ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY Ch. 1 & 2

What Is Normal/Abnormal?  Unusualness of behavior/Deviation from average  Cultural relativism/Deviation from ideal  Subjective Discomfort  Inability to function/Maladaptiveness

Gender Role Expectations  How are men expected to act? What types of behaviors are discouraged?  How are women encouraged to act? What types of behaviors are discouraged?

Maladaptiveness  Does the behavior prevent normal daily functioning?  Does the person suffer distress?  Is there emotional or physical harm?

Historical Perspectives  Biological theories  Similar to physical disease  Supernatural theories  Divine intervention, curses, demonic possession, and personal sin.  Psychological theories  Mental disorders as the result of trauma(s).

Ancient Theories  Stone age  Spirit possession  Trephination  Ancient China  Yin and Yang

Ancient Theories, continued  Ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome  Dominated by natural theories  Hysteria/”hysteron”  Medieval views  Witchcraft  Psychic epidemics She's a Witch!

The Growth of Asylums (Renaissance)  12 th century – rooms for people w/mental disorders  Treatment was often inhumane  Asylums were established and run by people who thought mental disorders were medical illnesses  18 th century – more moral treatment of patients  Psychological view People become mad b/c they are separated from nature & succumb to the stresses imposed by rapid social changes of the time period

Modern Perspectives  New classification systems  Biological, psychological & social theories  Psychoanalytic perspective  Roots in mesmerism  Roots of behaviorism  Wilhelm Wundt  Classical vs. Operant Conditioning  Cognitive revolution The Lobotomist (1940s)

Patient’s Rights Movement (1960s)  Mental patients could recover more fully or live more satisfying lives if they were integrated into the community, with the support of community- based treatment facilities.  JFK

Feedback Loops Contemporary Theories Psychological Emphasis on psychological factors, such as early childhood experience and self-concept Biological Emphasis on biological processes (i.e., genetics) Social Emphasis on interpersonal relationships and social environment Feedback Loops

Disorder Vulnerability FactorTrigger Biological genes, disordered biochemistry, brain anomalies) onset of a disease, exposure to toxins, etc. Social maladaptive upbringing, chronic stress, etc. traumatic event, major loss, etc. Psychological unconscious conflicts, poor skills, maladaptive cognitions, etc, perceived loss of control, violation of trust, etc. Stress Contemporary Theories, cont.

Structural Theories Biochemical Theories Genetic Theories Abnormalities in the structure of the brain cause mental disorders Imbalances in the levels of neurotransmitters or hormones, or poor functioning of receptors cause mental disorders Disordered genes lead to mental disorders Biological Theories of Mental Disorders

Structural Causes of Dysfunction  Can occur in three areas of the brain:  Cerebrum  Central core  Limbic system  Can result from injury or disease

Biochemical Causes of Abnormality

Behavior Genetics Questions  To what extent are behaviors or behavioral tendencies inherited?  What are the processes by which genes affect behavior?

Family History Studies  Identify people who clearly have the disorder in question – probands.  Researchers are most interested in first-degree relatives.  Problems?

Psychodynamic Theories Behavioral Theories Cognitive Theories Unconscious conflicts between primitive desires and constraints of mental illness Symptoms of mental disorders due to reinforcements and punishments for specific behaviors and feelings People’s ways of interpreting situations, their assumptions about the world and self-concepts can cause negative feelings / behaviors Humanist and Existential Theories Conform to demands of others instead of pursuing own values and potentials Psychological Theories of Mental Disorders

Psychodynamic Theories  Developed by Freud  Id pleasure principle  Ego reality principle  Superego conscience & ego ideal

Psychosexual Stages StagesAge Oral 0-18 months Anal 18 months to three years Phallic Three to six years Latency Six years to puberty Genital Puberty to adulthood

Newer Psychodynamic Theories: Object Relations  Stages  Undifferentiated  Symbiosis  Separation/Individuation  Integration

Behavioral Theories of Abnormality  Classical Conditioning  Pavlov  John B. Watson  Operant Conditioning  E.L. Thorndike (Law of Effect)  B.F. Skinner  Modeling & Observational Learning  Albert Bandura

Cognitive Theories of Abnormality  Types of cognition  Causal attributions  Control beliefs  Dysfunctional assumptions

Some Common Dysfunctional Assumptions I should be loved by everyone for everything I do. Once something affects my life, it will affect it forever. I must have perfect self control. It is better to avoid problems than to face them. I should be terribly upset by certain situations.

Humanistic & Existential Theories  Suggest that all humans strive to fulfill their potential for good and to self-actualize.  The inability to fulfill one’s potential arises from the pressures of society to conform to others’ expectations and values, and from existential anxiety.

Interpersonal Theories Family Systems Theories Social Structural Theories Mental disorders result of long- standing patterns of negative relationships that have roots in early caregivers Families create and maintain mental disorders in individual family members to maintain homeostasis. Societies create mental disorders in individuals by putting them under unbearable stress and by sanctioning abnormal behavior Sociocultural Approaches

Sociocultural Approaches: Interpersonal Theory  Alfred Adler  Erik Erikson  8 Stages of Man  Harry Stack Sullivan  Prototypes – “good me”, “bad me”, “not me”  John Bowlby  Attachment Theory

Sociocultural Approaches: Family Systems Theory  The family is a complex system that works to maintain the status quo, or homeostasis.  Roots of disorder are within the family, not the individual.  Family systems theories may be more applicable to treatment of children since they are more enmeshed in the family than other members of the family.

Sociocultural Approaches: Social Structures Theory  Society increases stress on individuals, leading to disorders.  Some people live in more chronically stressful circumstances than others, and these people appear to be at greater risk (Gabrino, 1995; NAMHC, 1996).  Society influences the types of psychopathy by having rules about what types of abnormal behavior are acceptable and in what circumstances.