Question 1
The branch of psychology that deals with the description, causes, and treatment of abnormal behavior patterns is psychology. Q a. developmental b. abnormal C. evolutionary d. social
Question 2
Which of the following statements about the unusualness criteria for determining abnormality is correct?
a. Statistical deviance or rarity is sufficient to judge abnormality b. It is the only criteria used to determine abnormality c. Just because a behavior is unusual does not necessarily mean that it is considered abnormal d. It is the best criteria for determining abnormality
Question 3
The model considers abnormal behavior patterns to be symptoms of underlying illness. _ a. applied b. behavioral medical d. sociocultural
PowerPoint Presentation Slide 1 + Historical and Contemporary Perspectives on Abnormal Psychology Alice W .Cheng, Ph. D. University of Hartford * + Historical perspectives on abnormal behavior * + The Demonological Model Trephination - A harsh, prehistoric practice of cutting a hole in a person’s skull, possibly in an attempt to release demons. The notion of supernatural causes of abnormal behavior, or demonology, was prominent in Western society until the Age of Enlightenment. In ancient Greece, people who behaved abnormally were sent to temples dedicated to Aesculapius, the god of healing. Incurables were driven from the temple by stoning. * + Origins of the Medical Model: In “Ill Humor” Humors - According to the ancient Hippocratic belief system, the vital bodily fluids (phlegm, black bile, blood, yellow bile). An imbalance of humors, he thought, accounted for abnormal behavior. A lethargic or sluggish person was believed to have an excess of phlegm, from which we derive the word phlegmatic. An overabundance of black bile was believed to cause depression, or melancholia. An excess of blood created a sanguine disposition: cheerful, confident, and optimistic. An excess of yellow bile made people “bilious” and choleric—quick-tempered, that is. * + Medieval Times Belief in supernatural causes, led to beliefs that abnormal behaviors were a sign of possession by evil spirits or the devil. This belief was part of the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, the central institution in Western Europe after the decline of the Roman Empire. The Church’s treatment of choice for possession was exorcism. * + Witchcraft Belief in supernatural causes, led to beliefs that abnormal behaviors were a sign of possession by evil spirits or the devil. This belief was part of the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, the central institution in Western Europe after the decline of the Roman Empire. The Church’s treatment of choice for possession was exorcism. * + Asylums By the late 15th and early 16th centuries, asylums, or madhouses, began to crop up throughout Europe. Asylums often gave refuge to beggars as well as the mentally disturbed, and conditions were appalling. At St.Mary’s of Bethlehem Hospital—from which the word bedlam is derived—the public could buy tickets to observe the antics of the inmates, much as we would pay to see a circus sideshow or animals at the zoo * + The Reform Movement and Moral Therapy Jean-Baptiste Pussin and Philippe Pinel in the late 18th and early 19th centuries argued that people who behave abnormally suffer from diseases and should be treated humanely. Pinel (1745–1826) became medical director for the incurables’ ward at La Bicêtre in 1793 and continued the humane treatment Pussin had begun. Dorothea Dix (1802–1887), a Boston schoolteacher, traveled about the country decrying the deplorable conditions in the jails and almshouses where mentally disturbed people were placed. As a result of her efforts, 32 mental hospitals devoted to treating people with psychological disorders were established throughout the United States. * + A Step Backward In the latter half of the 19th century, the belief that abnormal behaviors could be successfully treated or cured by moral therapy fell into disfavor. Deplorable hospital conditions remained commonplace through the middle of the 20th century. By the mid-1950s, the population in mental hospitals had risen to half a million patients. Lobotomy: popular cure all in the 1930s-1960s http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0aNILW6ILk * + The Community Mental Health Movement: The Exodus from State Hospitals Congress in 1963 established a nationwide system of community mental health centers (CMHCs). CMHCs were charged with providing continuing support and care to former hospital residents who were released from state mental hospitals under a policy of deinstitutionalization. Phenothiazines reduced the need for indefinite hospital stays and permitted many people with schizophrenia to be discharged to halfway houses, group homes, and independent living. The mental hospital population across the United States plummeted from 559,000 in 1955 to fewer than 100,000 by the 1990s (Grob, 2001). Deinstitutionalization was directly caused by the invention of antipsychotic medication in the 60s, where at the time was belief to be the cure for psychosis and hence no longer need to lock people up. As long as people continue to take the medication of course. * + Contemporary Perspectives on Abnormal Behavior * + The Biological Perspective Wilhelm Griesinger (1817–1868) argued that abnormal behavior was rooted in diseases of the brain. Emil Kraepelin (1856–1926) likened mental disorders to physical diseases. Griesinger and Kraepelin paved the way for the modern medical model, which attempts to explain abnormal behavior on the basis of underlying biological defects or abnormalities, not evil spirits. Dementia praecox -The term given by Kraepelin to the disorder now called schizophrenia. * + The Biological Perspective The medical model gained support in the late 19th century with the discovery that an advanced stage of syphilis—in which the bacterium that causes the disease directly invades the brain itself—led to a form of disturbed behavior called general paresis (from the Greek parienai, meaning “to relax”). The later discovery of Alzheimer’s disease a brain disease that is the major cause of dementia, lent further support to the medical model. The medical model is a major advance over demonology. * + The Psychological Perspective Jean-Martin Charcot (1825–1893), experimented with the use of hypnosis in treating hysteria, a condition characterized by paralysis or numbness that cannot be explained by any underlying physical cause. Among those who attended Charcot’s demonstrations was a young Austrian physician named Sigmund Freud (1856–1939). Psychodynamic model - The theoretical model of Freud and his followers, in which abnormal behavior is viewed as the product of clashing forces within the personality. * + The Sociocultural Perspective Sociocultural theorists believe the causes of abnormal behavior may be found in the failures of society rather than in the person. Accordingly, psychological problems may be rooted in the ills of society, such as unemployment, poverty, family breakdown, injustice, ignorance, and the lack of opportunity. Sociocultural factors also focus on relationships between mental health and social factors such as gender, social class, ethnicity, and lifestyle. * + The Biopsychosocial Perspective Many mental health professionals endorse the view that abnormal behavior is best understood by taking into account multiple causes representing the biological, psychological, and sociocultural domains. Biopsychosocial model - An integrative model for explaining abnormal in terms of the interactions of biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors. Perspectives on psychological disorders provide a framework not only for explanation but also for treatment. * + The Biological Perspective The biological perspective, inspired by scientists and physicians since the time of Hippocrates, focuses on the biological underpinnings of abnormal behavior and the use of biologically based approaches, such as drug therapy, to treat psychological disorders. The biological perspective gave rise to the development of the medical model, which remains today a powerful force in contemporary understandings of abnormal behavior. * + The Nervous System The nervous system is made up of neurons, nerve cells that transmit signals or “messages” throughout the body. Dendrites - The rootlike structures at the ends of neurons that receive nerve impulses from other neurons. Axon - The long, thin part of a neuron along which nerve impulses travel. * + The Nervous System Terminals - The small branching structures at the tips of axons. Neurotransmitters - Chemical substances that transmit messages from one neuron to another. Synapse - The junction between the terminal knob of one neuron and the dendrite or soma of another through which nerve impulses pass. Receptor site - A part of a dendrite on a receiving neuron that is structured to receive a neurotransmitter. * + The Anatomy of a Neuron Neurons consist of cells bodies (or somas), dendrites, and one or more axons. The axon of this neuron is wrapped in a myelin sheath, which insulates it from the bodily fluids surrounding the neuron and facilitates transmission of neural impulses (messages that travel within the neuron). * + Transmission of neural impulses across the synapse The diagram here shows the structure of the neuron and the mode of transmission of neural impulses between neurons. Neurons transmit messages, or neural impulses, across synapses, which consist of the axon terminal of the transmitting neuron, the gap or synapse between the neurons, and the dendrite of the receiving neuron. The “message” is carried by neurotransmitters that are released into the synapse and taken up by receptor sites on the receiving neuron. Patterns of firing of many thousands of neurons give rise to psychological events such as thoughts and mental images. Different forms of abnormal behavior are associated with irregularities in the transmissionor reception of neural messages. * + Parts of the Nervous System * + Central Nervous System Medulla - An area of the hindbrain involved in regulation of heartbeat and respiration. Pons - A structure in the hindbrain involved in respiration. Cerebellum - A structure in the hindbrain involved in coordination and balance. * + Central Nervous System Reticular activating system - Brain structure involved in processes of attention, sleep, and arousal. Thalamus - A structure in the forebrain involved in relaying sensory information to the cortex and in processes related to sleep and attention. Hypothalamus - A structure in the forebrain involved in regulating body temperature, emotion, and motivation. * + Central Nervous System Limbic system - A group of forebrain structures involved in learning, memory, and basic drives. Basal ganglia - An assemblage of neurons located between the thalamus and cerebrum, involved in coordinating motor (movement) processes. Cerebrum - The large mass of the forebrain, consisting of the two cerebral hemispheres. Cerebral cortex - The wrinkled surface area of the cerebrum responsible for processing sensory stimuli and controlling higher mental functions, such as thinking and use of language. * + The geography of the brain Part A shows parts of the hindbrain, midbrain, and forebrain. Part B shows the four lobes of the cerebral cortex: frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital. In B, the sensory (tactile) and motor areas lie across the central fissure from one another. Researchers are investigating the potential relationships between various patterns of abnormal behavior and irregularities in the formation or functioning of the structures of the brain. * + Peripheral Nervous System Somatic nervous system - The division of the peripheral nervous system that relays information from the sense organs to the brain and transmits messages from the brain to the skeletal muscles. Autonomic nervous system - The division of the peripheral nervous system that regulates the activities of the glands and involuntary functions. Sympathetic - Pertaining to the division of the autonomic nervous system whose activity leads to heightened states of arousal. Parasympathetic - Pertaining to the division of the autonomic nervous system whose activity reduces states of arousal and regulates bodily processes that replenish energy reserves. * + The Psychological Perspective * + Psychodynamic Models Psychoanalytic theory - The theoretical model