CLASS 26

Abnormal Behavior

(& Psycholog

ical Disorders

)

Many Related Terms

• Crazy – too slangy

• Psycho-pathological – too formal

• Mentally ill – okay but assumes it’s medical

• Psychological disorder – vague but okay

Also…

• Milder versions: maladjusted

• Temporary version: distressed

symptoms & cause

Abnormal Behavior <--- Psychological Disorder

(observable symptoms) <--- (underlying cause)

BUT

• Other possible reasons for abnormal behavior

• All we have are the symptoms

Analyzing “Abnormal Behavior”

Some combination of four criteria

Four Standard Criteria

1. Statistical deviance

2. Cultural deviance

3. Emotional distress

4. Dysfunction

The Normal-to-Abnormal Continuum

Examples of abnormality:Are they mentally ill?

Charlie Manson?

http://serialkillercalendar.com/charlesmanson.html

Vincent van Gogh

Howie Mandel?

Scary guy?

Octo-mom?

Osama Bin Laden?

Berkeley’s naked guy?

Abnormality vs. insanity• Insanity is a legal concept

• Awareness of right-wrong at the time of the crime

• Implication: if insane, then not guilty of the crime

• Paradox: – the more abnormal the behavior is: – (a) the less guilty they are legally, but – (b) the more people want to punish

Jeffrey Dahmer

-bizarre but coherent

Andrea Yates

-bizarre but incoherent

Colonel Russell Williams

-bizarre but coherent and

successful

Two Models of Mental Illness

• Medical model

• Sociological model

Medical Model

-Abnormal behavior is caused by a disease

-Categorical

-Measurable symptoms

-Cured with appropriate therapy

Sociological Model

• completely arbitrary

• emphasizes cultural deviance criterion

• e.g., homosexuality – now only if distressing

• e.g., pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS)

• repression of artists, writers, political extremists,

DSM

• Diagnostic and Statistical Manual

• Bible for clinical psychologists and psychiatrists

• Organizes and categorizes mental illness

Five axes of the DSM

• I: Clinical disorders

• II: Personality disorders

• III: Medical conditions

• IV: Environmental conditions

• V: Global functioning

DSM-5

• New since 2013

• Even more controversial

• Even more disorders (tobacco-use disorder)

• Psychologists vs. psychiatrists