© Cengage Learning 2016 Abnormal Behavior 1

© Cengage Learning 2016 Psychopathology –Scientific study of symptoms and causes of mental disorders –Objectives: describing, explaining, predicting, and modifying behaviors associated with mental disorders –People who work in the field strive to alleviate distress and life disruption of those with mental disorders The Field of Abnormal Psychology

© Cengage Learning 2016 Mental health professionals –Health care practitioners –Assists in care of a patient’s mental health Psychodiagnosis –Attempts to describe, assess, and understand the situation Treatment plan –Proposes course of therapy –Focuses first on most distressing symptoms Describing Behavior

© Cengage Learning 2016 Determine etiology (possible causes) –High priority for mental health professionals Human behavior is complex –Multiple contributing factors Explaining Behavior

© Cengage Learning 2016 Various risk factors for violent behavior Civil commitment (involuntary confinement) –Extreme decision impacting an individual’s civil liberties The premise of the legal system –An individual is innocent until proven guilty Predicting Behavior

© Cengage Learning 2016 Psychotherapy –Program of systematic intervention –Objective: improve a person’s behavioral, emotional, or cognitive state –Many types of therapies and professional helpers Modifying Behavior

© Cengage Learning 2016 The Mental Health Professions

© Cengage Learning 2016 The Mental Health Professions (cont’d.)

© Cengage Learning 2016 The most widely used classification system –Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5) Aspects of judging psychopathology –Distress –Dysfunction –Deviance –Dangerousness Views of Abnormality

© Cengage Learning 2016 Questions to raise –When are symptoms or behavior significant enough to have meaning? –Is it possible to have a mental disorder without distress or discomfort? –What criteria are to be used in assessing symptoms? DSM Definitions

© Cengage Learning 2016 What is culture? –Learned behavior that members of a group transmit to the next generation Viewpoints –Cultural relativism Expression/determination of behaviors depends on lifestyles, cultural values, and worldviews –Cultural universality Symptoms of mental disorders are independent of culture Cultural Considerations in Abnormal Behavior

© Cengage Learning 2016 Opinions of Thomas Szasz (1987) –A society labels behavior that is different as abnormal –Unusual belief systems are not necessarily wrong –Abnormal behavior a reflection of something wrong with society Sociopolitical Considerations in Abnormality

© Cengage Learning 2016 Prevalence –Percentage of people in a population who have the disorder during a given interval of time –Dept. of Health and Human Services study 24.8 percent of U.S. adults have experienced a mental disorder in the past 12 months, excluding drug and alcohol disorders Lifetime prevalence –Existence of a disorder during a person’s life How Common Are Mental Disorders?

© Cengage Learning 2016 A Sampling of Lifetime Prevalence

© Cengage Learning 2016 $135 billion a year spent on mental health and substance abuse services in U.S. 25 percent of adults have a diagnosable mental health condition –Many more experience mental health problems not meeting criteria for disorder 57 percent of adults with severe mental health conditions not receiving treatment Implications to Society

© Cengage Learning 2016 Mentally ill are frequently stereotyped and stigmatized Prejudice –Belief in negative stereotypes Discrimination –Action based on prejudice Self-stigma –Undermines self-worth and self-efficacy –Hinders recovery Overcoming Social Stigma and Stereotypes

© Cengage Learning 2016 Common belief that the mentally ill are somehow responsible for their condition How does biological vulnerability influence mental illness? –80 percent surveyed cited biological reasons as a cause of major depression –This has not translated into lessening of desire for avoiding these individuals Social Stigma

© Cengage Learning 2016 National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) –“You Are Not Alone” campaign –Goals: educating the public and reducing stigma –Commending more accurate portrayals of mental disorders in movies and TV Efforts to Increase Public Awareness

© Cengage Learning 2016 Countries with less discrimination and prejudice –Have higher rates of help-seeking, positive quality of life, and lower self-stigma Public disclosures from well-known people such as actors and sports figures –Open acknowledgment and discussion of struggles –Reduces public social stigma Decreasing Social Stigma

© Cengage Learning 2016 Prehistoric and ancient beliefs –Evil spirits residing in a person’s body –Trephining –Exorcism Naturalistic explanations: Greco-Roman thought –Early thinkers: Hippocrates ( B.C.) –Brain pathology Historical Perspectives on Abnormal Behavior – Ancient and Naturalistic

© Cengage Learning 2016 Middle Ages –Reversion to supernatural explanations –Exorcism –Group hysteria –Tarantism Witchcraft: 15 th through 17 th centuries –Period of social and religious reformers –Witch hunts 100,000 people (mostly women) executed The Middle Ages Through the 17 th Century

© Cengage Learning th through 16 th centuries –Horrendous conditions in asylums The rise of humanism –Philosophical movement emphasizing uniqueness and worth of the individual Johann Weyer, German physician –Challenged prevailing beliefs of witchcraft Sixteenth Century Perspectives

© Cengage Learning 2016 Shift to more humane treatment of mentally disturbed people Philippe Pinel ( ) –Took charge of mental hospital in Paris –Removed chains, replaced dungeons with sunny rooms, and encouraged exercise –Changes shown to foster recovery The Moral Treatment Movement (18 th and 19 th Centuries)

© Cengage Learning 2016 Benjamin Rush –“Father of U.S. Psychiatry” –Patients treated with respect and dignity, and gainfully employed during treatment Dorothea Dix –Campaigned for better treatment of mentally ill Clifford Beers –Wrote book on his experience with mental illness Humane Treatment Movement in the U.S.

© Cengage Learning 2016 The biological viewpoint –Mental disorders have a physical or physiological basis (Griesinger) –Idea flourished in the 19th century Kraepelin ( ) –Defined syndromes based on clusters of symptoms –Foundation for DSM used today Causes of Mental Illness: Early Viewpoints

© Cengage Learning 2016 Louis Pasteur’s germ theory of disease –Biological view gained greater strength Discovery of general paresis –Degenerative physical and mental disorder von Kfrafft-Ebing –Proved that mental symptoms of general paresis are linked to syphilis bacteria Schaudinn –Isolated microorganism of general paresis Causes: Early Viewpoints (cont’d.)

© Cengage Learning 2016 Belief that mental disorders are caused by psychological and emotional factors Friedrich Anton Mesmer ( ) –Practiced therapies that evolved into modern hypnotism –Mesmer was discredited –Idea that suggestion could treat hysteria Liébeault and Bernheim demonstrated psychological basis of mental illness The Psychological Viewpoint

© Cengage Learning 2016 Breuer –Discovered symptoms disappeared after female patient spoke about past trauma while in a trance Freud ( ) –Technique of psychoanalysis –Built on practices of Breuer Cathartic method –Therapeutic use of verbal expression Breuer and Freud

© Cengage Learning 2016 Viewpoint rooted in laboratory science Focus on directly observable behaviors –Also conditions that evoke, reinforce, and extinguish them Alternative explanation Offered successful procedures for treating some psychological conditions Behaviorism

© Cengage Learning 2016 The influence of multicultural psychology –Culture, race, ethnicity, gender, age, and socio-economic class relevant to understanding and treating abnormal behavior –Mental health professionals need to: Increase cultural sensitivity Acquire knowledge of diversity Develop culturally relevant therapy approaches Contemporary Trends in Abnormal Psychology

© Cengage Learning 2016 Racial and Ethnic Composition of the U.S.

© Cengage Learning 2016 Social conditioning Cultural values and influences Sociopolitical influences Cultural and ethnic bias in diagnosis Dimensions Related to Cultural Diversity

© Cengage Learning 2016 Objectives –Study, develop, and achieve scientific understanding of positive human qualities that build thriving individuals, families, and communities Focuses on human strength and capacity for resilience –Psychological resilience –Prevention Positive Psychology

© Cengage Learning 2016 Perspective that people with mental illness can recover –Live satisfying, hopeful, and contributing lives Some of the recovery model assumptions –Recovery is possible and begins when person realizes that positive change is possible –Recovery involves occasional setbacks –Healing involves separating one’s identity from the illness Recovery Movement

© Cengage Learning 2016 The drug revolution in psychiatry –Introduction of psychotropic medications in the 1950s Considered one of the great medical advances in the 20 th century –Naturally occurring lithium found to radically calm some mental patients –Many drugs made available for different disorders –Resulted in depopulation of mental hospitals Changes in the Therapeutic Landscape

© Cengage Learning 2016 Some changes brought about by industrialization of health care –Business interests of insurers influence treatment duration –Cost-cutting focus affects hiring Increased appreciation for research –Denial of coverage for unproven treatments Technology-assisted therapy –Online programs The Development of Managed Health Care

© Cengage Learning 2016 What is abnormal psychology? How do we differentiate between normal and abnormal behaviors? What societal factors affect definitions of abnormality? How common are mental disorders? Review

© Cengage Learning 2016 Why is it important to confront the stigma and stereotyping associated with mental illness? How have explanations of abnormal behavior changed over time? What were early explanations regarding the causes of mental disorders? What are some contemporary trends in abnormal psychology? Review (cont’d.)