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1
Introduction to Abnormal Psychology

Chapter Objectives
After reading this chapter, you should be able to:
• Define abnormal behavior.
• Discuss the history of mental illness.
• Identify the major theorists and theoretical orientations in
psychology.
• Discuss the DSM–5.
Flirt/SuperStock
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CHAPTER 1Section 1.1 How Do We Define Abnormal
Behavior?
1.1 How Do We Define Abnormal Behavior?
One of the things we have discovered over the years is that if
one were to poll a random
sample of average people, most would say that they know
abnormal behavior when they
see it. They might assess at-a-glance someone’s behavior as
strange, odd, or sick, and they
would quickly give you the reasons for their assessment. Let us
look at an example of
potentially odd behavior that will illustrate this.
You are walking in your neighborhood on a gorgeous summer
afternoon, listening to your

favorite songs on your iPod or smartphone. Suddenly, without
warning, a man runs out
from behind the bushes across the street. This wouldn’t
normally catch your attention, but
what really catches your eye is that this man has no clothes on.
He is running frantically
while trying to cover himself with his hands, all the while
looking behind him. Before you
know it, the man disappears around the corner. Was the man’s
behavior abnormal? Do
you think this man is likely to present a danger to himself or,
more importantly, to other
people? This is one of the goals that practicing psychologists
have: to ascertain whether an
individual’s behavior is abnormal or not, and to ascertain
whether their behavior presents
a danger to the individual or to others.
Does Abnormal Behavior Automatically Mean
Psychopathology?
Psychopathology refers to the study of the causes and
development of psychiatric disor-
ders. Many in the mental health professions (psychologists,
social workers, counselors,
and psychiatrists, to name a few) agree that it is extremely
difficult to arrive at a universal
definition of abnormal behavior (Maddux & Winstead, 2007).
They agree in general about
what the term means, but they often use different perspectives
to actually define it. Three
perspectives commonly used by psychologists are the statistical
frequency perspective
(behavior is abnormal according to the statistics), the social
norms perspective (behavior
is abnormal according to the standards set by society), and the
maladaptive perspective

(behavior is abnormal because it interferes with the individual’s
ability to function on a
daily basis). Each perspective has its own usefulness and
limitations, as discussed in the
following sections.
The Statistical Frequency Perspective
The statistical frequency perspective labels behavior as
abnormal if the behaviors only
exist (or are exhibited) by the minority of the population. A few
presumptions here need
to be examined. First, this perspective presumes that the general
population’s behavior is
considered to be normal. However, what is considered normal
today wasn’t necessarily
considered normal a hundred years ago, and what’s normal in
New York City might not
be considered all that normal in New Delhi. For example,
consider the following rou-
tine: Someone wakes up, eats breakfast, goes to work, has
lunch, goes home, eats dinner,
spends some time with family, watches television, and then goes
to bed. This is a routine
that many working adults in the United States follow on a daily
basis. Therefore, the gen-
eral population would consider this to be normal behavior.
So what would you then make of the following: Instead of going
to work every day and
following the previously outlined routine, an individual goes to
the beach at 8 a.m. and
lies on a blanket until the sun sets, each and every day? Or what
about this possibility:
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Behavior?
A man goes to the beach with a blanket and a guitar, sits on the
boardwalk, strums away
while singing folk songs, and has a sign asking for handouts as
he has lost his job due
to a bad economy. Is this considered normal behavior based on
current standards in the
United States? Or is this behavior crossing over to abnormal
behavior?
What about the man we described earlier who ran naked from
behind bushes? Do people
usually run through the streets naked anywhere in the United
States? And if the statistical
perspective tells us that this is extremely uncommon behavior,
does that automatically
mean that the individual must be pathological?
The Social Norms Perspective
The social norms perspective states that behavior is abnormal if
it deviates greatly from
accepted social standards, values, or norms. Norms are spoken
and unspoken rules for
proper conduct. These are established by a society over time
and are subject to changes
over time. Two types of norms used to assess whether behavior
is abnormal are legal
norms and psychological norms. Legal norms tend to dictate
how an individual should
behave in the realm of his civic surroundings and with regard to
his friends and neigh-
bors. In other words, this is a mandatory rule of social behavior

that is established by
the state. If someone is labeled a criminal, his behavior violates
legal norms as deter-
mined by that society. For example, the naked running man
described earlier may be
demonstrating abnormal behavior based on legal norms, since
he could be arrested for
indecent exposure.
Psychological norms are also
determined by society, but are
codified in the Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Dis-
orders, Fifth Edition, published by
the American Psychiatric Asso-
ciation. Behaviors, thoughts, and
emotions are considered to be
abnormal if they violate the
norms set out by psychologists.
For example, Michael Jackson
was surely one of the most famous
individuals in the world. How-
ever, he demonstrated unusual,
perhaps odd, and maybe even
abnormal behaviors at times.
He often wore surgical masks
when he was out in public. Per-
haps more unusual was how he
dressed his children when they went out. He would often cover
his children’s faces or
heads with blankets, Halloween-style masks, burqas, or
disguises. Is this behavior abnor-
mal? Most likely it is to the everyday individual. However,
what if Jackson were germ-
phobic, afraid of catching any kind of pathogen or cold? What if

he had a compromised
immune system and therefore needed to keep his face covered?
Perhaps he covered his
children’s faces to protect them against kidnappers, since he
was an instantly recognizable
© Olaf Selchow/dpa/Corbis
Is this normal behavior? Michael Jackson would commonly
cover his children’s faces and many considered this behavior to
be abnormal.
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Behavior?
and very wealthy pop star. Do these latter explanations now
make his behaviors more
rational and therefore not abnormal? The psychological norms
perspective would involve
using diagnostic criteria in the DSM–5 to determine if the
pattern of such behaviors is
likely to point to a mental disorder.
The Maladaptive Perspective
Finally, the maladaptive perspective views behavior as
abnormal if it interferes with the
individual’s ability to function in life or in society. By this we
mean the ability to work,
take care of oneself, and have normal social interactions. Do
you think the naked running
man is able to function in everyday life? Can we even make
these kinds of judgments
without knowing much about him? If nothing else, we can say

that this naked individual
appears to be somewhat unusual. However, is his behavior
abnormal or indicative of
mental illness? Let’s look at another example.
There is a woman in your neighborhood that you see often. She
works a regular 9-to-5
job, but you notice that it takes her a while to leave for work.
You have noticed that she
engages in some rather “unusual” yet regular routines before
she finally heads off. She
locks her door then returns at least four more times to make
sure it’s locked. You also
notice that it takes her a long time to leave the house. She goes
back inside at least five or
six times, disappears for a few minutes, and then returns
outside. When she finally gets
in her car, she drives off, then she returns a few minutes later to
ensure the garage door is
closed. You also notice that when she finally leaves for good,
the time is 10 a.m. Based on
the maladaptive perspective, this woman’s behaviors interfere
with her everyday life. She
is able to function, but her daily rituals make her late for work
every day. She has extreme
difficulty leaving the house until she is absolutely certain that
all the doors are locked and
that her gas oven and range are turned off (we will discuss
behaviors like this in more
detail when we discuss obsessive-compulsive and related
disorders).
Other Considerations
Let us consider several other factors that we use to classify
abnormal behavior. First, is
the individual’s behavior causing danger to him/herself or to

other people? Often this is
not the case. The idea that individuals who have a mental illness
are dangerous or violent
people like Jeffrey Dahmer or Charles Manson is simply not
true. Most individuals with
a mental illness are not dangerous, and of those who are, most
are more likely to pose a
threat to themselves than to others.
Another consideration is whether the individual’s behavior is
causing him or her distress.
Not all abnormal behavior causes stress to the individual. In
many cases, the individual’s
family or loved ones are more distressed than the individual
themselves. This makes it espe-
cially important for the family to be involved in as many
aspects of treatment as possible.
Finally, we must consider factors such as the duration, the age
of onset, and the intensity
of the behavior(s). By duration, we mean the length of time the
troublesome behaviors
have existed. By age of onset, we mean the age at which the
troublesome behaviors first
become noticeable. This is especially important, since some
mental illnesses cannot be
diagnosed until an individual has reached a certain age, or
cannot be diagnosed once an
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Behavior?

individual has passed a certain age. By intensity, we mean how
extreme the behaviors in
question are. So, where does our naked running man fit? Let us
see if more information
about him helps to clear up the picture. This man is a
sophomore at a major university in
the United States. He is a psychology major and has made the
Dean’s List, a status granted
only to the best students. When you looked more closely at the
man, you saw that he was
only wearing sneakers, which let him run faster. The sneakers
had the university’s logo on
the sides. Is this enough to make a determination?
Psychologists often have to make judgments based on what they
see on the surface or in
an individual’s overt behaviors. These are behaviors that are
open and detectable by who-
ever observes them (Reber & Reber, 2001, p. 500). In other
words, these are behaviors that
we can see on the surface and therefore measure. Let’s look at
some other facts about the
naked running man. He was running because he was
“discovered.” He was discovered by
the house’s owners who saw him skinny-dipping in their pool.
He also had a camcorder
set up recording his escapades. Does this help?
Now do you think this man’s behavior is abnormal based on the
aforementioned perspec-
tives? Is skinny-dipping in someone else’s pool statistically
frequent? Does it conform to
social norms? Do you think it interferes with the man’s ability
to function at his univer-
sity? Does the man’s skinny-dipping in a stranger’s pool present
a danger to him or to

others? Perhaps a bit more information would help. The man
was skinny-dipping and
recording his feat because he was pledging a fraternity at his
university. This was part of
a “hazing” ritual. The man had to prove he performed his
escapade and therefore filmed
it. As you learn more about the man, you discover
that he is extremely reserved, painfully shy, and
generally withdrawn in many social situations.
Perhaps he is just what David Weeks and Jamie
James (1995) call an eccentric. Eccentrics have odd
or unusual habits but do not have a mental illness.
Weeks and James published a work called Eccen-
trics: A Study of Sanity and Strangeness, in which
they examined eccentrics throughout history.
They concluded that the eccentrics’ thought pat-
terns are not disrupted and their behavior doesn’t
typically cause them distress; in fact, most eccen-
trics may take pleasure in being an “original.”
Perhaps you yourself have some odd or unusual
habits, or perhaps you know someone who does.
Albert Einstein could be classified as an eccentric.
He picked up and smoked discarded cigarette
butts off the street in order to circumvent his doc-
tor’s ban on buying tobacco for his pipe. He also
would use his sailboat on windless days because
he enjoyed a challenge. Oscar Wilde, the famous
novelist, was another famous eccentric. While
studying at Oxford University, Wilde would walk
through the streets with a lobster on a leash, in
addition to engaging in other odd behaviors.
AP Photo
Eccentrics exhibit odd or unusual habits,
yet do not have a mental illness. Albert

Einstein may be considered an eccentric or
an “original” for displaying peculiar habits.
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CHAPTER 1Section 1.2 A History of Abnormal Behavior
Theories
1.2 A History of Abnormal Behavior Theories
Imagine this: It is a few thousand years ago, and your friend is
planning to attend a
regularly occurring event that he is eagerly anticipating. Your
friend talks about looking
forward to the occasion, as it is a form of socialization for him.
The government sanc-
tions the event and supports it as a way of pleasing its citizens
and giving back to them.
Your friend then mentions that he would like you to come along
to see how exciting
the event is. You arrive and see that the arena contains at least
80,000 screaming people.
You naturally wonder why everyone is yelling and why they
seem so excited. All of the
people are standing. You even see a “royal box” where
dignitaries are sitting. At the end
of the event your friend asks you, “Well, what did you think?”
You reply that you have
never seen anything like it and love what you saw. You then ask
when you can attend
the next performance.
Does any of this seem unusual
or abnormal? What if you now
knew that you were in ancient

Rome attending gladiator fights
and seeing prisoners being torn
to pieces by lions? These events
were considered to be a normal
form of entertainment in ancient
Rome, but if we tried to stage
such an event in the United
States in 2014, you can imagine
the consequences and outrage.
Thus, what constitutes abnor-
mal behavior is partially depen-
dent on society’s definitions
of what is normal, which can
change over the course of time.
Humans have demonstrated
abnormal behavior for at least, by this author’s account, a few
thousand years. The gladi-
ator fights were not considered unusual in their time, but they
are now considered to be
unusual and, by many, repulsive.
Ancient Times
The earliest explanations for mental illness seem to have been
that the afflicted were pos-
sessed by evil spirits or demons (an idea that some people still
believe today). Skulls dat-
ing back to 6500 BCE have been discovered with holes bored
into them (see Figure 1.1),
which are an indication of trepanning (also known as
trephination). The belief seems to
have been that the holes would allow the evil spirits to leave the
“possessed” person. In
later medieval societies exorcisms were performed, usually by a
priest. This was a nonin-
vasive way to drive the evil spirits out from the possessed
individual. These became more

common in the 1600s. Exorcisms, although rare, are still
performed today.
© Heritage Images/Corbis
In ancient Roman times, attending gladiator fights was a
common form of entertainment.
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Theories
Figure 1.1: Trepanning
Skull
Trephine
Hole made
by trepanning
Note the holes bored into the skull.
The first physiology-based explanations for mental illness were
provided in ancient
Greece by Hippocrates (460–377 BCE), the father of modern
medicine. Hippocrates
viewed abnormal behavior—and physical illnesses in general—
as having internal causes.
Specifically, he believed that the body contained four fluids, or
humors (yellow bile, black
bile, blood, and phlegm), that must be kept in adequate balance
to maintain health (it
must be noted that the theory was wrong about the cause of

diseases). His prescriptions
for the ill included rest, proper diet, sobriety, and exercise,
strategies that are still recom-
mended today. Hippocrates also believed that if you took care
of your body, your mind
would stay well.
Two Important Mental Health Reformers: 1700s–1800s
Philippe Pinel (1745–1826) was one of the early reformers in
the proper treatment of indi-
viduals with mental illnesses. Pinel, a Frenchman, advocated
that they be treated with
sympathy, compassion, and empathy and not with beatings and
torture. Dorothea Dix
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Theories
(1802–1887) helped to establish many state mental
hospitals in the United States during her nation-
wide campaign to reform treatments of the men-
tally ill. She was directly responsible for laws that
aimed to reform treatment of this population.
Psychoanalytic Theory: 1890s–1930s
While trephination dates back thousands of years,
the history of abnormal psychology realistically
dates back to 1895, when Sigmund Freud (1856–
1939), in collaboration with Josef Breuer (1842–
1925), published his first book, Studies in Hysteria.
(The first book Freud wrote alone was The Inter-
pretation of Dreams, published in 1900.) Sigmund

Freud was initially a researcher who studied the
reproductive systems of eels. In 1885, just before
he got married, he obtained a grant to go to Paris
to see the famous neurologist Jean Martin Charcot
(1825–1893). Charcot specialized in the study of
hysteria and susceptibility to hypnosis. From
his time with Charcot, Freud realized the power
that the mind could have over the body, and he
returned from Paris determined to make a name for himself in
the field of hypnosis. After
experimenting with hypnosis on his patients, Freud abandoned
this form of treatment as
it proved ineffective for many of them. He favored
treatment where the patient talked through his or
her problems, which he termed psychoanalysis.
Josef Breuer, a Viennese physician, treated patients
who suffered from hysteria. Breuer’s patients told
him that they had physical illnesses. However,
after examination, he discovered that they had
no physical symptoms. Breuer discovered that in
some cases his patients’ symptoms eased or dis-
appeared once they discussed the past with him
in a safe environment without censure and while
under hypnosis. Breuer and Freud discussed their
ideas, and Freud expanded on them and created
psychoanalytic theory, thus leading to an entire
movement that is still popular today. Freud’s
basic tenet was as follows: that unconscious pro-
cesses, motives, and urges are at the core of all of
our behaviors and difficulties.
How did Freud view abnormal behavior? Freud
saw adult human behavior as resulting from a
combination of the components of what he termed

the psyche, which consisted of three parts: the id,
the ego, and the superego (see Figure 1.2). The id
Everett Collection
Published in 1895, Studies in Hysteria by
Sigmund Freud and Josef Breuer marks the
history of abnormal psychology.
iStockphoto/Thinkstock
Josef Breuer discovered many of his
patients claimed to have a physical illness,
yet all symptoms disappeared once the
patients discussed their ailments in a safe
environment and were under hypnosis.
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Theories
is the primitive part of the personality that houses our
unconscious desires, wishes, and
basic innate drives such as sex and aggression. If these drives
are not satisfied, or if the
unconscious desires come into consciousness, anxiety can
result. The id is the only piece of
the psyche that is present at birth. The ego, which is partially
conscious and is the second
part of the psyche, does its best to control the id by trying to
“convince” it to delay gratifica-
tion until a reasonable solution to the drive reduction is found.
The id does not listen, as it
needs to be satisfied immediately regardless of the
consequences. The ego develops when

a child is between 1½ and 3 years old. Eventually the superego,
the final part of the psyche,
develops when a child is between 3 and 6 years old and enables
the individual to feel guilt
and have a conscience. The superego is also partially conscious,
and it helps the ego to
control the id’s desires. Even if the id’s urges are controlled by
the ego and the superego, its
desires still exist, driving behavior. Because these desires are so
strong, they cause anxiety
if they are unmet. According to psychoanalytic theory, this can
lead to abnormal behavior.
Figure 1.2: A schematic illustration of the personality
Id
Unconscious
Preconscious
Conscious
Ego Superego
Freud compared personality to an iceberg. A very small part is
conscious, a somewhat larger part is
preconscious (available to conscious awareness with some
mental effort), and the largest part of
personality is unconscious (unavailable to the individual
without massive psychoanalytic effort).
From: Steven Schwartz and James Johnson, Psychopathology of
childhood: A clinical-experimental
approach, p. 13, Pergamon Press, 1985. Reprinted by
permission.

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Theories
Freud and his followers also
looked at abnormal behavior in
other ways. For example, Freud
saw depression as anger turned
inward. He maintained that we
all have self-destructive tenden-
cies, but that they usually remain
repressed. Repression is an ego
defense mechanism that oper-
ates unconsciously. Repression
keeps certain ideas, impulses,
and memories from reaching
consciousness. If these ideas were
to surface, they would produce
anxiety and guilt, among other
feelings. However, when indi-
viduals are unable to express
their anger appropriately and turn it inward as a form of self-
punishment, this can lead
to depression.
Behaviorism: 1910s–1940s
Freud’s explanations for abnormal behavior varied somewhat
according to an individu-
al’s diagnosis; however, the explanations of two American
psychologists, John B. Watson
(1878–1958) and B. F. Skinner (1904–1990), stayed the same
regardless of the individual or

the diagnosis. These two posited that something in the
environment is always reinforcing
an individual’s aberrant behavior(s). In other words, the causal
factors are outside of the
individual. Behaviorists believe that only observable and
scientifically measurable behav-
iors are worth studying and investigating. Some behaviorists go
to more of an extreme,
stating that only physiological responses matter; consciousness
and any mental states are
not worth examining as they do not exist. (They have often been
called radical behaviorists.)
Let’s consider an example: A child is often disruptive in class,
screaming and throwing
objects. That child is usually sent to the principal’s office for
subsequent punishment. It
turns out that the child loves the attention he gets when he is
removed from class, as he
has no friends and is also ignored at home by his father. His
acting out is reinforced by the
attention he gets in the classroom and by getting sent to the
principal’s office. Perhaps you
can think of some celebrities whose behaviors are reinforced by
environmental actions
(gaining more attention and notoriety). Effective treatment,
therefore, always relies on
the manipulation of the environment in order to change the
individual’s behavior. In the
case of someone suffering from depression, for example,
Skinner would try to discover
what environmental factors were sustaining the depressive
symptoms and then help the
patient to eliminate those reinforcers, with little to no emphasis
on the person’s thoughts,
unconscious desires, and so on.

Kablonk/SuperStock
According to Freud, depression was a result of unrepressed
anger trapped inside rather than expressed outwardly.
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Theories
Cognitive Behaviorism: 1950s–1970s
Cognitive behaviorism is a psychotherapeutic method that alters
distorted attitudes by
identifying and replacing negative and inaccurate thoughts,
which will therefore lead to
behavioral changes. Albert Ellis (1913–2007) took a somewhat
unique approach to defin-
ing and treating abnormal behavior. He believed that we get
depressed and develop other
mental illnesses because of our faulty thinking. For example,
Ellis says that some people
set themselves up to fail because of “musterbation.” This means
that you create a series
of mental “musts” that are virtually impossible to satisfy, such
as “I must always do well
in all of my performances and always win the praise and
approval of others. If not, I’m
a failure.” This is an unrealistic expectation, and when it’s not
met, the individual gets
depressed and anxious or develops other problems. Ellis defined
an ABC model that
refers to the three components of how we experience and
interpret events in either a faulty
or a healthy manner. In this model, A is the activating event or
adversity, B is the belief

that follows, and C is the consequence. For example, let’s look
at a man who receives a
negative work evaluation (this is the A, activating event or
adversity). He then believes
that he is a failure (the B, or belief). The end result (or C,
consequence) is that the man now
feels anxious and depressed. Ellis created Rational Emotive
Behavior Therapy (REBT) to treat
people with problems resulting from such faulty thinking. It
works by helping patients
to replace their irrational responses to events
(the B or belief) with a more healthy and ratio-
nal interpretation (such as, in the case of the poor
job review, “I tried my best” or “I’m still learning
and will get better.”) REBT works well with anxi-
ety disorders and some mood disorders (such as
some depressive disorders); it does not work well
with lower-functioning individuals or with those
who are not very verbal (or verbally astute).
Albert Bandura (b. 1925) created social learning
theory, also known as modeling. Bandura postu-
lated that we could learn by observing the behav-
ior of others—whether in real life, on television,
or in the movies—and then copying, or model-
ing, those behaviors. Modeling is a very power-
ful form of learning. How did you learn to read,
ride a bicycle, or use a computer? Likely through
modeling! Therefore, abnormal behavior is easy
to explain from a modeling perspective. The indi-
vidual sees a model demonstrate a behavior and
either get rewarded for it or not, or get punished
for it. If the model is rewarded for the behavior,
the observer may think, “Hmm, he got rewarded,
maybe I should do the same.” Then the observer
copies what she sees and demonstrates the behav-

ior. Of course this seems (and is, to a degree) rather
Hemera/Thinkstock
Bandura’s theory of modeling posits
that we learn behavior by observing the
behavior of others. The child pictured
here is learning how to ride a bicycle by
modeling the behaviors of his father.
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Theories
simplistic, but, in addition to biological factors, this might help
to explain why certain
behaviors run in families. For example, if an individual was
abused as a child, he or she is
more likely to be an abuser as an adult.
Aaron Beck (b. 1921) developed the cognitive perspective
theory to examine the causes
of unipolar depression, known just as depression to most
people; this depression has
one “pole” or dysfunctional mood state. These individuals have
no history of mania and
revert to a normal mood state when the depression lifts. Bipolar
disorder has two poles
and two dysfunctional mood states—a manic state and
depression. The cognitive per-
spective attributes abnormal behavior to faulty thinking—that
is, to seeing life’s events in
a negative fashion. Having these negative thoughts will lead to
negative behavior, which

can lead to developing unipolar depression. According to Beck,
depression develops in
childhood and adolescence because of what he calls negative
schemas, or the tendency to
see the world pessimistically or negatively. A schema is defined
as the fundamental way
in which people process information, typically about themselves
(Gonca & Savasir, 2001).
Individuals acquire these negative schemas for a variety of
reasons: for example, the death
of a parent, repeated social rejection of peers, or one tragedy
after another. These schemas
are activated whenever the individual experiences a new
situation that is similar to the
conditions in which the negative schemas were learned. Beck
also notes that these indi-
viduals are prone to misinterpreting reality. Thus, they think
irrationally and may believe
that they are responsible for all of their family’s ills, that they
are totally worthless, and so
on. They may end up seeing themselves as hopeless and their
chances of future success as
limited or nonexistent.
These negative schemas and their accompanying cognitive
distortions support the nega-
tive triad. Beck explained this in the following fashion: First,
the person maintains a nega-
tive view of him- or herself (“Everything I touch is ruined.”).
The person also maintains
a negative view of the environment (“No one could possibly get
along with these room-
mates.”). Finally, the person has a negative view of the future
and sees things as hopeless
(“No matter what I do, things will always turn out bad for me,
so it is really hopeless to

even try.”). Individuals who follow this triad set themselves up
for failure and most likely
depression by adopting these schemas. If they experience stress
or disappointment, the
likelihood of becoming depressed increases. In effect, the
individual’s negative thoughts
lead to negative behaviors (Beck, 1976; Beck, Rush, Shaw, &
Emery, 1979).
Martin Seligman (b. 1942), a professor of psychology at the
University of Pennsylvania
(where Beck also taught), was inspired by Beck’s work and
developed a theory of learned
helplessness as it applies to depression. Again, keep in mind
that even though we are
specifically discussing depression, these theories can explain
other mental illnesses, but
not all. Seligman sees individuals developing depression, or
perhaps anxiety disorders,
because they see themselves as helpless to control the
reinforcers in their environment,
and therefore the environment itself; they cannot make positive
changes in their lives. If
individuals are consistently experiencing bad incidents (for
example, they might say that
they are having a bad month), Seligman would say that
eventually the individuals will
resign themselves to the negativity as “fate.” Avoidance and
escape behaviors then disap-
pear and individuals see themselves as helpless to escape,
prisoners of their environments
and of their situations. Seligman and his colleagues later
revised this theory and renamed
it the reformulated helplessness theory.
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Theories
The initial theory had two major
problems. First, the original the-
ory does not distinguish between
cases in which outcomes are
uncontrollable for all people
(called universal helplessness) and
cases in which they are uncon-
trollable only for some people
(called personal helplessness). Sec-
ond, the theory does not explain
when helplessness is general
and when it is specific, or when
it is chronic and when it is acute.
The reformulation was based on
a revised concept of attribution
theory (Abramson, Seligman,
& Teasdale, 1987; Taube-Schiff
& Lau, 2008). According to this
revision, once people perceive
that they lack control over outcomes, they attribute their
helplessness to a cause. This cause
can be stable or unstable, global or specific, and internal or
external.
Humanism: 1950s
Carl Rogers (1902–1987) created the client- or person-centered
approach. Rogers believed
in the innate goodness of all people, and in the ability of all
people to grow and to lead

constructive lives. Rogers theorized that dys-
function begins in infancy. Children who receive
unconditional positive regard—when one person
is completely accepting toward another person—
from their parents early in life will grow up to
become constructive and productive adults, even
though they will have flaws. They will realize
that they and their contributions are valued even
with these flaws. In Rogerian therapy, clients
attempt to look at themselves as being valuable
worthwhile human beings. Those who have low
self-esteem may be seen as being incongruent, or
experiencing a mismatch between their idealized
self-image and their true self-image. When this
occurs anxiety and other issues result, and it is
the therapist’s job, first, to be a model of congru-
ence and empathize with the client. Then, the
therapist will help the individual become con-
gruent and to effectively feel better about him- or
herself.
For a summary of all of the main theories and theo-
rists in psychology’s history, see Table 1.1.
RubberBall/SuperStock
Children who receive unconditional
positive regard from their parents early in
life will grow up to become constructive
and productive adults, even though they
will have flaws.
SuperStock
According to the reformulated helplessness theory, some
individuals develop depression or anxiety because they see
themselves as prisoners of fate, unable to control their negative
situations or environment.

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Theories
Table 1.1: The main theories and theorists in psychology’s
history
Psychologist Theory Explanation
Sigmund Freud
(1856–1939)
Psychoanalytic Theory Individuals develop neuroses because of
their
unresolved conflicts (repressed id impulses surfacing
and overwhelming the ego and superego) and
because of problems occurring during childhood.
Albert Bandura
(1925–)
Social Learning Theory
(Modeling)
Individuals learn based on what they observe others
(models) do in the world.
Albert Ellis
(1913–2007)
Rational Emotive
Behavior Therapy

Individuals develop disorders because of faulty
thinking.
Aaron Beck
(1921–)
Cognitive Perspective Individuals develop depression in
childhood and
adolescence because of the tendency to see the
world negatively.
Martin Seligman
(1942–)
Theory of Learned
Helplessness
Individuals develop disorders because they see
themselves as helpless to control the environment
around them. They therefore “give up” trying to
change their situation and “grin and bear it.”
Carl Rogers
(1902–1987)
Humanism Dysfunction begins in infancy. Children who receive
unconditional positive regard—when one person is
completely accepting toward another person—from
their parents early in life will grow up to become
constructive and productive adults, even though they
will have flaws.
The Diathesis-Stress Model
Next we will look at a model that straddles the two categories
of cognitive and biological

theories. The diathesis-stress model contends that behaviors are
a product of both genetics
(biology) and environmental stressors. This is an interactionist
model, which means that it
views abnormal behavior as originating from a combination of
genetic predisposition(s)
(the diathesis) set off, or “turned on” (like a light switch), by
environmental stressors
(Holmes & Rahe, 1967).
We can examine this more closely by using an example. Many
psychologists accept that
schizophrenia runs in families and, therefore, that it has a
genetic component. However,
this does not guarantee that individuals born into a family with
a history of mental illness
will have the disorder; it just means that they are more
vulnerable to developing it, or per-
haps another mental illness. They are essentially born with this
gene “switched off,” and
stress from the environment may or may not eventually “turn
on” the gene. For example,
let’s look at a young adult with a genetic predisposition for
schizophrenia who uses illicit
substances such as marijuana and heroin. Soon after the drugs’
effects have worn off, she
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Theories
begins to demonstrate schizo-
phrenic behaviors and thoughts.

This demonstrates how the
environment (the stress) turns
on the diathesis (the genetic pre-
disposition). If this individual
has strong support systems, the
diathesis is less likely to trigger
the switch, and the illness is less
likely to be expressed. This is a
useful theory for the following
reason: It removes some of the
responsibility from individuals
for contracting their illnesses.
It is not their fault, not a char-
acter flaw; it is just the fact that
they were born with this genetic
predisposition.
Biological Models: 1950s–Present
The field of psychology reached a major milestone in the early
1950s when Henry Laborit
(1914–1955) introduced a drug, Thorazine (generically known
as chlorpromazine). This
medication was initially used to tranquilize surgical patients,
but Laborit noticed that it
also managed to calm patients without putting them to sleep.
Since patients with schizo-
phrenia often exhibit perpetual agitated behavior, Laborit
proposed using the drug to treat
schizophrenic disorders. Many psychiatrists thought that his
idea had no merit and stood
by the practices of using electroshock therapy or psychotherapy
to treat serious mental ill-
nesses. However, a fellow surgeon
informed his brother-in-law, the
psychiatrist Pierre Deniker, about
this possible use of Thorazine.

Deniker became interested and
ordered some to try on his most
agitated, uncontrollable patients.
The results stunned Deniker and
his colleagues, as patients who
needed to be restrained or who
were uncommunicative were
now open to communication and
could be left unsupervised. The
field of psychopharmacology
(the study of the effect of drugs
on the mind and behavior) was
unofficially born, and the nature
of mental illness treatment was
changed forever.
Universal Images Group/SuperStock
In the diathesis-stress model, stressors like the pressure to
perform and the tendency to binge drink in college can trigger
the genetic predisposition to become an alcoholic.
Peter Sickles/SuperStock
Research in the early 1950s revealed that drugs commonly
used during medical procedures could also be used to treat
mental illness.
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Theories
How do these psychotropic medications generally work? They
increase or decrease levels
of various neurotransmitters, brain chemicals that are presumed

to be either at subnormal
or supernormal levels in an individual with a mental illness (see
Table 1.2 for a list of com-
mon neurotransmitters). Most frequently, psychotropic
medications are used to increase
levels of the neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine,
which have been implicated
in a variety of mental illnesses. For example, serotonin
deficiencies have been implicated
in depression as well as in bulimia nervosa, and high dopamine
levels have been tied
to schizophrenia. We’ll discuss these associations in more detail
in Chapters 6, 7, and 8,
respectively.
Table 1.2: Some common neurotransmitters
Acetylcholine (ACH): Triggers muscle contractions; involved
with muscle movement, memory, anger,
and aggression.
Dopamine: Involved with muscle movement, mood, motivation,
and reward-seeking behavior; also
involved with Parkinson’s disease; hypothesized to be involved
with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
Gamma-Amino Butyric Acid (GABA): Involved with movement
and anxiety; involved with anxiety
disorders (too little causes anxiety) and seizure disorder.
Glutamate: Involved with memory and learning; hypothesized to
be involved with schizophrenia and
some substance-related disorders.
Norepinephrine: Involved with stress, alertness, arousal, and
reward-seeking behavior; hypothesized

to be involved with anxiety and mood disorders.
Serotonin: Regulates mood, sex drive, appetite, body
temperature, and sleep; involved with
depression, eating disorders; may be involved with
schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and anxiety
disorders.
The advent of psychotropic medications also led to some other
changes in treatment for
the mentally ill. For example, some of these individuals could
now be released from inpa-
tient units and be treated on an outpatient basis, freeing up
facility beds and allowing the
patients to lead more normal lives.
Today, a number of mental illnesses are treated with a
combination of talk therapy and
medications. Medications work well (for some) in alleviating
the symptoms of some men-
tal illnesses, but they do not eliminate all of the concerns that
bring someone in for treat-
ment. They also can produce side effects, some of which are
quite significant, and some
classes of medications have addictive potential. Therefore,
medications should not be
viewed as panaceas or be used as the sole treatment for a
mentally ill person; neverthe-
less, they should be used when advisable in conjunction with
therapy.
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CHAPTER 1Section 1.3 The DSM–5

Highlight: Do I Have a Mental Illness?
Have you ever felt sad or lonely and sat down in front of the
television with a pint of ice cream
to make yourself feel better? Did you feel like throwing up
afterwards? Does this mean that you
have bulimia nervosa? Does it mean you are depressed? If you
are like many students, you may be
tempted to self-diagnose your own behaviors as you learn about
the disorders that will be described
in the remainder of this book.
It may be that you are neither bulimic nor depressed, but you
may have another condition: medical
student syndrome (sometimes called medical school syndrome),
wherein medical students often begin
to believe that they are suffering from the disease they are
studying. Consider that everyone overeats
at some point in their lives, and everyone has days, perhaps
many in a row, where they feel blue or
depressed. We are all human and, like all humans, we have good
days and bad days, and the bad days
may sometimes include behaviors that could be mistaken for
mental illness symptoms. However, rest
assured that the diagnostic criteria in the DSM–5 (American
Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013) require,
in most instances, a duration of several months to at least two
years before any diagnosis can be made.
If your behaviors are brief and occur only occasionally, you are
probably acting “normally” and have little
to worry about. You will learn more about symptoms and
diagnosis of disorders in later chapters. If after
reading more, you still think you may be suffering from mental
illness, by all means, we encourage you
to seek help. (One resource is the National Alliance on Mental

Illness: http://www.nami.org/).
1.3 The DSM–5
The classification system to which psychologists and other
helping professionals refer
when making diagnoses concerning mental health issues is the
Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM–5; APA,
2013). This manual has always been
published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and
covers all defined mental
illnesses in both children and adults that were known at the time
of publication. The book
lists symptoms and signs that can help categorize the various
illnesses. Symptoms are the
patient’s subjective description of the complaints that they may
have, while signs are gen-
erally objective observations made by the diagnostician, either
from an interview or some
type of test that is given to the patient.
The Evolution of the DSM
The DSM was first published in 1952 and has undergone several
revisions since that time.
The sole purpose of the DSM was to classify and provide a
descriptive explanation for all
known mental disorders. The first version was 132 pages long,
listed 106 disorders, and
offered concise descriptions of major psychiatric diagnoses.
This inventory was an impor-
tant advancement in the field of psychology and led to greater
reliability of mental illness
diagnoses because all researchers began to use the same criteria.
The second edition was
published in 1968 and included 182 disorders, yet it was quite
similar to the DSM–I. Both

the DSM–I and DSM–II emphasized the psychodynamic
(Freudian) perspective, yet the
DSM–II included sociological and biological knowledge about
each disorder as well.
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http://www.nami.org/
The third edition of the DSM was published in 1980 and was
494 pages long—quite a bit
longer than the first edition. This edition included many
important changes. For exam-
ple, it addressed the fact that the first two editions neglected
extraneous factors, such as
medical conditions, environmental concerns, and life stressors,
that may play a part in
the development of mental illnesses. The DSM–III, unlike the
DSM–I and DSM–II, was
based on scientific evidence. Its reliability was improved with
the addition of explicit
diagnostic criteria. In short, the third edition acknowledged that
many disorders do not
have a single cause but are triggered by the cumulative effect of
multiple factors (Mayes
& Horwitz, 2005).
The third edition also introduced a new multiaxial system where
disorders were evalu-
ated on five different axes. Many of the disorders that are listed
in the DSM–III have
a high level of co-occurrence with other disorders. This is
called co-morbidity (Fowler,

O’Donohue & Lilienfeld, 2007). However, the idea of co-
morbidity may not be accurate
according to Drake and Wallach (2007) who feel that, rather
than distinct conditions,
many disorders could be a variation of a single underlying
disorder.
Because of some inconsistencies in the criteria of some
disorders, the APA issued a revi-
sion of the DSM–III in 1987 and named it the DSM–III–R. This
edition increased the cov-
erage of psychopathologies. The next major revision of the
DSM took place in 1994 with
the publication of the DSM–IV, which had 943 pages and
covered 373 different diagnoses
(APA, 2000). Additional revisions were published in 2000 that
included some corrections
and updates to the content; this was called the DSM–IV–TR
(Text Revision). The latest
major revision is called the DSM-5 (APA, 2013). Table 1.3
summarizes the DSM series up
to and including the DSM-IV-TR. To give you an idea how
diagnostic criteria appear in
the DSM–5, refer to Table 1.4, which shows the diagnostic
criteria for bulimia nervosa.
Highlight: Removing Disorders From the DSM
Did you know that until the DSM–III was published in 1980,
homosexuality was considered to be a
mental illness/mental disorder? The DSM task force decided to
eliminate homosexuality in December
1973; this took place with the seventh printing of the DSM–II
(1974). Technically, however, homosexu-
ality was not completely removed (i.e., not mentioned at all)
until the DSM–III was published. Also,

did you know that Asperger’s syndrome (a pervasive
developmental disorder that is a higher function-
ing form of autism) has now been reclassified as an Autism
Spectrum Disorder? If nothing else, these
changes show how our views of what constitutes mental illness,
how it is defined, and what each
diagnosis entails, have changed over the years. What are your
views on this?
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Table 1.3: Summary of the DSM series from DSM-I through
DSM-IV-TR
Version Year Published Length/# of Diagnoses
Description/Changes
DSM–I 1952 132 pages/106
diagnoses
Concise descriptions of major
psychiatric diagnoses
DSM–II 1968 136 pages/182
diagnoses
Increased attention given to problems
of children and adolescents with
addition of Behavior Disorders of
Childhood-Adolescence
DSM–III 1980 494 pages/265

diagnoses
Addressed the role of extraneous
factors, such as medical conditions
and life stressors, that may play a role
in mental illness; introduced the new
multiaxial system
DSM–III–R 1987 567 pages/ 292
diagnoses
Increased coverage of
psychopathologies
DSM–IV 1994 943 pages/373
diagnoses
Included new clinically significant
criteria in almost half the categories
DSM–IV–TR 2000 943 pages/373
diagnoses
Some information updated
Source: Adapted from Andreasen and Black (2006).
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Table 1.4: How the DSM–5 summary table appears for bulimia
nervosa

DSM–5 Diagnostic Criteria for Bulimia Nervosa (307.51)
A. Recurrent episodes of binge eating. An episode of binge
eating is characterized by both of the
following:
1. Eating, in a discrete period of time (e.g., within any 2 hour
period), an amount of food that
is definitely larger than most people would eat during a similar
period of time under similar
circumstances.
2. A sense of lack of control over eating during the episode
(e.g., a feeling that one cannot stop
eating or control what or how much one is eating).
B. Recurrent inappropriate compensatory behavior in order to
prevent weight gain, such as self-
induced vomiting; misuse of laxatives, diuretics, or other
medications; fasting; or excessive exercise.
C. The binge eating and inappropriate compensatory behaviors
both occur, on average, at least once a
week for 3 months.
D. Self-evaluation is unduly influenced by body shape and
weight.
E. The disturbance does not occur exclusively during episodes
of anorexia nervosa.
Specify if:
In partial remission: After full criteria for bulimia nervosa were
previously met, some, but not all, of
the criteria have been met for a sustained period of time.

In full remission: After full criteria for bulimia nervosa were
previously met, none of the criteria
have been met for a sustained period of time.
Specify current severity:
The minimum level of severity is based on the frequency of
inappropriate compensatory behaviors
(see below). The level of severity may be increased to reflect
other symptoms and the degree of
functional disability.
Mild: An average of 1–3 episodes of inappropriate
compensatory behaviors per week.
Moderate: An average of 4–7 episodes of inappropriate
Severe: An average of 8–13 episodes of inappropriate
Extreme: An average of 14 or more episodes of inappropriate
Source: American Psychiatric Association (APA, 2013, p. 345)
How Do We Use the DSM–5?
The DSM–5 describes mental disorders and their symptoms and
gives statistics and gen-
der breakdowns for each disorder. This common diagnostic and
classification system pro-
vides a way for mental health professionals to communicate
with each other about spe-
cific disorders. The DSM–5 gives psychologists and other
helping professionals a common
communication system, where mental disorders and diagnostic
criteria remain the same
regardless of specialty area. Communicating a diagnosis about a

patient to another mental
health professional in a succinct manner is important in trying
to get the patient the help
that he/she needs (Blashfield & Burgess, 2007). Using a
standardized method of diagnosis
leads to a better understanding of disorders and, as a
consequence, better treatment.
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There must be a high degree of reliability when a standardized
classification system is
used. Reliability refers to the consistency of the diagnostic
system. Interrater reliability
means that a test will have the same or similar results when
used by different people.
The validity of a classification system, that is, the measurement
or accuracy of the informa-
tion in the diagnostic categories, is also clearly important. In
other words, does the test
measure or predict what it is supposed to? If it does, then we
can say that the assessment
technique is valid. For example, does an intelligence test really
measure intelligence? It
may measure “book smarts” but not “street smarts,” which is a
type of intelligence.
The number of disorders now listed in the DSM–5 may make it
easier to diagnose more
individuals as having disorders. Although this results in several
more types of mental

illnesses, they are more distinct from each other now than they
were several years ago.
Nevertheless, the problem remains: How do you diagnose
someone who meets only
three of the four required symptoms of a disorder? For example,
someone who is anx-
ious also commonly suffers from depression. That means that
this particular individual
will now have two different diagnostic labels—not just a single
one that may encompass
both aspects of the individual’s disorder.
The Medical Model
All mental illnesses described in the DSM–5 are seen as having
similar symptoms in
common within each diagnostic category and subcategory. For
example, all individuals
suffering from bulimia nervosa will demonstrate binging
behaviors as well as recurrent
inappropriate compensatory behaviors (self-induced vomiting,
abuse of laxatives, fasting,
and so on). The mental illnesses listed in the DSM–5 are seen as
being similar to physical
diseases (i.e., all influenzas have the same general symptoms,
all bronchial pneumonias
have similar symptoms), hence the term medical model. In
addition there is thought to be
a physiological basis or cause for the individual’s problem(s).
Those who endorse the
medical model consider symptoms to be visible signs of the
physical disorder. Therefore
if symptoms are grouped together and classified into a disorder
such as bulimia nervosa,
the true cause can eventually be discovered and appropriate
physical treatment admin-
istered. The behaviors that one demonstrates (hallucinations,

depressed mood, fear of
heights, and so on) are considered to be symptoms of a mental
illness. The symptoms
are clustered together to define various mental illnesses.
Therefore, when psychologists
attempt to diagnose a new patient, they will look at symptoms
and see into which DSM–5
category the symptoms fit. This is critical because it allows the
helping professions to have
a common language in which to communicate.
We would like to conclude with this thought: Many students,
when they first encoun-
ter the DSM–5, have the following reaction, “Well, where does
this book tell me how to
treat this complicated disorder?” The DSM–5 does not include
treatment information; it
is only, as its title states, a diagnostic manual that describes the
disorders. Psychologists
and others in the helping professions learn how to treat mental
illnesses by direct practice,
classwork, and, of course, studying and reading. We will
discuss how to treat the most
commonly presented mental illnesses in the remainder of this
book.
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CHAPTER 1Chapter Summary
Chapter Summary
How Do We Define Abnormal Behavior?

• The statistical frequency perspective labels behavior as
abnormal if it occurs
rarely in relation to the behavior of the general population.
• The social norms perspective considers behavior to be
abnormal if the behavior
deviates greatly from accepted social standards, values, or
norms.
• The maladaptive perspective views behavior as abnormal if it
interferes with the
individual’s ability to function in life or in society.
A History of Abnormal Behavior Theories
• During ancient times, mental illness was explained as the
presence of “evil spir-
its” within the body of the ill person. One method for treating
mental illness was
trepanning, in which a small instrument was used to bore holes
in the skull to
allow the evil spirits to leave the “possessed” person.
• Hippocrates noted a connection between abnormal behavior
and internal, physi-
ological causes.
• Sigmund Freud and Josef Breuer noticed that some of their
patients presented
physiological symptoms while having no physiological
problems. Freud realized
that one way to help these individuals was via psychoanalysis,
or talk therapy.
• Freud’s theory includes the ideas of repression and the psyche,
which consists of

the id, ego, and superego; this theory emphasizes the
importance of examining
people’s unconscious minds.
• B. F. Skinner and John Watson believed that abnormal
behavior was environ-
mentally caused, as an individual’s behavior was reinforced in
the environment,
therefore making it more likely to recur.
• Albert Ellis, Albert Bandura, Aaron Beck, and Martin
Seligman believed that
a person’s thoughts (irrational, maladaptive, or otherwise) lead
to, or cause, a
person’s aberrant or abnormal behaviors. Bandura believed that
a person learns
abnormal behaviors by watching others perform them, and then
the individual
reproduces (or “models”) what he or she sees.
• Carl Rogers believed that all humans are innately good and
that problems arise
when an individual is incongruent, that is, experiencing a
mismatch between
their idealized self-image and their true self-image.
• The diathesis-stress model posits that abnormal behavior
originates from a com-
bination of genetic factors (the diathesis) triggered or “turned
on” (like a light
switch) by environmental stressors.
• Biological models view mental illness as having biological
origins, specifically
neurotransmitter levels being too low or too high. Medications
are often used to

treat mental illnesses in this model.
The DSM–5
• The DSM–5 describes mental disorders, their signs and
symptoms, and gives
statistics and gender breakdowns for each disorder.
• The medical model views all mental illnesses described in the
DSM–5 as having
similar symptoms in common within each diagnostic category
and subcategory.
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CHAPTER 1Key Terms
Critical Thinking Questions
1. What criteria would you use to determine whether someone’s
behavior is abnor-
mal or not?
2. Discuss whether social norms should be used to
determine/diagnose mental
illness.
3. Behaviorists like Skinner focus on the present, not on the
past or on a person’s
upbringing. How successful would this approach be in
psychotherapy, and why?
4. Which of the theories mentioned in this chapter do you think
best explains the

origins of mental illness? Why?
5. What are your views on Rogers’s concept of innate goodness?
Do you think
people are innately good or bad?
6. What are the pros and cons of using medications to treat
mental illnesses?
Key Terms
ABC model A model of three components
of how we experience and interpret events:
A, the activating event or adversity; B, the
belief that follows; and C, the consequence.
age of onset The age at which the trouble-
some behaviors first become noticeable.
behaviorists Psychologists who believe
that only observable and scientifically
measurable behaviors are worth studying
and investigating.
bipolar disorder A disorder with two
poles and two dysfunctional mood states—
a manic state and a depressed state.
cognitive behaviorism A psychotherapeu-
tic method that alters distorted attitudes
by identifying and replacing negative and
inaccurate thoughts, which will therefore
lead to behavioral changes.
cognitive perspective theory Aaron
Beck’s theory that abnormal behavior is

caused by faulty thinking such as viewing
life events in a negative fashion.
diathesis-stress model A model that
contends behaviors are a product of both
genetics (biology) and environmental
stressors.
duration The length of time the trouble-
some behaviors have existed for a patient.
eccentric Individuals who have odd or
unusual habits but do not have a mental
illness.
ego A partially conscious part of the
psyche (which develops when an infant is
between 1½ and 3 years old) that seeks to
control the id by “convincing” it to delay
gratification until a reasonable solution to
the drive reduction is found.
id The primitive part of the personality,
present from birth, that houses our uncon-
scious desires, wishes, and our basic innate
drives such as sex and aggression.
intensity How extreme the behaviors in
question are.
learned helplessness Seligman’s theory
that individuals develop depression
or anxiety disorders because they see
themselves as helpless to control their
environments.

legal norms Rules for behavior based on
society’s laws.
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CHAPTER 1Key Terms
maladaptive perspective Behavior is
deemed abnormal if it interferes with the
individual’s ability to function.
medical student syndrome Syndrome
where medical students begin to believe
they are suffering from the disease they are
studying.
modeling The idea that we can learn by
observing the behavior of others.
negative schema A view of the world that
is negative or pessimistic. Beck believed
this to be the cause of depression.
neurotransmitters Brain chemicals; they
are presumed to be at subnormal or super-
normal levels in individuals with mental
disorders.
norms Spoken and unspoken rules for
proper conduct that are established by a
society over time and of course are subject
to changes over time.
overt behaviors Behaviors that are on the

surface or clearly visible to others.
psyche In Freudian theory, this consists
of three parts: the id, the ego, and the
superego.
psychoanalytic theory The set of concepts
that state individuals develop neuroses
because of their unresolved conflicts,
repressed id impulses surfacing and
overwhelming the ego and superego, and
problems that occurred during childhood.
psychological norms Rules for behavior
as codified in the DSM–5.
psychopathology The study of the causes
and development of psychiatric disorders.
psychopharmacology The study of the
treatment of mental illnesses with drugs
and medication.
reformulated helplessness theory
Revised version of the helplessness theory
that differentiates between universal and
personal helplessness, as well as between
helplessness that is general or specific.
repression An ego defense mechanism
that operates unconsciously to keep certain
ideas, impulses, and memories from reach-
ing consciousness.
social norms perspective Behavior is
deemed abnormal according to the stan-

dards set by society
statistical frequency perspective Behav-
ior is deemed abnormal because it occurs
rarely or in only a small minority of the
population.
superego The final part of the psyche; it
develops when a child is between 3 and
6 years old and enables the individual
to feel guilt and have a conscience. The
superego is partially conscious and helps
the ego to control the id’s desires.
trepanning A process in which a small
instrument is used to bore holes into
the skull; the purpose may have been
to release evil spirits from an afflicted
person.
unconditional positive regard When one
person is completely accepting toward
another person. Carl Rogers believed that
people who receive unconditional posi-
tive regard from their parents early in life
will grow up to become constructive and
productive adults.
unipolar depression Known just as
depression to most people; this depres-
sion has one “pole” or dysfunctional
mood state.
get81325_01_c01.indd 24 12/5/13 4:00 PM

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