1. Psychological Disorders Abnormal psychology
Chapter 16, Goal 5
Psychological Disorders
Abnormal psychology

2. What is the difference between normal and abnormal behavior?
According to Rosenhan and Seligman(1984)
Suffering – does the person experience distress and discomfort?
Maladaptiveness – does the person engage in behaviors that make life difficult for him or her rather than being helpful?
Irrationality – is the person incomprehensible or unable to communicate
Unpredictability – does the person act in ways that are unexpected by himself or herself or by other people?

3. 5. Vividness and unconventionality – does the person experience things that are different from most people?
6. Observer discomfort – is the person acting in a way that is difficult to watch or that makes other people embarrassed?
7. Violation of moral or ideal standards – does the person habitually break the accepted ethical and moral standards of the culture?

4. The first four – how a person is living
Fifth – social judgment, what is convention or not
Last two – social norms.
Problem with social judgments – often fail to consider diversity in how people live their lives –
Defining abnormality is PROBLEMATIC!!!

5. Jahoda’s (1958) normal characteristics
Efficient self-perception
Realistic self-esteem and acceptance
Voluntary control of behavior
True perception of the world
Sustaining relationships and giving affection
Self-direction and productivity

6. Criticism of Jahoda
If criteria were applied, most of us would seem somehow abnormal
These are value judgements
Example: Changing views on homosexuality

7. DSM-III (1980)Changed homosexuality from a disorder to
“only abnormal if the individual has negative feelings about his or her sexual orientation.”
DSM-IV (1994)
“Sexual disorders not otherwise specified” where it is marked as “persistant and marked distress about one’s sexual orientation”

8. What has happened in the meantime – people’s attitudes have changed
What has happened in the meantime – people’s attitudes have changed. It is no longer considered abnormal and cannot be classified as such
What is normal and not changes!!

9. DSM
The American Psychiataric Association published a manual to list observable symptoms
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
The 5th version (update) has just been released.

10. Transsexualism DSM-IV has classified as a disorder
Called gender identity disorder
After movie Boys Don’t Cry, there are arguments to declassify it.

11. ABC’s of a disorder Psychologists use this when describing symptoms of a disorder
Affective symptons – emotional elements (fear, sadness, anger)
Behavioral symptoms – observational behaviours (crying, physical withdrawal from others, pacing)
Cognitive symptoms – ways of thinking (pessimism, personalization, self-image)
Somataic Symptoms – physical symptoms (facial twitching, stomach cramping a amenorrhea)

12. Criticisms in trying to identify characteristics of “abnormality”
Some use these labels as an “excuse” for behavior
Diagnosis are not objective, can be influenced by culture and politics
In the former Soviet Union dissidents were diagnosed as schizophrenic
In the UK in the 1800s women who were pregnant and not married could be admitted to an asylum.

13. Thomas Szasz “The Myth of Mental Illness” 1962
Some neurophysiological disorders are diseases of the brain (Alzheimers)
Most “mental disorders” should be considered as “problems in living”
The concept of mental illness is not used correctly by psychiatrists

14. Is Szasz’s argument valid today?
Neurophychologists have revealed possible chemical abnormality in the brain (schizophrenia)
But brain scans haven’t yet provided an ultimate answer.

15. Szasz Ideology and Insanity (1974)
People use labels such as mentally ill, criminal or foreigner in order to socially exclude people
Also, those labelled as mentally ill often endure prejudice and discrimination

16. Rosenhan’s study
Shows the concerns about reliability in the diagnosis of psychiatric illness.
2 psychiatrists can easily diagnose the same patient with different disorders.
Bias in diagnosis, attitudes and prejudices of the psychiatrist
Must rely on the patient himself to answer questions about his own behavior – may be unreliable.

17. Biopsychosocial Approach Nature and Nurture
Biological causes
Psychological causes
Social Causes
different cultures have different anxiety disorders
anorexia-nervosa (western cultures)
Susto, fear of black magic (Latin America)
Taijim-kyofusho (eye contact ???) Japan

18. Andrea Yates