Chapter 1

Abnormal Behavior in
Historical Context

Myths and Misconceptions

About Abnormal Behavior
No single definition of psychological
abnormality
No single definition of psychological
normality

What is a Psychological
Disorder?
Psychological dysfunction
Breakdown in cognitive, emotional, or
behavioral functioning

Personal distress
Difficulty performing appropriate and expected
roles
Impairment is set in the context of a persons
background

Atypical or not culturally expected

response
Reaction is outside cultural norms

Abnormal Behavior Defined

Working definition
A psychological dysfunction associated with
distress or impairment in functioning that is
not typical or culturally expected

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual

(DSM-IV-TR)
DSM Contains diagnostic criteria

The field of psychopathology

The scientific study of psychological disorders

The Science of
Psychopathology
Mental health professionals
The Ph.D.: Clinical and counseling psychologist
The Psy.D.: Clinical and counseling Doctor of
Psychology
M.D.: Psychiatrist
M.S.W.: Psychiatric or non-psychiatric social
worker
MN/MSN: Psychiatric nurse
Lay public and community groups

United by the scientist-practitioner

framework

The Scientist-Practitioner
Producers of research
Consumers of research
Evaluators of their work using empirical
methods

Clinical Description
Begins with the presenting problem
Description aims to
Distinguish clinically significant dysfunction
from common human experience

Describe prevalence and incidence of

disorders

Clinical Description

(continued)

Describe onset of disorders

Acute vs. insidious onset

Describe course of disorders

Episodic, time-limited, or chronic course

Prognosis
Good vs. guarded

Causation, Treatment,
and Outcome
Etiology
What contributes to the development of
psychopathology?

Treatment development
How can we help alleviate psychological
suffering?
Includes pharmacologic, psychosocial, and/or
combined treatments

Causation, Treatment,
and Outcome (continued)
Treatment outcome research
How do we know that we have helped?
Limited in specifying actual causes of disorders

Historical Conceptions of
Abnormal Behavior
Major psychological disorders have existed
In all cultures
Across all time periods

Causes and treatment of abnormal

behavior
Varies widely across cultures, time periods,
world views

Historical Conceptions of
Abnormal Behavior (continued)
Three dominant traditions
Supernatural
Biological
Psychological

The Supernatural Tradition

Deviant behavior as a battle of
Good vs. Evil
Caused by demonic possession, witchcraft,
sorcery
Treatments included exorcism, torture,
beatings, and crude surgeries

The moon and the stars

Paracelsus and lunacy

The Biological Tradition

Hippocrates: Abnormal behavior as a
physical disease
Hysteria the wandering uterus

Galen extends Hippocrates work

Humoral theory of mental illness
Treatments remained crude

The Biological Tradition

(continued)

Galenic-Hippocratic tradition
Linked abnormality with brain chemical
imbalances
Foreshadowed modern views

The 19th Century

General paresis (syphilis) and the
biological link with madness
Several unusual psychological and behavioral
symptoms
Pasteur discovered the cause a bacterial
microorganism
Led to penicillin as a successful treatment
Bolstered the view that mental illness =
physical illness

The 19th Century

(continued)

John Grey and the reformers

Championed biological tradition in the U.S.

Consequences of the
Biological Tradition
Mental illness = physical illness
Emil Kraepelin
Diagnosis and classification

The Psychological Tradition

The rise of moral therapy
More humane treatment of institutionalized
patients
Encouraged and reinforced social interaction

The Psychological Tradition

(continued)

Proponents of moral therapy

Philippe Pinel and Jean-Baptiste Pussin

Benjamin Rush led reforms in U.S.
Dorothea Dix mental hygiene movement
William Tuke followed Pinels lead in England

The falling out of moral therapy

Emergence of competing alternative
psychological models

Psychoanalytic Theory
Freudian theory of the structure and
function of the mind
Structure of the mind
Id (pleasure principle; illogical, emotional,
irrational)
Ego (reality principle; logical and rational)
Superego (moral principles; keeps id and ego
in balance)

Psychoanalytic Theory
(continued)

Defense mechanisms: Ego loses the battle

with the id and superego
Displacement & denial
Rationalization & reaction formation
Projection, repression, and sublimation

Psychosexual stages of development

Oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital stages

Later Developments in
Psychoanalytic Thought
Anna Freud and self-psychology
Emphasized influence of the ego in defining
behavior

Melanie Klein, Otto Kernberg, and object

relations theory
Emphasized how children incorporate
(introject) objects
Objects images, memories, and values of
significant others

Later Developments in
Psychoanalytic Thought
(continued)

The neo-Freudians: Departures from

Freudian thought
De-emphasized the sexual core of Freuds
theory
Jung, Adler, Horney, Fromm, and Erickson

Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy:
The Talking Cure
Unearth the hidden intrapsychic conflicts
The real problems

Therapy is often long term

Techniques
Free association
Dream analysis

Examine transference and countertransference issues

Little evidence for efficacy

Humanistic Theory
Major players
Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers

Major themes
That people are basically good
Humans strive toward self-actualization

Humanistic Theory
(continued)

Humanistic therapy
Therapist conveys empathy and unconditional
positive regard
Minimal therapist interpretation

No strong evidence that humanistic

therapies work

The Behavioral Model

Derived from a scientific approach to the
study of psychopathology
Classical conditioning (Pavlov; Watson)
Ubiquitous form of learning
Contingency between neutral and
unconditioned stimuli
Conditioning was extended to the acquisition
of fear

The Beginnings of
Behavior Therapy
Challenged psychoanalysis and
non-scientific approaches
Early pioneers
Joseph Wolpe systematic desensitization

Operant conditioning (Thorndike; Skinner)

Another ubiquitous form of learning
Voluntary behavior is controlled by
consequences

The Beginnings of
Behavior Therapy (continued)
Learning traditions influenced the
development of behavior therapy
Behavior therapy tends to be time-limited and
direct
Strong evidence supporting the efficacy of
behavior therapies

The Present:
An Integrative Approach
Psychopathology is multiply determined
Unidimensional accounts of
psychopathology are incomplete

The Present:
An Integrative Approach
(continued)

Must consider reciprocal relations between

Biological, psychological, social, and
experiential factors

Defining abnormal behavior

Complex, multifaceted, and has evolved

The supernatural tradition

Has no place in a science of abnormal behavior