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Chapter 1: Abnormal Psychology Past and Present What is Psychological Abnormality- the scientific study of abnormal behavior in an effort to describe, predict, explain, and change abnormal patterns of functioning 1. What does Psychological Abnormality Refer to? Psychological abnormality refers to pattern of psychological abnormality that are different, sometimes extreme or bizarre, that can be distressing to the person, and interferes with the person’s life, and possibly dangerous to themselves or others. Psychological abnormality has many definitions, but most can be classified into the four Ds: Deviance, Distress, Dysfunction, Danger. 2. What are the four Ds of abnormal psychology? Deviance: Abnormal behavior, thoughts and emotions that are different from a society’s ideas about proper functioning. Different societies have established different norms. A society’s norms grow from its particular culture. Distress: Not everything that is considered unusual is abnormal, there has to be a certain level of distress caused by the unusual behaviors, thoughts or emotions in order to be considered abnormal. Dysfunction: Abnormal behavior tends to interfere with daily functions, such as distracts, upsets or confuses people so much so that they can not perform daily tasks or care for themselves properly or work productively. Danger: Behavior that becomes dangerous to others or oneself. Includes careless behavior or hostile behavior or placing themselves and or others at risk. 3. What is Elusive Nature of Abnormality? Few criteria of abnormality are clean cut and what can be defined as abnormal is vague. Thomas Szasz found the whole concept of mental illness to be a myth. The deviations that society calls abnormal are simply “Problems in living” not signs that something is wrong. Szasz also believes societies created mental illness in an effort to control or change people’s unusual patterns of behavior that upset or threaten social order.

What is treatment- a procedure designed to change abnormal behavior into behavior that is more normal. 1. What are the three features of therapy? Jerome Frank suggests all forms of therapy have three essential features. A sufferer who seeks relief from a healer A trained healer whose expertise is accepted by the sufferer and his or her social group A series of contacts between the healer and the sufferer through which the healer tries to produce changes in the sufferer’s emotional state, behaviors and attitudes.

How was abnormality viewed and treated in the past? - Every society has witnessed psychological abnormality, but each era defined it differently as the times changed and more technology was made available. 1. How was abnormal behavior classified in different eras of time? Ancient views and treatments- ancient societies viewed abnormal behavior as the work of evil spirits. Prehistoric societies believed all events around and within them came from magical and sometimes sinister beings. Some ancient skulls show signs or trephination, in which a stone instrument was used to cut away a section of the skull or exorcism. Greek and Roman views and treatments- Hippocrates thought that all illness had natural causes and abnormal behavior came from physical problems from the four humors: Yellow Vile, Black Vile, phlegm, and blood. An excess of yellow vile caused mania, an excess of black vile caused melancholia. Treatment consisted in fixing the physical pathology. Europe in the Middle Ages- Rejected science and focused on religious beliefs so deviant behavior such as psychological misfunctioning was seen as evidence of Satan’s influence. The cure was to rid the person’s body of the devil that possessed it. If exorcism didn’t work, they would resort to torture. Renaissance and Rise of Asylums- Demonology views declined. Johan Weyer (father of psychopathology) believed the mind was susceptible to illness just like the body. Hospitals and monasteries were turned into asylums to help those with abnormal behaviors they were created with good intention, but due to overflowing then became like a virtual prison where patients were held in filthy conditions and treated with cruelty. 19th century reform and moral treatment- People who were sick in asylum should be treated with sympathy and kindness rather than chains and beatings. Treatment included rest, talk prayer and manual work. Moral treatment caught on in Europe and the United States. People with abnormal behavior were seen as productive human beings who were broken down by stress. By the end of the 19th century moral treatment declined, due to money and staffing shortages and overflowing. Early 20th century Somatogenic and psychogenic perspective- Two opposing perspectives emerged in the early 20th century and began to compete for the attention of clinicians. Somatogenic perspective: Emil Kraepelin argued that physical factors like fatigue are responsible for mental dysfunction and developed the first modern system for classifying abnormal behavior. Identified syndromes or symptom clusters. New biological discoveries like syphilis led to general paresis (irreversible disorder with mental and physical symptoms) led many to believe that mental dysfunction could be caused by physical factors. Psychogenic perspective- Chief causes of abnormal functioning are often psychological. It did not get much attention until hypnotism (Mesmer) was used to demonstrate its potential. The treatment for hysterical disorders was called mesmerism (hypnotism).

Current Trends- Psychotropic medications were discovered in the 1950s, that affect the brain and help reduce many symptoms of mental dysfunction. The success of psychotropic medications led to deinstitutionalization where hundreds of thousands of patients were released. Leading technology now allows for better treatments including cyber therapy....