Abnormal Behavior in Historical Context

Abnormal Psychology

Chapter 1

What is Psychopathology?

A field concerned with the nature and development of abnormal behavior, thoughts, and feelings

Psychological Disorders

“A psychological dysfunction within an individual associated with distress and impairment in functioning and a response that is not typical or culturally expected”

(Proposed) Components of Abnormal Behavior Statistical infrequency

Violation of norms

Personal distress

Psychological dysfunction

Unexpectedness

Atypical/not culturally expected

Statistical Infrequency

One aspect of abnormal behavior- it is infrequent

The majority of individuals fall in the middle, with few falling at either extreme

Limitations to this approach?

Statistical Infrequency

Violation of Norms

Behavior that violates social rules- Deviance

Examples of deviance/rule violations?

Limitations to this approach?

Personal Distress

Personal suffering- the individual is tormented by their symptoms

Examples of distress in the context of a psychological disorder?

Limitations to this approach?

Psychological Dysfunction

An impairment affecting some aspect of the individual’s life

cognitive functioning, behavioral functioning, emotional functioning, work, personal relationships

Limitations to this approach? Dysfunction exists on a continuum, with few clear boundaries

Unexpectedness

An unexpected response to an environmental stressor

Is the response out of proportion to the situation?

Limitations to this approach? How do we construct what is an expected vs. an unexpected response?

Atypical and Not Culturally Expected

Deviates from the average

Behavior that is deviant and unexpected in the context of a particular culture

Limitations to this approach?

Historical Perspectives:Focus on the Supernatural Supernatural explanations- good vs. evil;

displeasure of the gods, possession by the devil

Demonology- early Egyptians, Greeks, Chinese; the devil takes control of the mind

Exorcism and drilling into the skull

Focus on the Supernatural

14th Century- belief in demons and witches; this view was endorsed by the Catholic Church

15th Century- evil was blamed for abnormal behavior- Salem witch trials

Focus on the Supernatural

Confinement, beating, and torture of those exhibiting abnormal behavior

Cold water dunking; hanging people over snake pits, etc.

Historical Perspectives:Asylums Began in the 15th/16th Century; confinement of

the mentally ill

Deplorable conditions; cruel medical treatments

London- St. Mary of Bethlehem; a tourist attraction

Historical Perspectives:The Moral Turn Philippe Pinel (1745-1826)- “struck the chains

from the insane”; freeing patients from dungeons

Differential treatment based on social class

Patients improved dramatically with humane treatment

Historical Perspectives: The Moral Turn William Tuke (1732-1822): created an

institution that was a retreat in the countryside

Moral Treatment Movement: attendants developed supportive relationships with patients

Historical Perspectives: The Moral Turn Dorothea Dix (1802-1877): a school teacher

who crusaded for institutional reform and humane care

Lead to the construction of large state hospitals- discrimination toward immigrants

The Moral paradigm was replaced by notions of brain pathology- biological perspectives

Historical Perspectives: Somatogenesis Somatogenesis- belief that there is something

wrong with the soma (physical body) which causes abnormal behavior

Hippocrates (460-377B.C.)- recognizing abnormal behavior as rooted in illness

Historical Perspectives: Somatogenesis Hippocrates: hypothesized that mental illness

resulted from an imbalance in bodily fluids- “humors”

Parallel to modern day chemical imbalances

Treatment; rest, sleep, changing the environment

Historical Perspectives: Somatogenesis Resurgence of the biological perspective in

the 19th Century

Research on syphilis: an STD which causes delusions

Renewed interest in biological perspectives- lead to brain surgery and ECT

Historical Perspective

Consequences of the biological tradition:

Emil Kraeplin (1856-1926)

Modern psychiatry; focus on diagnosis and classification; based on behavioral symptoms

Historical Perspectives:Competing Paradigms Schools of Thought: 20th Century

Psychoanalysis

Behaviorism

Humanism

Psychoanalysis

Sigmund Freud

Emphasis on the unconscious mind

Psychoanalysis- to reach catharsis

Psychosexual stages

Psychoanalysis

Structure of the mind: largely unconscious

Id: governed by the pleasure principle

Ego: governed by the reality principle

Superego: “internalized parent”

Psychoanalysis

Defense Mechanisms: unconscious reactions to prevent us from overwhelming anxiety

Denial, displacement, projection, rationalization, reaction formation, repression, sublimation

Behaviorism

Classical conditioning

Operant conditioning

B.F. Skinner & John Watson

Behaviorism

Behavior Therapy

Joseph Wolpe- systematic desensitization

Present day- anxiety reduction strategies

Humanism

Reflections on the positive, optimistic side of human nature

Self actualization: reaching our highest potential

Carl Rogers- unconditional positive regard

Toward a Holistic Perspective

Each tradition has shortcomings

No one influence occurs in isolation:

Biological, behavioral, cognitive, social, and social influences interact in complex ways

Understanding psychopathology through integrative models