Defining Abnormal Psychology

2. Before we start…

3. H0w can we say something is
“Normal” and “Abnormal?”
 The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
(DSM) is the standard classification of mental disorders
used by mental health professionals in the United States
 DSM-V
 Typicality
 Maladaptive
 Emotional discomfort
 Socially unacceptable behavior

4. Unusualness & Typicality
 Behavior that is experienced by only a few may be
abnormal, but not in all cases or situations. Normality is
defined in terms of what is typical of most people.
 Taken alone, however, this can be misleading when
considering exceptional artists, scientists, or athletes

5. Maladaptive Behavior
 Behavior is maladaptive when it causes personal distress,
is self-defeating, or is associated with significant health,
social, or occupational problems. The behavior impairs an
individual’s ability to function adequately in everyday life.
Unable to adjust to the demands of the environment

6. Emotional discomfort/distress
 Severe anxiety or depression are considered abnormal
when inappropriate, excessive, or prolonged. They feel
helpless, hopeless, worthless, guilt, or extreme sadness

7. Socially unacceptable behavior
 Deviation from the social norms or standards established
by a society that define socially acceptable behaviors.
These behaviors violate our notion of what is appropriate
and acceptable.
 This can change with different cultures. There are culture-bound
syndromes, clusters of symptoms that descrie an
illness that would be considered abnormal if we were
unaware of the cultural context. They are not thought to
have a psychological disorder if they bang their head if
they believe they are possessed.

8. Dangerousness
 When violent or dangerous behavior is a threat to oneself
or others

9. Faulty Perceptions or
Interpretations of Reality
 Hallucinations involve distorted perceptions of reality.
Delusions (unfounded beliefs) that are not based on real
events are also distorted and faulty interpretations of
reality

10. Legal Definition for Insanity
 A person is legally insane when he/she cannot make the
distinction between right and wrong. If he/she does not
understand what he/she did and cannot control his
actions, then he/she is not responsible and may be
exonerated of a crime but incarcerated in a mental
hospital rather than a prison

11. DSM Definition and criteria
for Abnormal
 DSM treats abnormal behavior as signs or symptoms of
underlying disorders or pathologies
 Does NOT assume that abnormal behaviors reflect
biological causes or defects, and recognizes that most
mental disorders remain uncertain.
 Some have purely biological causes; while others have
psychological disorders

12. A mental disorder is a syndrome characterized by clinically
significant disturbance in an individual’s cognition, emotion
regulation, or behavior that reflects a dysfunction in the
psychological, biological, or developmental processes
underlying mental functioning. Mental disorders are usually
associated with significant distress or disability in social,
occupational, or other important activities. An expectable or
culturally approved response to common stressor or loss,
such as the death of a loved one, is not a mental disorder.
Socially deviant behavior (e.g., political, religious, or sexual)
and conflicts that are primarily between the individual and
society are not mental disorders unless the deviance or
conflict results from a dysfunction in the individual, as
described above.

13. Qualitative vs. Quantitative
 Qualitative research gathers information that is not in
numerical form.
 Based on observations, unstructured interviews, and
open-ended questionnaires.
 Descriptive, hard to analyze
 Quantitative research gathers data in numerical form
which can be put into categories, or in rank order, or
measured in units of measurement.
 Experiments

14. Medical Model
 Is a way of describing and explaining psychological disorders as
if they are diseases.
 Diagnosis refers to the process of distinguishing among
disorders.
 Etiology refers to the cause or origin of a disorder.
 Prognosis refers to a prediction about the probable course and
outcome of a disorder.
 Critics argue that this model is not suitable for describing
psychological problems. They say that psychological problems
are not illnesses but rather behaviors and experiences that are
morally or socially deviant.