PSYCH 312 ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY

Introduction to abnormal behavior

Abnormal behaviors both fascinate and are of concern to scientists and the general
public. Why people exhibit abnormal behavior, how they express their disturbances, and how
such behaviors can be prevented and treated are questions that are intriguing. We know that
human beings are touched in one way or another by mental disturbances in their lives, either
directly or indirectly through their own struggles to deal with mental disorders, through affected
individuals-friends or relatives. This module will present the overview of abnormal behavior
distinguishing a normal behavior from that of an abnormal behavior.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

At the end of the module, students are expected to:

1. describe the meaning of abnormal psychology;

2. analyze criteria for normality;
3. outline the history of abnormal psychology;
4. enumerate and explain the scientific procedures used in the assessment and
classification of abnormal behavior; and
5. analyze the ethical standards/considerations in abnormal psychology.

LEARNING CONTENTS/TOPICS

I. What is abnormal Psychology?

Abnormal Psychology is concerned with understanding the nature, causes, and
treatment of mental disorders.
Abnormal psychology is a branch of psychology that deals with psychopathology and
abnormal behavior. The term covers a broad range of disorders, from depression to obsession-
compulsion to sexual deviation. Counselors, clinical psychologists and psychotherapists often
work directly in this field.

Understanding Abnormal Psychology

In order to understand abnormal psychology, it is essential to first understand what we
mean by the term "abnormal." On the surface, the meaning seems obvious; abnormal
indicates something that is outside of the norm.

What makes behavior “abnormal”?

The American Psychiatric Association (2001, 2006) defines abnormal behavior in
medical terms—as a mental illness that affects or is manifested in a person’s brain and can
affect the way the individual thinks, behaves, and interacts with others.

The term "abnormal behavior" can refer to any action or behavior that is unusual, but
is most commonly used to describe the actions and behaviors associated with psychological
conditions. This encompasses a large range of behavior types that fall outside normal or
acceptable behavioral patterns

II. Criteria for normality

The term “abnormality” is defined according to the following standards:

 Cultural Relativism

 Unusualness Criterion (Statistical)

 Discomfort Criterion

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  Mental Illness Criterion

 Maladaptiveness (3D’s – distress, dysfunction, and deviance) – behaviors that cause

people to suffer distress, that prevent them from functioning in daily life.
 Distress- it is normal for a person to feel depressed after suffering a loss

III. HISTORICAL VIEWS OFABNORMAL BEHAVIOR

 Demonology, Gods, and Magic
 Hippocrates’ Early Medical Concepts
 Later Greek and Roman Thought
 Views of Abnormality During the Middle Ages
 The Resurgence of Scientific Questioning in Europe
 The Establishment of Early Asylums
 Humanitarian Reform

IV. Classifying Psychological Disorders- Classification of psychological disorders requires that

symptoms be identified; sets of symptoms form a syndrome.

Advantages:
 To understand, prevent, and treat abnormal behavior, psychiatrists and
psychologists have devised systems classifying those behaviors into specific
psychological disorders. Classifying psychological disorders provides a
common basis for communicating.

 A classification system can also help clinicians make predictions about how
likely it is that a particular disorder will occur, which individuals are most
susceptible to it, how the disorder progresses, and what the prognosis (or
outcome) for treatment is (Cuthbert &Insel, 2010; First, 2011; Nenadic, Sauer,
&Gaser, 2010).

 Further, a classification system may benefit the person suffering from

psychological symptoms. The fact that an individual’s disorder has a name can
be a comfort and a signal that the person may reasonably expect relief.

Disadvantages:
 The use of classification system can contribute to premature conclusions about the
nature of certain problems and lead to unsuccessful treatment decisions;

 Classifying people can be harmful to a person in many ways

Assessment of Abnormal Behavior

Assessment is a set of scientific procedures used to measure and evaluate an
individual’s behavior and mental processes.

Assessment of abnormal behavior is carried out through:

1. Psychological assessment- involves the evaluation of a person’s psychological
status
a. Standard interview
b. Psychological tests (personality tests; intelligence tests, others)
c. Projective tests (inkblot test; HTP, TAT; Rorschach)
2. Behavioral Assessment
a. Observation
3. Medical Assessment
a. Nueropsychological assessment

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II. THEORETICAL APPROACHES TO PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS
What causes people to develop a psychological disorder, that is, to behave in deviant,
maladaptive, and personally distressful ways? Theorists have suggested various approaches to
this question.

THE NEUROBIOLOGICAL APPROACH

The biological approach attributes psychological disorders to organic, internal causes.
This approach primarily focuses on the brain, genetic factors, and neurotransmitter functioning
as the sources of abnormality.
The biological perspective views psychological disorders as linked to biological
phenomena, such as genetic factors, chemical imbalances, and brain abnormalities; it has
gained considerable attention and acceptance in recent decades (Wyatt & Midkiff, 2006).
Evidence from many sources indicates that most psychological disorders have a genetic
component; in fact, there is little dispute that some disorders are largely due to genetic factors.
For example: Dissociative amnesia is defined as the retrograde memory loss in the
absence of detectable structural brain damage caused by disassociation. Although the
classification criteria of dissociative amnesia are based solely on the clinical image and do not
refer to biological mechanisms, recent neurobiological studies using applied modern brain
imaging techniques suggest that biological mechanisms play a crucial role in this disorder.
Research on this phenomenon indicated that the main biological factors that trigger
dissociative amnesia are an excessive arousal of the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus and
amygdalae. The prefrontal cortex is a structure, which integrates internal and external
experience. In the case of an excessive arousal, its functions become deregulated, which
results in the inability to register the received stimuli. The hippocampus is a very flexible
structure, yet highly vulnerable. As a result of the exposure to stress factors, stress hormones are
secreted, which leads to an arousal of the hippocampus. Too rapid or too long secretion of
stress hormones may lead to an excessive arousal of the hippocampus, which may then lead
to hippocampus damage. Meanwhile, the amygdalae primarily regulate the intensity of an
emotional reaction to a traumatic event, and hence affect the arousal of other brain
structures. Yet, individual differences in the predisposition to the occurrence of dissociative
amnesia might be an important factor in developing this disorder; such as the predisposition
to overreact to distressing factors. As a result, current research indicates that neurobiological
mechanisms at least partially explain mechanisms of dissociative amnesia (Bidzan, 2017).

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THE PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACH
The psychological approach emphasizes the contributions of experiences, thoughts,
emotions, and personality characteristics in explaining psychological disorders. Psychologists
might focus, for example, on the influence of childhood experiences or of personality traits in
the development and course of psychological disorders. Behavioral psychologists probe the
rewards and punishers in the environment that determine abnormal behavior, whereas social
cognitive psychologists focus on observational learning, cognitions, and beliefs as factors that
foster or maintain abnormal behavior.
a. Behavioral view-S-R theory- this is concerned with the role of learning in abnormal
behavior. It works in the premise that behavior is learned, therefore, it can be
unlearned

b. Psychodynamic view- Freud conscious & unconscious motives; unresolved

conflicts are repressed in the unconscious may trigger the onset of a
psychological problem.

c. Cognitive Perspective- assumes that conscious thoughts mediates, or modifies,

an individual’s emotional state and/or behavior in response to a stimulus. People
actually create their own problems (and symptoms) by the way they interpret
events and situations. How a person interprets events is a function of his schema
(these are underlying assumptions heavily influenced by a person’s experiences,
beliefs, values and perceived capabilities)

THE SOCIAL DIMENSION

This dimension refers to the important aspects of one’s life such as relationships with
people and how such factors as family, social support, love, community, and belonging affect
the manifestation and expression of behavior disorders. It is clear that we are social being and
that our relationships can influence the development, manifestation, and/or amelioration of
mental disorders.
Studies support the conclusion that social isolation and lack of emotional support and
intimacy are correlated with depression, lower stress tolerance, and low self-esteem (Paykel et
a., 2003. On the other hand, people with rich relationships and social networks have been
found to live longer, are less prone to commit suicide, depression and other psychological
disorders (Segrin et al, 2003).

THE SOCIOCULTURAL APPROACH

The sociocultural approach emphasizes the social contexts in which a person lives,
including the individual’s gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, family relationships, and
culture. For instance, individuals from low-income, minority neighborhoods have the highest
rates of psychological disorders (Schwartz & Corcoran, 2010). Socioeconomic status plays a
much stronger role in disorders than does ethnicity: The living conditions of poverty create
stressful circumstances that can contribute to the development of a psychological disorder (E.
Davis & others, 2010; Kohrt & others, 2009; South & Krueger, 2010).
The sociocultural perspective stresses the ways that cultures influence the understanding
and treatment of psychological disorders. The frequency and intensity of psychological
disorders vary and depend on social, economic, technological, and religious aspects of
cultures (Alegria, 2011; Shiraev & Levy, 2010).

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