Abnormal Behavior

Presented by
Dr. SADAF SAJJAD

All material is taken from various web sources and Introduction to Psychology by Strangor through Flatworld
What is Abnormal Behavior?
• Actions, thoughts, and feelings harmful to a
person or others; experiencing discomfort
enough to not function

• The abnormal behavior leads to psychological

disorder

• a “harmful dysfunction” in which behavior is

judged to be:

 atypical--not enough in itself

 disturbing--varies with time and culture
 maladaptive--harmful
 unjustifiable--sometimes there’s a good
reason
What is Psychologically
Abnormal?
• The Four D’s
 Deviance
 Distress
 Dysfunction
 Danger
Deviance

▫ Deviance from or violation of a society’s ideas about proper

function.

 Norms- a society’s explicit and implicit rules for proper

conduct.
 Culture- a society’s shared rules that govern the behavior
of its members, common history, values, beliefs, habits,
skills, technology, and arts.

▫ Includes a valuation aspect which varies from culture to

culture
Distress
▫ If behaviors cause the pain or discomfort (psychological or
physical), then they are abnormal
 Dysfunctional

▫ Patterns of behavior which interfere with normal daily

routines, such as one’s social, occupational, and emotional
functioning causing significant distress

▫ Inability/loss of ability to perform one’s normal roles.

 Compare performance with requirements for a role
 Compare performance with potential
Dangerous
▫ Behavior that becomes dangerous to self or
others.

▫ Result from intense emotional states or may

signal the presence of a psychological disorder
Definition of Abnormal
Behavior
Inconsistent Inconsistent
with societal with cultural
norms norms

Abnormal
Behavior

Interferes with
Emotional daily
Distress functioning
Inconsistent
with
developmental
norms
Abnormal Behavior

Video 1
Early Theories
• Abnormal behavior was evil spirits trying to get
out.
• Trephining was often used.
Models of Abnormality
• Biological/Biomedical
▫ Emphasizes biological processes

• Psychodynamic
▫ Emphasizes unconscious emotional processes

• Cognitive
▫ Emphasizes semi-conscious thinking processes

• Behavioral
▫ Emphasizes learning processes
Biomedical Model
• Main assumptions:
▫ Psychological disorders are illnesses or diseases
affecting the nervous system

▫ Abnormal behavior, thinking and emotion are

caused by biological dysfunctions

▫ Understanding mental illness involves

understanding what went wrong with the brain
Biomedical Model
• Possible causes of abnormal behavior:

▫ Biochemistry – an imbalance of certain

neurotransmitters or hormones might cause parts
of the brain to malfunction

▫ Structural damage or abnormality – if the

structure of the brain is damaged or improperly
formed then thinking, emotion and behavior may
change
 Biomedical Model
• Factors that may affect NS functioning:

▫ Genetics – inherited developmental abnormality

▫ Toxicity – chemical poisoning from e.g. drugs or

environmental toxins

▫ Infection/disease – causing chemical or structural

damage to the brain

▫ Stress – causing abnormal hormonal effects in the

long term
Behavioral Model
• Main assumptions:

▫ Abnormal behavior is the consequence of abnormal

learning from the environment

▫ There is no qualitative difference between normal

and abnormal behavior – they are learned in the
same ways:

 Classical conditioning
 Operant conditioning
 Social learning
Classical Conditioning
• Learning by association:

▫ When two environmental changes (stimuli) occur

together, we learn to associate them

▫ The response to one may transfer to the other

▫ E.g. Pavlov (1901) taught dogs to salivate when

they heard a bell
Operant Conditioning
• Learning by consequences

▫ Organisms operate on their environments

▫ The likelihood of them repeating any given

behavior depends on its consequences

 Reinforcement – more likely to repeat

 Punishment – less likely to repeat
Social Learning Theory
• Learning by observation

▫ People observe the behavior of other people

(models)

▫ They may imitate the behavior they observe

▫ Whether or not they do so depends on the observed

consequences:
 Vicarious reinforcement
 Vicarious punishment
 www.psychlotron.org.uk
The Cognitive Model
Cognition Real World

Thinking Perception Informatio

n

Emotion Behaviour Behaviour

The Cognitive Model
• Main assumptions:
▫ Abnormal behavior is caused by abnormal thinking
processes

▫ We interact with the world through our mental

representation of it

▫ If our mental representations are inaccurate or our

ways of reasoning are inadequate then our
emotions and behavior may become disordered
The Cognitive Model
• Factors in abnormal behavior:
▫ Inaccurate perception
▫ Poor reasoning and problem solving

• Cognitive-emotion relationship assumed to be bi-

directional, but cognitive processes given primacy

• Underlying reasons for faulty thinking are not

considered especially important
The Psychodynamic Model
• Main assumptions:
▫ Psychological disorders are caused by emotional
problems in the unconscious mind

▫ The causes of these emotional problems can usually

be traced back to early childhood

▫ The relationship between child and parents is a

crucial determinant of mental health
The Unconscious Mind
The conscious.
The small amount of
mental activity we
know about. Thoughts
Perceptions
The preconscious.
Things we could be Memories
aware of if we Stored knowledge
wanted or tried.
Bad
The unconscious. Fears
Things we are
Unacceptable sexual
unaware of and can Worse
not become aware desires
of. Violent motives
Irrational wishes
Immoral urges
Really Bad Selfish needs
Shameful
experiences
Traumatic
experiences
Perspectives and Disorders
Psychological School/Perspective Cause of the Disorder
Psychoanalytic/Psychodynamic Internal, unconscious drives
Humanistic Failure to strive to one’s potential or
being out of touch with one’s
feelings.

Behavioral Reinforcement history, the

environment.

Cognitive Irrational, dysfunctional thoughts or

ways of thinking.

Socio-cultural Dysfunctional Society

Biomedical/Neuroscience Organic problems, biochemical
imbalances, genetic predispositions.
Classifying Psychological Disorders

• The American Psychiatric Association (APA)

rendered a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorders (DSM) to describe
psychological disorders.
Multiaxial Classification

 Axis I: Clinical disorders

 Axis II: Personality disorders and mental

retardation

 Axis III: General medical conditions

 Axis IV: Psychosocial and environmental

problems
Two Major Classifications in the
DSM
• Neurotic Disorders • Psychotic
Distressing but one Disorders
Person loses contact
can still function in with reality,
society and act experiences
rationally. distorted
perceptions.
Anxiety Disorders
• a group of conditions where
the primary symptoms are
anxiety or defenses against
anxiety.

• The patient fears something

awful will happen to them.

• They are in a state of intense

apprehension, uneasiness,
uncertainty, or fear.
Anxiety

Video 2
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
GAD
• An anxiety disorder in which a
person is continuously tense,
apprehensive and in a state of
autonomic nervous system
arousal.

• The patient is constantly tense

and worried, feels inadequate, is
oversensitive, can’t concentrate
and suffers from insomnia.
Panic Disorder
• An anxiety disorder marked
by a minutes-long episode of
intense dread in which a
person experiences terror
and accompanying chest
pain, choking and other
frightening sensations.
Phobias
• A person experiences sudden
episodes of intense dread.

• Must be an irrational fear.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder
• Persistent unwanted thoughts
(obsessions) cause someone to
feel the need (compulsion) to
engage in a particular action.

• Obsession about dirt and

germs may lead to compulsive
hand washing.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder

Video 3
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
PTSD
• Flashbacks or nightmares
following a person’s
involvement in or
observation of an
extremely stressful event.

• Memories of the event

cause anxiety.
Somatoform Disorders
• Occur when a person
manifests a psychological
problem through a
physiological symptom.

• Two types……
Hypochondriasis
• Has frequent physical
complaints for which
medical doctors are
unable to locate the cause.

• They usually believe that

the minor issues
(headache, upset stomach)
are indicative are more
severe illnesses.
Conversion Disorder
• Report the existence of severe
physical problems with no
biological reason.

• Like blindness or paralysis.

Dissociative Disorders
• These disorders involve a
disruption in the
conscious process.

• Three types….
Psychogenic Amnesia
• A person cannot
remember things with no
physiological basis for the
disruption in memory.

• Retrograde Amnesia

• NOT organic amnesia.

• Organic amnesia can be

retrograde or antro-grade.
Dissociative Fugue
• People with psychogenic
amnesia that find
themselves in an
unfamiliar environment.
Dissociative Identity Disorder
• Used to be known as
Multiple Personality
Disorder.

• A person has several

rather than one integrated
personality.

• People with DID

commonly have a history
of childhood abuse or
trauma.
Mood Disorders
• Experience extreme or inappropriate emotion.
Major Depression
• Also called unipolar
depression

• Unhappy for at least two

weeks with no apparent
cause.

• Depression is the common

cold of psychological
disorders.
Major Depression

Video 4
Seasonal Affective Disorder
• Experience depression
during the winter months.

• Based not on temperature,

but on amount of sunlight.

• Treated with light therapy.

Bipolar Disorder
• Formally manic depression.

• Involves periods of depression

and manic episodes.

• Manic episodes involve feelings

of high energy (but they tend to
differ a lot…some get confident
and some get irritable).

• Engage in risky behavior during

the manic episode.
Schizophrenic Disorders
• About 1 in every 100 people are
diagnosed with schizophrenia.

• Symptoms of Schizophrenia
1. Disorganized thinking.
2. Disturbed Perceptions
3. Inappropriate Emotions and
Actions
Disorganized Thinking

• The thinking of a person

with Schizophrenia is
fragmented and bizarre
and distorted with false
beliefs.

• Disorganized thinking
comes from a breakdown
in selective attention.-
they cannot filter out
information.
Disturbed Perceptions
• hallucinations- sensory
experiences without
sensory stimulation.
Inappropriate Emotions and Actions

• Laugh at inappropriate
times.

• Flat Effect

• Senseless, compulsive
acts.

• Catatonia- motionless
Waxy Flexibility
Schizophrenic Disorder

Video 5
Types of Schizophrenia
Disorganized Schizophrenia
• disorganized speech or
behavior, or flat or
inappropriate emotion.

• Clang associations

• "Imagine the worst

Systematic, sympathetic
Quite pathetic, apologetic,
paramedic
Your heart is prosthetic"
Paranoid Schizophrenia
• preoccupation with delusions or hallucinations.

• Somebody is out to get me!!!!

Catatonic Schizophrenia
• Flat effect

• Waxy Flexibility

• parrot like repeating of

another’s speech and
movements
Undifferentiated Schizophrenia
• Many and varied Symptoms.
Other Disorders
• Personality Disorders
• Eating Disorders
• Substance use disorders
• ADHD