The study of abnormal psychology is the study of people who suffer mental emotional and often physical pain Also referred to as psychopathology Abnormal Psych Notes Test 1 Wednesday August 28 2013 ch 1 pages 3 8 ABNORMAL OVERVIEW What is abnormality and what are possible causes Video Suffers from OCD Washes her hands sometimes over 100 times a day What does it mean to be abnormal A deviation of what we think is normal It s dangerous Dysfunctional Distressing Is it always easy to determine if something is abnormal No Why Because it depends on our cultural values ROSENHAM STUDY 1973 8 male participants to pretend they only hear the words empty hollow thud to mental institute Their task was then to try to get out of the mental institution The study shows that once your labeled as mental ill it is very hard to prove you are not mentally ill get into a DEFINING ABNORMALITY Continuum Model No clear definition Not just black and white Sadness is a continuum Some people are really sad some are not sad at all picture in the book on page 5 Normal behavior Typical for social context Not distressing to individual Not interfering with social occupational functioning Division between normal and abnormal Normal Somewhat distressing Dangerous Interferes with social or occupational functioning Abnormal Significant distress Severely interferes with their life Self loathing Failing courses What is abnormal behavior Cultural relativism Unusualness Distress Mental Illness Maladaptive The 4 D s Cultural Relativism No universal standards or rules for labeling abnormality Different definitions of abnormality across cultures ex in some countries the entire family sleeps in one big bedroom they might think that it is wrong to separate from your baby so early in life like we do in America Problems with this perspective was considered an illness ex It can be kind of dangerous Think about Nazi Germany All of a sudden being Jewish Some behaviors appear abnormal to outside cultures Behaviors that violate social norms are often considered abnormal Gender role expectations Girls are supposed to be sweet kind etc Males are supposed to act masculine and strong Unusualness Like cultural relativism this criteria assumes rare behaviors are abnormal example Lady Gaga She dresses weird and different but that doesn t mean that because her behaviors are rare that she is mentally ill Normal Curve Bell curve represents many human characteristics and or behaviors example people who are super super chill and do things without any planning and are extremely spontaneous are going to be all the way on the left side of the bell curve Problems with this perspective Who decides when someone becomes abnormal Different people consider different things unusual Different therapists even Where on the bell curve does unusualness become abnormal Distress Mental Illness Behaviors are abnormal only if the individual experiences distress and wishes to get rid of the behavior Problems with this perspective Some disorders like mania that feel awesome You write a whole book instead of doing their homework Spend a million dollars because you can If you ask them is they feel distressed they will say no that they feel great But when they are not in mania they will feel distressed Behaviors are abnormal that result from mental illness or disease Assumption there is a clear identifiable physical process that differs from health Problems there is no test that say s yes you have that illness or no you dont have this illness There are too many causes for mental illness that make us unable to clearly define when you have a mental illness Maladaptive Pretty much what we use today The 4 D s Dysfunction behavior thoughts is causing dysfunction is it keeping people from taking care of themselves having friends their Distress they SHOULD be experiencing distress and if they aren t they should be Causes distress to the individual or to those around him her Deviance behavior needs to deviate from what is normal based on their culture Dangerousness the individual or others Behaviors Thoughts and Feelings need to be all dangerous Potential harm to Vulnerability stress higher risk for developing a disorder diathesis stress control model Diathesis a risk factor Stress factor that causes discomfort Example Person who has genetic predisposition for anxiety This person survives a car accident This person is more likely to develop PTSD than a person who does not have a genetic predisposition for anxiety individual with diathesis require less stress in order to develop a disorder The diathesis stress model says that it takes both an existing diathesis risk to a disorder and a trigger or stress to create the disorder Friday August 30 2013 Chapter 2 Covering pages 27 40 in the book chapter 2 Theories of Abnormailty Etiology What are the causes of psychopathology origins causes Where do YOU think psychopathology comes from death in the family social rejection not being able to make friends or keep friends parenting genes biology Historical Perspectives all you will have to know about these for the exam Biological Theory similar to physical disease breakdown of some systems of the body Supernatural Theory you can cure it by divine intervention curses going to confessional personal sin abnormality in people s beliefs life experiences and relationships Psychological Theory Mental disorders are the result of trauma s This theory considers cultural values or social environments and how they affect an individual s behavior thoughts and feelings Nature vs Nurture Classic conflict Nature Either psychopathology is biological genetic make up mutations to your genes Nurture Biological environmental your parents Assumes mutual exclusively single cause Contemporary theories of abnormality recognize the relationship between bio psycho social factors Contemporary Theories of Etiology of Abnormality Biological structural biochemical genetic Psychological psychodynamic behavioral cognitive humanistic Social interpersonal family social Biological Theory Structural Biochemical Genetic Emphasis on biological processes genetics a genetic vulnerability to a certain stimulus inherited from one s parents There are 3 types 1 Structural 2 Biochemical 3 Genetic All of these theories influence each other Structural Abnormalities in the structure of the brain causes mental disorders Damage to Cerebral cortex advanced thinking processing memory loss attention span is smaller language is effected
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