Abnormal Behaviors Exam 1

Abnormal psychology

Scientific study of abnormal behavior in an effort to describe, predict, explain, and change abnormal patterns of functioning

Four D’s

Deviance, distress, dysfunction, danger

How was abnormality viewed and treated in the past in comparison to current emphasis on mental health?

In the past, abnormal behavior was often viewed as possession, moral weakness, or a punishment, and people could be treated harshly or isolated. Today, abnormality is viewed more as a mental health issue influenced by biological, psychological, and social factors, with an emphasis on treatment and support.

Clinical practitioners

Clinical practitioners are professionals who assess, diagnose, and treat mental health disorders.

Clinical psychologists

Clinical psychologists are mental health professionals who assess, diagnose, and treat psychological disorders, often through therapy and psychological testing.

Clinical scientists

Clinical scientists are professionals who research mental health disorders to better understand their causes, symptoms, and effective treatments.

Psychologists

Psychologists are professionals who study behavior and mental processes and may assess, diagnose, and treat mental health problems, often through therapy.

Psychiatrists

Psychiatrists are medical doctors who diagnose and treat mental disorders. They can prescribe medication and may also provide therapy.

Scientists

Scientists are people who study and research the natural world through observation, experiments, and evidence to develop and test explanations.

Deviant behavior

behavior that violates the social norms or expectations of a particular society or culture.

Paradigm

a framework or way of thinking that guides how scientists understand and study a subject.

Norms

the rules and expectations for behavior that are accepted by a particular society or culture.

Parity laws

laws that require mental health insurance coverage to be comparable to coverage for physical health conditions.

MoA: humanistic-existential

Strengths:
▪ Taps into domains missing from other models
▪ Emphasizes the individual
▪ Optimistic
▪ Emphasizes health
Weaknesses:
▪ Focuses on abstract issues
▪ Difficult to research
▪ Weakened by disapproval of scientific approach; may be changing

MoA: behavioral

Strengths:
▪ Powerful force in clinical field; broad appeal
▪ Clinically useful
▪ Uniquely human process focus
▪ Theories lend themselves to research.
▪ Therapies are effective in treating several disorders.

Weaknesses:
▪ The precise role of cognition in abnormality has yet to be determined.
▪ Cognitive-behavioral therapies are not effective with everyone.
▪ Focusing primarily on clients’ current experiences and functioning may limit needed attention to the influence of early life experiences and relationships.
▪ Other key dimensions in life are not addressed.

MoA: psychoanalytic/psychodynamic

Strengths:
▪ First to recognize the importance of psychological theories and systematic treatment for abnormality
▪ Saw abnormal functioning nested in the same
processes as normal functioning
▪ May be helpful to persons with long-term,
complex disorders
Weaknesses:
▪ Unsupported ideas; difficult to research
▪ Non-observable concepts
▪ Inaccessible to human subjects (unconscious)

MoA: biological

Strengths:
▪ Enjoys considerable respect in the field
▪ Constantly produces valuable new information
▪ Treatments bring great relief
Weaknesses:
▪ Limits understanding of abnormal function by excluding nonbiological factors
▪ May produce significant undesirable effects

MoA: sociocultural

Strengths:
▪ Added to clinical understanding and treatment of abnormality
▪ Increased awareness of clinical and social roles
▪ Have been clinically successful when other treatments have failed
Weaknesses:
▪ Research is difficult to interpret.
▪ Models are unable to predict abnormality in specific individuals.

MoA: cognitive

Strengths:
▪ Powerful force in clinical field; broad appeal
▪ Clinically useful
▪ Uniquely human process focus
▪ Theories lend themselves to research.
▪ Therapies are effective in treating several disorders.

Weaknesses:
▪ The precise role of cognition in abnormality has yet to be determined.
▪ Cognitive-behavioral therapies are not effective with everyone.
▪ Focusing primarily on clients’ current experiences and functioning may limit needed attention to the influence of early life experiences and relationships.
▪ Other key dimensions in life are not addressed.

Diathesis stress model

the idea that mental disorders develop from a combination of a biological/genetic vulnerability (diathesis) and stressful life experiences.

Clinical assessment

Information used to determine whether, how, and why a person is behaving abnormally and how that person may be helped
▪ Idiographic

Idiographic understanding

understanding a person by focusing on their unique experiences, personality, and individual circumstances rather than comparing them to others.

Functional analysis

examining what causes a behavior and what consequences maintain it, often by looking at what happens before and after the behavior.

Mental status exam

a structured assessment of a person’s current mental functioning, including appearance, mood, behavior, speech, thoughts, memory, and orientation.

Standardization

the process of making a test or assessment consistent in how it is given, scored, and interpreted.

ToCA: projective tests (strengths & weaknesses)

Strengths:

• Can reveal underlying thoughts, feelings, and conflicts that a person may not express directly.

• Can provide a more personal and open-ended view of someone’s personality.

Weaknesses:

• Subjective to interpret, so different clinicians may reach different conclusions.

• Often have limited reliability and validity compared with more structured tests.

• Can be influenced by the clinician’s own biases.

ToCA: personality inventories (strengths & weaknesses)

Strengths:
▪ Easier, cheaper, and faster to administer than projective tests
▪ Objectively scored and standardized
▪ Appear to have greater validity than projective tests
Weaknesses:
▪ Cannot be considered highly valid
▪ Measured traits often cannot be directly examined
▪ Tests do not allow for cultural differences in responses

ToCA: response inventories (strengths & weaknesses)

Strengths:
▪ Usually based on self-reported responses
▪ Focus on one specific area of functioning
▪ Affective inventories (i.e., Beck Depression Inventory)
▪ Social skills inventories
▪ Cognitive inventories

Weaknesses:
▪ Have strong face validity
▪ Not all have been subjected to careful standardization, reliability, and/or validity procedures
▪ Beck Depression Inventory and a few others are exceptions

IQ tests

▪ Designed to indirectly measure intellectual ability
▪ Typically consist of a series of tests assessing both verbal and nonverbal skills

▪ Represents the ratio of a person's “mental” age to his or her “chronological” age

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)

▪ Most often used in the United States
▪ Lists of categories, disorders, and symptom descriptions, with guidelines for assignment
▪ Focus on clusters of symptoms (syndromes)

Syndrome

A group of symptoms

Fear vs Anxiety

Fear:
▪ Central nervous system’s physiological and emotional response to a serious threat to one’s well-being
Anxiety:
▪ Central nervous system’s physiological and emotional response to a vague sense of threat or danger

AD: Biological

biological factors that may contribute to abnormal behavior or mental disorders, such as genetics, brain chemistry, hormones, or brain structure.

AD: Humanistic

focuses on free will, personal growth, self-awareness, and reaching one’s full potential. Abnormal behavior may develop when a person’s needs for acceptance, meaning, or personal growth are not met.

Metaworries

worries about your own worrying, such as worrying that your worrying is harmful, uncontrollable, or will lead to something bad.

Intolerance of uncertainty theory

the idea that some people have difficulty accepting uncertainty or not knowing what will happen, which can lead to excessive worry and anxiety.

Contributions of Johann Weyer, Dorothea Dix, Emil Kraepelin

• Johann Weyer — challenged the idea that mental illness was caused by witchcraft or possession and argued that people with mental disorders needed medical care.

• Dorothea Dix — advocated for better treatment and living conditions for people with mental illness and helped establish/improve mental hospitals.

• Emil Kraepelin — developed a system for classifying and diagnosing mental disorders and emphasized that disorders have different symptoms and courses.