Abnormal Behavior in Historical Context

1. Abnormal Behavior in Historical Context Abnormal Psychology Chapter 1

2. What is Psychopathology? • A field concerned with the nature and development of abnormal behavior, thoughts, and feelings

3. 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”

4. Statistical infrequency Violation of norms Personal distress Psychological dysfunction Unexpectedness Atypical/not culturally expected (Proposed) Components of Abnormal Behavior

5. 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?

6. Statistical Infrequency

7. Violation of Norms • Behavior that violates social rules- Deviance • Examples of deviance/rule violations? • Limitations to this approach?

8. 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?

9. 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

10. 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?

11. 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?

12. 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

13. 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

14. Focus on the Supernatural • Confinement, beating, and torture of those exhibiting abnormal behavior • Cold water dunking; hanging people over snake pits, etc.

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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

22. Historical Perspective • Consequences of the biological tradition: • Emil Kraeplin (1856-1926) • Modern psychiatry; focus on diagnosis and classification; based on behavioral symptoms

23. Historical Perspectives:Competing Paradigms • Schools of Thought: 20th Century • Psychoanalysis • Behaviorism • Humanism

24. Psychoanalysis • Sigmund Freud • Emphasis on the unconscious mind • Psychoanalysis- to reach catharsis • Psychosexual stages

25. Psychoanalysis • Structure of the mind: largely unconscious • Id: governed by the pleasure principle • Ego: governed by the reality principle • Superego: “internalized parent”

26. Psychoanalysis • Defense Mechanisms: unconscious reactions to prevent us from overwhelming anxiety • Denial, displacement, projection, rationalization, reaction formation, repression, sublimation

27. Behaviorism • Classical conditioning • Operant conditioning • B.F. Skinner & John Watson

28. Behaviorism • Behavior Therapy • Joseph Wolpe- systematic desensitization • Present day- anxiety reduction strategies

29. Humanism • Reflections on the positive, optimistic side of human nature • Self actualization: reaching our highest potential • Carl Rogers- unconditional positive regard

30. 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