus Causation

Potential relationships between two variables: Variable A causes variable B Variable A and variable B are both caused by

variable C Variables A and B are both involved in a

complex pattern of variables influencing A and B in similar ways

Research in Abnormal Psychology

Independent Variable The manipulated factor

Dependent Variable Changes as the manipulated factor is changed

Research in Abnormal Psychology

Animal research Analogue studies Clinical case studies

Research in Abnormal Psychology

Retrospective strategies Looking backward in order to reconstruct the

client’s developmental history

Prospective strategies Focus on individuals who have a higher-than-

average likelihood of becoming psychologically disordered before abnormal behavior shows up