Abnormal Psychology Unit 13 Module 47 Mr. Ng

Psychological Disorders Psychological Disorders: persistently harmful thoughts, feelings, and actions. Behavior is seen as deviant, distressful, and dysfunctional. Deviant: Different from most people To be a disorder deviant behavior must cause the person distress.

Psychological Disorders Ancient ways to get rid of psychological disorders: Exorcism Confinement & Beatings Burnings Castration Other brutal “therapies” Drilling holes to let “evil spirits” escape!

Psychological Disorders Medical Model: In 1800s, psychological disorders were classified as sicknesses and needed to be treated. Mental Illness (Psychopathy) can be diagnosed based on their symptoms and cured through therapy.

Psychological Disorders Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Inattention – distractibility, forgetfulness, disorganization. Hyperactivity – fidgeting, restlessness, excessive talking. Impulsivity – difficulty taking turns, interrupting, blurting out.

Psychological Disorders ADHD can cause social, academic, and work place problems. Can be treated with drugs, most commonly with Ritalin. Is it over diagnosed? Is long term use of drugs harmful?

Defining Abnormal Behavior Currently diagnosed using Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM 5): Used for classifying psychological disorders. Published by American Psychological Association

Defining Abnormal Behavior Rosenhan Experiment: David Rosenhan (1929 – 2012) conducted a study titled “On being sane in insane places”. Used healthy people to gain admission to 12 psychiatric hospitals. (Including himself) Conducted this in 12 different psychiatric hospitals across country

Defining Abnormal Behavior All faked hallucinations. All were admitted and diagnosed with psychiatric disorders. All were told to get released on their own. All acted normal after admission and told staff they felt fine.

Defining Abnormal Behavior All were forced to admit to having a mental illness and to take drugs as a condition of their release. Spent an average of 19 days in ‘care’. 7 out of 8 were diagnosed with schizophrenia. Hospital staff were adamant that they were mentally ill.

Defining Abnormal Behavior Part 2 An angry hospital challenged Rosenhan to send pseudo patients and see if they could detect them. Out of 193 new patients, the staff identified 41 as pseudo patients. Rosenhan didn’t send anyone!

Defining Abnormal Behavior Conclusions Rosenhan concluded “it is clear that we cannot distinguish the sane from the insane in psychiatric hospitals”. Criticized reliability of psychiatric diagnosis. Experiment led to a movement to reform mental institutions.

Psychological Disorders 450 million people worldwide suffer from psychological disorders. 1 in 7 Americans suffered a mental disorder. (1 in 6 in England) Poverty is a predictor of mental disorder. Those below the poverty line are twice as likely to suffer.

Serial Killers Serial Killers: A person who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between murders. Motives are usually based on psychological gratification. Not the same as mass murder or spree killing.

American Serial Killers Ted Bundy (1946 – 1989) Killed in the electric chair. Raped and murdered 35 women

American Serial Killers David Berkowitz (1953 –) “Son of Sam” killed 6 people, left letters promising future murders. Terrorized NY in Summer of 1976. Devil made him do it.