CHAPTER 1: ABNORMAL BEHAVIOR IN
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
PSYCHOPATHOLOGY - is the scientific study of
psychological disorders.
CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY is an applied branch of
psychology that assess, diagnose, treat and prevent
mental disorders in clinical setting.
ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY – the branch of psychology
that studies unusual patterns of behaviors, emotions and
thought which may and may not indicate an underlying
condition. Or simply put, this fields studies all kinds of
behavior as long as they classified as abnormal.
WHAT IS ABNORMAL BEHAVIOR?
• bizarre behavior
• dangerous behavior
• shameful behavior
THREE PROPOSED DEFINITIONS OF ABNORMAL
BEHAVIOR:
1. CONFORMITY TO NORMS - is a definition of
abnormality where a person’s thinking or
behavior is classified as abnormal if it violates
the(unwritten) rules about what is expected or
acceptable behavior in a particular social group.
NORMS - are expected ways of behaving in a society
according to the majority and those members of a
society.
ADVANTAGE OF THIS DEFINITION
• Cutoff Points: The statistical infrequency
approach is appealing because it establishes
cutoff points that are quantitative in nature.
• Intuitive Appeal: It may seem obvious to us that
those behaviors we ourselves consider
abnormal would be evaluated similarly by
others.
DISADVANTAGE OF THIS DEFINITION
• Choice of Cut off Points: Conformity oriented
definitions are limited by the difficulty of
establishing agreed-upon cut off points.
• The Number of Deviations: Another difficulty
with nonconformity standards is the number of
behaviors that one must evidence in order to
earn the label "deviant.
• Cultural Relativity: what is deviant for one group is
not necessarily so for another. Thus, the notion of
cultural relativity is important.
2. SUBJECTIVE DISTRESS - The focus from the
perceptions of the observer to the perceptions of the
affected individual, the subjective feelings and sense of
wellbeing of the individual.
ADVANTAGE OF THIS DEFINITION
• this relieves the clinician of the burden of making an
absolute judgment as to the respondent's degree of
maladjustment.
• It seems reasonable to expect that individuals can
assess whether they are experiencing emotional or
behavioral problems and can share this information
when asked to do so.
DISADVANTAGE OF THIS DEFINITION
• The judgment will depend upon one criteria or
values.
• All of us become aware of our own anxieties from
time to time, so the total absence of such feelings
cannot be the sole criterion of adjustment.
• There is a certain charm to the idea that if we want
to know whether a person is maladjusted, we
should ask that person, but there are obvious
pitfalls in doing so.
3. PSYCHOLOGICAL DYSFUNCTION - For behavior to be
considered abnormal, it must create some degree of
social (interpersonal) or occupational problems for
the individual.
ADVANTAGE OF THIS DEFINITION
• Perhaps the greatest advantage to adopting this
definition of abnormal behavior is that relatively
little inference is required. Problems in both the
social and occupational sphere often prompt
individuals to seek out treatment. It is often the case
that individuals come to realize the extent of their
emotional problems when these problems affect
their family or social relationships as well as
significantly affect their performance at either work
or school.
DISADVANTAGE OF THIS DEFINITION
• Who should establish the standards for social or
occupational dysfunction?
• Judgments regarding both social and occupational
functioning are relative-----not absolute----- and
involve value-oriented standards.
SO, WHAT IS REALLY ABNORMAL?
• is possible only with reference to a set of value
judgments.
