INTRO TO ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY

Defining Psychological Disorders Psychological Disorders: patterns of behaviors and/or cognition that fit the three Ds (deviant, distressful, dysfunctional): Deviant: out of the ordinary. This one is slippery at best. Context is the key- what is normal in one culture or situation is not in another. Calling your boss out on a mistake in a U.S. business, rather than in Japan Having a child out of wedlock in Victorian Britain

Defining Psychological Disorders (The Ds cont.) Distressful: cause the individual concern, suffering, stress Sometimes the individual is not distressed themselves …and maybe they “should” be Dysfunctional: the disorder in some way impairs or negatively alters our life An acute fear of airplanes keeping you from visiting your grandchildren in Seattle

Defining Psychological Disorders Deviant behaviors that aren’t distressful and dysfunctional wouldn’t be considered a disorder Einstein’s wardrobe of identical outfits is deviant (out-of-the- ordinary) But actually caused him less distress and allowed him to function even more. Would we consider the behaviors of Doc Brown from “Back to the Future” to qualify as a disorder (according to the three Ds)?

Understanding Psychological Disorders The historical approaches: Devils, demons, exorcisms, chains, leeches, etc. Be thankful you live in the “modern” era.

Understanding Psychological Disorders Medical Model: Disorders are like diseases, they can be diagnosed, treated, and hopefully cured. Treatment may occur in a hospital/medical facility (but not always) Just because it is the medical model does not mean that treatment/therapy is limited to “medical” methods (drugs, surgery, etc.)

Understanding Psychological Disorders The bio-psycho-social approach emphasizes the role that external and internal forces play in determining behavior Some disorders appear to only impact certain societies Latah: hyper sensitivity to fear, automatically repeating others’ words/emotions (isolated to Malaysian and Indonesian cultures) Windigo Psychosis: acute anxiety about one’s being taken over by a monster and turned into a cannibal (Native Americans in Central and Northeastern Canada) Source: (much abliged, Prof. Nelson!)

Classifying Psych Disorders Over time, psychologists have attempted to give labels to certain behavior/cognition patterns Then those labels are grouped with other labels into various types of disorders The DSM V is the go-to book in the U.S. for classifying and diagnosing disorders. Put out by the APA.

Classifying Psych Disorders For each disorder, key symptoms are described But does not attempt to explain why symptoms arise That’s for psychologists of differing perspectives to debate! The DSM also has guidelines for diagnosing disorders (based on questionnaires, interviews, and other studies) Theoretically, by standardizing diagnosis methods, the DSM can increase reliability of diagnoses.

Classifying Psych Disorders Many feel the DSM has gone overboard 60 disorders in the first edition, 400 presently. Some are added, some taken away, some split. Ex. Homosexuality has been out since 1973 This raises the question: what current psych disorders will no longer be labeled as such 40 years from now? Inclusion/Exclusion from the DSM changes because of shifting norms of what is deviant or dysfunctional

Problems with Labels The labels are also stigmas themselves A patient may experience lower self-esteem from being diagnosed with one Patient may use that as an excuse for negative behavior that they may in fact be able to control The social stigma of disorder labels make it more difficult for patients to experience more normal relationships with others. We tend to look down on those with disorders Shifts in pop-culture & even the actual names of the disorders themselves suggest a shift away (in part) from these social stigmas