Summary
Highlights
Abnormal behavior is not defined by a single standard of normality. It involves psychological dysfunction in cognitive, emotional, and behavioral aspects that deviate from societal or cultural norms. This dysfunction can lead to impairment in relationships, work, and daily routines, causing psychological distress. Factors like dysfunction, distress, impairment, and atypical responses are considered. The definition of psychological dysfunction changes over time with societal shifts.
Psychological disorders are diagnosed using the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual), currently in its fifth version, which provides diagnostic criteria and symptoms. Psychopathology is the scientific study of psychological disorders. Mental health professionals include clinical and counseling psychologists (PhD/PsyD), psychiatrists (MD, who can prescribe medication), psychiatric nurses, and psychiatric social workers.
Mental health professionals function as scientist-practitioners, consuming, evaluating, and creating scientific knowledge. They must stay current with research to ensure effective treatment methods and actively contribute to the field through their own research.
When describing a disorder, mental health professionals start with the 'presenting problem' (symptoms like anxiety or relationship issues). They assess the prevalence of the issue, its onset (acute or insidious), its course (episodic, time-limited, or chronic), and its prognosis (likelihood of recovery). The etiology, or cause, of the disorder, considering nature vs. nurture, is also crucial for determining treatment.
Historically, abnormal behavior has been explained through three dominant traditions: supernatural, biological, and psychological. These explanations and treatments have varied significantly across cultures and time periods.
The supernatural tradition viewed deviant behavior as a battle between good and evil, attributing it to demonic possession, witchcraft, or sorcery, often leading to treatments like exorcisms, torture, or religious services. Phenomena like mass hysteria and the belief in lunar influences (lunacy) were also part of this tradition.
The biological tradition, influenced by figures like Galen and Hippocrates, proposed the humoral theory, linking functioning to imbalances of four bodily fluids. Treatments involved environmental changes, vomiting, or bloodletting. In the 19th century, syphilis was linked to madness, suggesting mental illness as a physical condition, which led to treatments like penicillin. John Gray championed this tradition, advocating for better hospital care. Earlier treatments also included electric shock, surgery, insulin injections, and tranquilizers.
The psychological tradition saw the rise of moral therapy in the 19th century, advocating for humane treatment of patients in normal environments to improve their psychological and emotional well-being. Proponents like Dorothea Dix and Benjamin Rush led reforms in mental hygiene and asylum care. However, moral therapy declined due to growing patient populations and led to alternative psychological methods.
Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic perspective focused on the unconscious mind as the source of psychological issues, emphasizing catharsis and personality development shaped by age five. He introduced the concepts of the Id (desire for pleasure), Ego (reality-based mediator), and Superego (moral principles). Freud also described defense mechanisms (e.g., displacement, denial, rationalization) as the ego's way to manage anxiety and proposed psychosexual stages of development (oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital). Other psychoanalysts like Anna Freud and Neo-Freudians explored ego psychology, object relations, and social factors beyond sexual drives.
Psychoanalytic therapy often involves long-term treatment, free association, and phenomena like transference and countertransference. However, there's limited evidence for the efficacy of the 'talking cure.' Humanistic theory, championed by Abraham Maslow (hierarchy of needs) and Carl Rogers (empathy, acceptance, authenticity for self-actualization), views people as inherently good and striving for personal growth. Person-centered therapy focuses on empathy and unconditional positive regard but also lacks strong evidence for curing mental disorders, being more suited for normal life stressors.
The behavioral perspective takes a scientific approach, rooted in classical conditioning (Pavlov, Watson) and operant conditioning (rewards and punishments). Joseph Wolpe's systematic desensitization for phobias is an example. Behavioral therapy is time-directed and evidence-based, showing clear results. The video concludes by emphasizing an integrative approach to psychopathology, acknowledging its complex, multifaceted, and evolving nature, requiring consideration of neuroscience, cognitive science, and developmental science.