ABNORMAL

BEHAVIOR IN
HISTORICAL
CONTEXT
WEEK 1 & 2
OUTLINE

• Understanding Psychopathology
– What is Normal?
– What is Psychological Disorder?
• Different Approaches to Psychopathology
– The Supernatural Tradition
– The Biological Tradition
– The Psychological Tradition
– The Present: The Scientific Method and an Integrative Approach
UNDERSTANDING PSYCHOPATHOLOGY

What is normal?
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UNDERSTANDING PSYCHOPATHOLOGY

• What is normal?

Abnormal describes behavioral, emotional, or cognitive

dysfunctions that are unexpected in their cultural context and
associated with personal distress or substantial impairment in
functioning (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders, 4th edition)
UNDERSTANDING PSYCHOPATHOLOGY

• A psychological disorder, also known as a mental disorder, is a pattern of behavioral or

psychological symptoms that impact multiple life areas and create distress for the person
experiencing these symptoms.

• The latest edition of the American Psychiatric Association's diagnostic manual, the
DSM-5, defines a mental disorder as:
• "...a syndrome characterized by clinically significant disturbance in an individual's cognitive,
emotion regulation, or behavior that reflects a dysfunction in the psychological, biological, or
developmental process underlying mental functioning. Mental disorders are usually associated
with significant distress in social, occupational, or other important activities."
UNDERSTANDING PSYCHOPATHOLOGY

• Psychological disorder consists of three components:

– Psychological dysfunction
• Breakdown in cognitive, emotional, or behavioral functioning
– Personal distress
• Being extremely upset (caution – sometimes it is normal to be
extremely upset)
– Atypical or not culturally expected behavior
• Social norms and their possible misuse
CAUSES OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS

• Traumatic experiences, such as the death of a loved one, are causes of

psychological distress. Psychological distress can be thought of as a
maladaptive response to a stressful situation. Psychological distress
occurs when external events or stressors place demands upon us that we
are unable to cope with.
CAUSES OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS

• Major life transitions, i.e. moving to a new state or graduating from college,
can be a source of psychological stress if you are unable to cope with the
demands that these transitions place on you or are having difficulty adjusting
to the new situation. Sudden unexpected events, such as a loved one's death of
a heart attack or being fired from a job, can also cause psychological distress.
CAUSES OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS
Even everyday stressors, such as traffic, have the potential to cause
psychological distress. Some other sources of psychological distress
include:
• Cancer and other medical illness
• Divorce
• Starting a new job
• Being a victim of bullying
• Adverse school experiences
• Adverse work experiences
• Infertility
• Mental illness
 THESE ARE SEVERAL SYMPTOMS OF
PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS:
Feelings Behavioral Thoughts Physical
• Anxiety • Crying • Too much self-criticism • Tight muscles
• Irritability • Acting impulsively • Forgetfulness or mental • Cold or sweaty hands
• Fear • Nervous laughter disorganization • Sleep disturbances
• Moodiness • Snapping at friends • Preoccupation with • Stomach distress
• Embarrassment • Teeth grinding or jaw the future • Fatigue
clenching • Repetitive thoughts • Rapid breathing or
• Increased smoking, alcohol • Hallucinations pounding heart
or other drug use • Delusions • Trembling
• Increase or decrease in
• Dry mouth
appetite
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FREQUENCY OF MENTAL DISORDERS
HISTORICAL CONCEPTIONS OF ABNORMAL
BEHAVIOR

• Major psychological disorders have existed across time and cultures

• Causes and treatment of abnormal behavior varied widely,

depending on context
DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO
PSYCHOPATHOLOGY

• The Supernatural Tradition

– Mental illness is caused by demons and witches
• Shock therapy (pit of snakes, ice-cold water)
• Exorcism (religious rituals to get rid of evil spirits)
• Crude surgeries
DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO
PSYCHOPATHOLOGY

• The Supernatural Tradition

– Mental illness is caused by stress
• Rest, sleep, a healthy and happy environment
– Mental illness is caused by the movements of the moon and
the stars
• Paracelsus
• Lunatic
• Astrology
DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO
PSYCHOPATHOLOGY
• The Biological Tradition
– Hippocrates
• Father of modern Western medicine
• Mental illness caused by brain pathology, head trauma, heredity
– Galen
• Humoral theory of disorders (blood, black bile, yellow bile, phlegm)
• Etiology = brain chemical imbalances
• Treatments = environmental regulation (Heat, dryness, moisture,
cold). Bloodletting, induced vomiting
DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO
PSYCHOPATHOLOGY

• The Biological Tradition

– Louis Pasteur’s germ theory of disease (19th century)
• Mental illness can be caused by a bacterial infection (syphilis/ SYD with
psychotic-like symptoms)
• Biological basis for madness
– John P. Grey
• Insanity is always due to physical causes and patients suffering from
mental illness should be treated as physically ill
DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO
PSYCHOPATHOLOGY

• The Biological Tradition

– Focus on diagnosis
• Search for biological causes and classification
– Therapy (1930s)
• Insulin shock therapy
• Electroconvulsive therapy ECT
• Brain Surgery
• Chemical drugs
• Insulin shock therapy or insulin coma therapy (ICT) was
a form of psychiatric treatment in which patients were
repeatedly injected with large doses of insulin in order to
produce daily comas over several weeks.
• ECT is among the safest and most effective
treatments available for depression. With ECT,
electrodes are placed on the patient's scalp and
a finely controlled electric current is applied
while the patient is under general anesthesia.
The current causes a brief seizure in the brain.
ECT is one of the fastest ways to relieve
symptoms in severely depressed or suicidal
patients. It's also very effective for patients who
suffer from mania or other mental illnesses.

• ECT is generally used when severe depression

is unresponsive to other forms of therapy. Or it
might be used when patients pose a severe
threat to themselves or others and it is too
dangerous to wait until medications take effect.
DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO
PSYCHOPATHOLOGY

• The Psychological Tradition

–Plato and Aristotle
• Etiology
– Social and environmental factors
• Treatment
– Reeducation via discussion
– Therapeutic environments
DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO
PSYCHOPATHOLOGY

• The Psychological Tradition

– Moral therapy
• 18th century – treating patients as normally as possible in normal
environments
• William Tuke
• Philippe Pinel
• Benjamin Rush (father of american psychiatry)
• Horace Mann
DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO
PSYCHOPATHOLOGY

• The Psychological Tradition

– Asylum Reform and the Decline of Moral Therapy

“Mental hygiene movement”

• Dorothea Dix – 19th century
• Effort to improve care for mentally disordered and make it more
accessible
• Conflicts emerged
DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO
PSYCHOPATHOLOGY

• The Psychological Tradition: Psychoanalytic Theory

– Anton Mesmer (1734 – 1815)
• “Mesmerism” and hypnosis
• Suggestibility
– Jean Charcot (1825-1893)
• Hypnosis as treatment
• Mentor to Freud
– Josef Breuer (1842-1925)
• Furthered hypnosis treatments
• Collaborator with Freud
DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO
PSYCHOPATHOLOGY

• The Psychological Tradition

– Psychoanalytic theory
• Catharsis – rapid and sudden release of emotional tension
• Structure of the mind (id, ego, superego)
• Defense mechanisms (coping styles in response to particular situations, e.g.
displacement, denial, projection, rationalization, sublimation)
• Psychosexual stages of development (oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital)
• Therapy (free association, dream analysis, hypnosis)
FREUD’S STRUCTURE OF THE MIND
DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO
PSYCHOPATHOLOGY
• The Psychological Tradition
– Humanistic Theory
• Self-actualizing – we need a freedom to grow in order to
reach our highest potential
• Maslow (hierarchy of needs)
– Behaviorist Theory
• Classical conditioning (Ivan Pavlov)
• Little Albert (Watson)
• Systematic desensitization (Joseph Wolpe)
 IVAN PAVLOV
CLASSICAL
CONDITIONING
• Pavlov and his studies of
classical conditioning have
become famous since his
early work between 1890-
1930. Classical
conditioning is "classical"
in that it is the first
systematic study of basic
laws of learning /
conditioning.

 Stimulus – an agent that causes something else to happen and become active
BURRHUS FREDERIC SKINNER
OPERANT CONDITIONING
Operant Conditioning deals with operants - intentional actions
that have an effect on the surrounding environment. Skinner set out
to identify the processes which made certain operant behaviours
more or less likely to occur.

• Reinforcers: Responses from the environment that increase the

probability of a behavior being repeated. Reinforcers can be either
positive or negative.
• Punishers: Responses from the environment that decrease the
likelihood of a behavior being repeated. Punishment weakens
behavior.
• Positive Reinforcement • Negative Reinforcement

• Positive reinforcement • The removal of an unpleasant

strengthens a behavior by reinforcer can also strengthen
providing a consequence an behavior.
individual finds rewarding.
• Negative reinforcement
strengthens behavior because it
stops or removes a negative
outcome.
 JOHN WATSON
BEHAVIORISM

• Watson had shown that classical conditioning could be used to human and
may create a phobia.
– A phobia is an irrational fear, i.e. a fear that is out of proportion to the danger.

• The cautioned against providing children with too much affection, and
instead endorsed the practice of treating children like miniature adults. He
believed that excessive early attachments could contribute to a dependent,
needy personality in adulthood
• The Little Albert experiment was a case study showing
empirical evidence of classical conditioning in humans. The
study also provides an example of stimulus generalization.
• Systematic desensitization is a type of behavioral therapy
based on the principle of classical conditioning. It was
developed by Joseph Wolpe during the 1950s. This therapy
aims to remove the fear response of a phobia, and substitute a
relaxation response to the conditional stimulus gradually using
counter conditioning.
DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO
PSYCHOPATHOLOGY
• The Present: An Integrative Approach
– Integration of biological, psychological, social and other approaches
to diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorder
– Scientific approach to mental disorders
• Prevalence (number of people in the population suffering from a disorder at a
given time)
• Incidence (number of new cases appearing during a specific time period)
• Course (pattern of development, e.g. chronic course, episodic course, time-
limited course)
• Prognosis (anticipated course of a disorder)
DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO
PSYCHOPATHOLOGY
• The Present: An Integrative Approach
– Psychopathology
• The scientific study of psychological disorders
– Mental health professionals
• Clinical psychologists (more severe disorders)
• Counseling psychologists (vocational issues)
• Psychiatrists (emphasize biological treatments)
• Psychiatric social workers (treatment focused on social and family
issues)
• Psychiatric nurses (treatment in hospitals)
CLINICAL DESCRIPTION

• Age of onset may shape presentation

– Developmental psychology
– Developmental psychopathology
– Life-span developmental psychopathology
CLINICAL DESCRIPTION
CAUSATION, TREATMENT, AND OUTCOMES

• Etiology
– Cause or development of psychopathology

• Treatment
– Pharmacologic and/or psychosocial
The Scientist-Practitioner
ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY
• The scientific study of abnormal behaviour, with the
objective to
– Describe
– Explain
– Predict
– Control

• So what are abnormal behaviours?

MYTHS OF ABNORMAL BEHAVIOUR
• The following are common myths about those suffering
from mental illness:
– Easily recognized as deviant
– Disorder due to inheritance
– Incurable
– Weak willed
– Never contribute to society
– Always dangerous