Abnormal Psychology

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Abnormal Psychology

• J.P. Garofalo, PhD

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Definition

• Abnormal Behavior
• Psychological dysfunction within an individual
  that is associated with distress or impairment in
  functioning and a response that is not typical or
  culturally expected

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Definitions

• Psychological dysfunction
• Refers to the breakdown in cognitive, emotional,
  or behavioral functioning
• Continuum rather than mutually exclusive
  categories

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Definition

• Distress
• Impairment
• Atypical or not culturally expected

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Psychopathology

• Scientific study of psychological disorders
• Scientist-Practitioner
• Consumer of science
• Enhancing the practice
• Evaluator of science
• Determining the effectiveness of the practice
• Creator of science
• Conducting research that leads to new procedures
  useful in the practice

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Clinical Research

• Studying psychological disorders
• Clinical Description
• Etiology
• Treatment and outcome

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Clinical Description

• Presenting problem
• Term Clinical
• Types of problems or disorders you would find in
  a clinic/hospital
• Activities connected with assessment and
  treatment

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Clinical Description

• Prevalence
• How many people in pop. have this disorder
• Incidence
• Statistics on how many new cases occur during a
  given period
• Sex-ratio
• Age of onset

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Clinical Description

• Course
• Chronic
• Episodic
• Individual is likely to recover within a few
  months only to suffer recurrence later
• Time-limited
• Disorder will improve without treatment
• Acute onset (insidious onset)

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Clinical Description

• Prognosis
• Anticipated course of a disorder
• E.g., good, guarded

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Etiology

• Causation or the origins
• Biological
• Psychological
• Social

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Quick Check

• Anna will require immediate intervention. Full
  recovery is not expected.________
• Twelve new cases of bulimia have been reported in
  the state during the past month_______
• Laura reports a long-standing history of
  depression that appears in intense episodes and
  then remits._________
• Andrew reported experiencing increased feelings
  of anxiety, coupled with avoidant-like
  behaviors._________
• The biological, psychological and social
  underpinnings of Eddies presenting complaint are
  evident.___________
• How many people in the population as a whole
  suffer from schizophrenia?__________

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Historical Traditions of Abnormal Behavior

• The Supernatural Tradition
• Outside agencies influence behavior, thoughts
  feelings
• Following split of Catholic Church in middle
  ages, this tradition grew stronger
• ? in magic and sorcery to solve their problems
• Psychological disordersdue to devil witches
• Treatment
• Exorcism
• Shaving the pattern of a cross in the hair of the
  victim
• Securing victim to a wall near the front of a
  church

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Historical Traditions of Abnormal Behavior

• Supernatural Tradition
• Some rejected notion of psychological
  disturbances being due to devil or witches
• Movement of the stars and moon affected ones
  behavior, thoughts or feelings
• Origin of the term lunatic
• Current status of the Supernatural Tradition

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Biological Tradition

• Examination of physical causes of mental
  disorders
• Hippocrates (460-377 B.C.)
• Brain functioning was related to four bodily
  fluids (humors)
• Bloodcomes from the heart
• Black bilecomes from the spleen
• Yellow bilecomes from the liver
• Phlegmcomes from the brain

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Biological Tradition (cont.)

• Hippocrates
• Disease resulted from too much or too little of
  one of the humors
• Excessive black bile caused melancholia (which
  actually means black bile)
• Coined the term hysteria
• Physical symptoms appear to result from organic
  pathology, but no organic cause can be found
• Derived from the Greek word hysteron

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Biological Tradition (cont.)

• Waxed and waned over time
• 19th Century it received renewed attention
• Syphilis
• Sexually transmitted disease caused by a
  bacterial microorganism entering the brain
• Delusions of grandeur and persecution
• Contrasted with other psychotic disorders
• First time psychotic symptoms were traced to a
  curable infection

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Biological Tradition (cont.)

• New Treatments
• Insulin shock therapy
• Electroconvulsive therapy
• Due to low incidence of SZ among epileptic pts
• Emergence of neuroleptics in the 1950s