What is abnormal behavior?

• What is a psychological disorder?

ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY

HUMORSHUMORS

Blood (heart) -- cheerful and hopeful

Phlegm (brain) -- apathy, sluggishness

Yellow Bile (liver) -- irritable, aggressive

Black Bile (spleen) -- depressed, melancholic

HUMORSHUMORS

Blood (heart) -- cheerful and hopeful

Phlegm (brain) -- apathy, sluggishness

Yellow Bile (liver) -- irritable, aggressive

Black Bile (spleen) -- depressed, melancholic

MIDDLE AGESMIDDLE AGES

Zeitgeist: Religion and ChristianityDeviance: Good vs. EvilBizarre Behavior (“It’s the work of the Devil”)

15th to the 17th CenturiesThe Witch Hunts - 100,000 Executed as Witches

From the Home to the HospitalBethlehem Hospital (“Bedlam”)Treatments Were Crude

• Blood letting, beatings, chains• Rest and relaxation

From the Home to the HospitalBethlehem Hospital (“Bedlam”)Treatments Were Crude

• Blood letting, beatings, chains• Rest and relaxation

Reform of the Asylums in EuropeReform of the Asylums in EuropePinelPinel

Reform in AmericaReform in AmericaDorothea DixDorothea Dix

Moral Therapy and its DeclineMoral Therapy and its Decline

Reform of the Asylums in EuropeReform of the Asylums in EuropePinelPinel

Reform in AmericaReform in AmericaDorothea DixDorothea Dix

Moral Therapy and its DeclineMoral Therapy and its Decline

• Return of the Biological ModelReturn of the Biological Model– Kraepelin– Father of “Experimental”

Abnormal Psychology

• Return of the Biological ModelReturn of the Biological Model– Kraepelin– Father of “Experimental”

Abnormal Psychology

• Mental Illness = Physical IllnessMental Illness = Physical Illness• Mental Illness = Physical IllnessMental Illness = Physical Illness

GENERAL PARESISGENERAL PARESISLooks crazy, but is it?

GENERAL PARESISGENERAL PARESISLooks crazy, but is it?

• ADVANCED CASE OF SYPHILISADVANCED CASE OF SYPHILIS– Penicillin

• ADVANCED CASE OF SYPHILISADVANCED CASE OF SYPHILIS– Penicillin

• PASTEUR’S CONTRIBUTIONPASTEUR’S CONTRIBUTION– Symptoms of disease caused by bacterium

• PASTEUR’S CONTRIBUTIONPASTEUR’S CONTRIBUTION– Symptoms of disease caused by bacterium

• Treat the Disease, Cure the ProblemTreat the Disease, Cure the Problem– 1930s:1930s: Insulin and ECT

– 1950s:1950s: Neuroleptics (Thorazine)

– 1970s:1970s: Benzodiazapines (Valium)

• Abnormal Behavior is a Disease

• Problem is Biological (Brain), not Psychological

• More Pharmacologic Remedies

• Language of Medicine• Language of Medicine

Breuer and Freud: • The “Talking Cure”

• Freudian Theory– Structure of the Mind– The Mind’s Protective Mechanisms– Stages of Psychosexual Development

• Freud: the 2nd Revolution

Psychological Disorder Defined

Statistical Definition

Rare behavior that deviatesfrom the average

MORE DEVIATION, MORE ABNORMALMORE DEVIATION, MORE ABNORMAL

• Statistical DefinitionStatistical Definition

• Distress DefinitionDistress Definition

Psychological Disorder Defined

Personal Suffering Defines Abnormality

• Statistical DefinitionStatistical Definition

• Distress DefinitionDistress Definition

• Normative DefinitionNormative Definition

Psychological Disorder Defined

Does the behavior violate cultural norms?

• “Harmful” Dysfunction

Psychological Disorder Defined

Breakdown of one’s cognitive, emotional, or behavioral functioning

“Harmful” dysfunction

Psychological Disorder Defined

TWO CRITICAL ELEMENTS

• “harmful” is a value-based term

• “harmful” as failure of our faculties to perform the functions they were designed to perform

Definition

Individual must experience (psychological) dysfunction and severe distress or impairment. Also, reactions not culturally expected

DescriptionDescription

Causation

Treatment/Outcome

Study ofStudy ofPsychologicalPsychological

DisordersDisorders

Scientist-Practitioner Model

Description

Causation

Treatment/Outcome

Study ofPsychological

Disorders

PopulationsPopulations• Prevalence and IncidencePrevalence and Incidence

Course of DisordersCourse of Disorders• Episodic, Chronic, or Time LimitedEpisodic, Chronic, or Time Limited

Onset of DisordersOnset of Disorders• Acute or InsidiousAcute or Insidious

• Multiple CausationMultiple Causation– biology, psychology, biology, psychology,

learning history, culture, learning history, culture, and social factorsand social factors

EtiologyEtiology• the study of why a disorder beginsthe study of why a disorder begins

Can assistCan assist

in understanding maintaining factors

in prevention efforts

• Can’t tell usCan’t tell us

much about causes of disorders

in developing more powerful treatments

Gross Deviations in Mood Depression: “The Low”

– The “Common Cold” of Mental Illness– Major Depressive Episode is Most Common

Mania: “The High”– Abnormally Exaggerated Elation, Joy, or

Euphoria

Facts and Statistics About 7.8% Lifetime Prevalence

Median % across many studies:

Bipolar-1.3 Maj Depression-16.1

Females > Males– Major Depression and Dysthymia

Females = Males– Bipolar Disorders

Similar in Children and Adults

Negative Cognitive Biases Beck’s Cognitive Triad

Negative Schema About

Self, World, & Future

** Biological and Social Causes **

In the United States: About 30,000 Kill Themselves Annually More Die from Suicide Each Year Than Homicide (about

20,000 in 1996) 9th Leading Cause of Death (1996 stat) More Common Among Whites, Native Americans Increasing in Adolescents (3rd leading cause of death) &

Elderly (globally, the elderly have highest suicide rate, esp. males)

Males > Females in Killing Themselves Females > Males in Attempts

Approximately 500,000 people each year require ER treatment as a result of attempted suicide (1996 stat)

Suicidal behavior typically occurs in the presence of mental illness or substance use disorders

Firearms account for 59% of all suicide deaths (1996 stat)

Website of Extreme and Urgent Interest:

suicidology.org