Type:
Solution Manual
Resource:
Abnormal Psychology in a Changing World
Edition:
9th Edition
Author(s):
Jeffrey S. Nevid Spencer A. Rathus Beverly S. Greene
CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION AND METHODS OF RESEARCH Learning Objectives 1.1 Define the term psychological disorder. 1.2 Identify criteria professionals use to determine whether behavior is abnormal. 1.3. Apply these criteria to case examples discussed in the text. 1.4 Describe the cultural bases of abnormal behavior. 1.5 Describe the historical changes that have occurred in conceptualizations and treatment of abnormal behavior through the course of Western culture. 1.6 Describe the major contemporary perspectives on abnormal behavior. 1.7 Identify the objectives of science and the steps in the scientific method. 1.8 Identify the ethical principles that guide research in psychology. 1.9 Describe the major types of research methods scientists use to study abnormal behavior and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of these methods. 1.10 Apply key features of critical thinking to the study of abnormal behavior. Chapter Outline I. How Do We Define Abnormal Behavior? A. Criteria for Determining Abnormality B. Cultural Biases of Abnormal Behavior II. Historical Perspectives on Abnormal Behavior A. The Demonological Model B. Origins of the Medical Model: In "Ill Humor" C. Medieval Times D. Witchcraft E. Asylums F. The Reform Movement and Moral Therapy G. A Step Backward H. The Role of the Mental Hospital Today I. The Community Mental Health Movement J. Deinstitutionalization and the Psychiatric Homeless Population K. Deinstitutionalization: A Promise as Yet Unfulfilled III. Contemporary Perspectives on Abnormal Behavior A. The Biological Perspective B. The Psychological Perspective C. The Sociocultural Perspective D. The Biopsychosocial Perspective IV. Research Methods in Abnormal Psychology A. Description, Explanation, Prediction, and Control: The Objectives of Science B. The Scientific Method C. Ethics in Research D. Naturalistic Observation E. The Correlational Method . 1
F. The Experimental Method G. Epidemiological Studies H. Kinship Studies I. Case Studies V. Summing Up Chapter Overview How Do We Define Abnormal Behavior? Various criteria are used to define abnormal behavior. Psychologists generally consider behavior abnormal when it meets some combination of the following criteria: (1) unusual or infrequent; (2) socially unacceptable or in violation of social norms; (3) fraught with misperceptions or misinterpretations of reality; (4) associated with states of severe personal distress; (5) maladaptive or self-defeating; and (6) dangerous. The determination of which behavior patterns are deemed abnormal depends on cultural beliefs and expectations. Concepts of health and illness may also have different meanings in different cultures. Abnormal behavior patterns may take different forms in different cultures, and societal views of abnormal behavior vary across cultures. Historical Perspectives on Abnormal Behavior Ancient societies attributed abnormal behavior to divine or supernatural forces. In medieval times, exorcists were used to rid people who behaved abnormally of the evil spirits that were believed to possess them. There were some authorities in ancient times, such as the Greek physicians Hippocrates and Galen, who believed that abnormal behavior reflected natural causes. The nineteenth century German physician Wilhelm Griesinger argued that abnormal behavior was caused by diseases of the brain. Along with Emil Kraeplin, another German physician who followed him, Griesinger was influential in the development of the modern medical model, which likens abnormal behavior patterns to physical illnesses. Asylums, or "madhouses," began to crop up throughout Europe in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, often on the site of former leprosariums. Conditions in these asylums were dreadful and in some, such as the Bethlehem Hospital in England, a circus atmosphere prevailed. With the rise of moral therapy in the nineteenth century, largely spearheaded by the Frenchmen Jean-Baptiste Pussin and Phillipe Pinel, conditions in mental hospitals improved. Proponents of moral therapy believed that mental patients could be restored to functioning if they were treated with dignity and understanding. The decline of moral therapy in the latter part of the nineteenth century led to a period of apathy and to the belief that the "insane" could not be successfully treated. Conditions in mental hospitals deteriorated, and the hospitals offered little more than custodial care. In the middle of the twentieth century, public outrage and concern about the plight of mental patients mobilized legislative efforts toward the development of community mental health centers as alternatives to long-term hospitalization. This movement toward deinstitutionalization was spurred by the introduction of psychoactive drugs called phenothiazines, which curbed the more flagrant features of schizophrenia. Research Methods in Abnormal Psychology The scientific approach focuses on four general objectives: description, explanation, prediction, and control. There are four steps to the scientific method: formulating a research question, framing the . 2
research question in the form of a hypothesis, testing the hypothesis, and drawing conclusions about the correctness of the hypothesis. Psychologists follow the ethical principles that govern research with human and nonhuman subjects. Two of the key ethical provisions guiding research with human participants are informed consent and confidentiality.
Research samples need to be representative of the target population. The naturalistic observation method allows scientists to measure behavior under naturally occurring conditions. Correlational research explores the relationship between variables, which may help predict future behavior and suggest possible underlying causes of behavior. But correlational research does not directly test cause-and-effect relationships. Longitudinal research is a type of correlational design that involves the study of selected subjects at periodic intervals over long periods, sometimes spanning decades. In the experimental method, the investigator directly controls or manipulates the independent variable under controlled conditions in order to demonstrate cause-and-effect relationships. Experiments use random assignment as the basis for determining which subjects (called experimental subjects) receive an experimental treatment and which others (called control subjects) do not. Researchers use various methods, including single-blind placebo-control studies, double-blind placebo-control studies, and attention-placebo control studies to attempt to control for subjects' and researchers' expectations. Experiments are evaluated in terms of their experimental validity. Internal validity refers to the ability of an experimental study to justify a cause-and-effect relationship between the independent and dependent variables. Internally valid studies control for possible confounds, or rival hypotheses. External validity refers to the degree to which experimental results can be generalized to other subjects, settings, and times. Construct validity refers to the degree to which treatment effects can be accounted for by the theoretical mechanisms, or constructs, that are represented by the independent variables. The epidemiological method examines the rates of occurrence of abnormal behavior in various population groups or settings. Evidence of how disorders cluster in certain groups or geographic areas may reveal underlying causes. Kinship studies attempt to disentangle the contributions of environment and heredity. Case-study methods can provide a richness of clinical material, but they are limited by difficulties of obtaining accurate and unbiased client histories, by possible therapist biases, and by the lack of control groups. Single-case experimental designs are intended to help researchers overcome some of the limitations of the case-study method. Lecture and Discussion Suggestions 1. New terms. A large number of new terms are introduced to students in this chapter. This may be a bit overwhelming to students so early in the class, yet many of the terms and concepts in this chapter form the backbone of the text. Providing students with a list of "key terms," having students find their definitions from the text, and then discussing the meanings of the definitions in class can help clarify many of these new terms for students. In a subsequent session, you may want to give a short quiz on the terms discussed during this exercise. The student study guide has several quizzes and exercises that students may use to facilitate learning these terms. 2. Discuss the ways in which the field of psychology and definitions of what is normal and abnormal reflect the political, social, and moral issues of the time. Over the last 200 years, the field of psychology has changed dramatically. Ideas of abnormality, definitions of mental illness, and which conditions are diagnosed have gone through considerable changes and will continue to do so in the future. For example, in the early 1800s, Dr. Samuel Cartwright defined two mental disorders that were unique to . 3
slaves. “Drapetomania,” meaning “flight-from-home mania,” was characterized by the presumably irrational urge to run away from slavery in the pursuit of freedom. The second disorder was named “Dysathesia Aethiopia,” and was diagnosed when a slave engaged in the following behaviors: destroying his or her owner’s property, being disobedient, fighting with one’s master, or refusing to comply with work demands. In the more recent past, “Homosexuality” was listed as a formal diagnosis in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), but in 1973, this diagnosis was dropped and is no longer officially defined as a form of mental illness. Controversy continues in the most recent versions of the DSM. Currently, the DSM has been criticized for its inclusion of disorders that characterize victims of abuse, such as Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), while offering few diagnoses for the perpetrators of many common forms of abuse and prejudice (e.g., racism, sexism, and homophobia). Ask students to reflect on the meaning of such changes and how political, social, and moral issues may both impact and be impacted by the field of psychology. 3. Explain the criteria for abnormal behavior. After stating that there is no clear and universally agreed-upon definition of normal or abnormal behavior, explain and illustrate each of the six criteria of abnormal behavior, which state that abnormal behavior is: (1) unusual, (2) socially unacceptable, (3) based on a misinterpretation or misperception of reality, (4) personally distressful, (5) maladaptive or selfdefeating, and (6) dangerous. Clinicians use a combination of these criteria to identify abnormal behavior, but are often hesitant to label someone as "abnormal" on the basis of first two criteria alone. For example, many behaviors are statistically unusual, but are not necessarily a sign of mental illness. Other behaviors may be socially unacceptable because they deviate from accepted social or cultural norms, not because the behavior itself is inherently "sick" or a sign of illness. Many behaviors considered "normal" in our culture are considered "abnormal" in other cultures, and vice versa. For example, have your students pick their own behaviors (e.g., flirting, praying, drinking alcohol, etc.), then have your students (maybe in groups of three) define these behaviors as being abnormal or normal based upon the six criteria of abnormal behavior. This is an excellent exercise to demonstrate how definitions of normal and abnormal are often untidy and inconsistent. 4. Distinguish between a "mental or psychological disorder" and abnormal behavior. According to the DSM-V, a mental disorder is a clinically significant behavioral or psychological pattern that occurs in a person and is associated with (1) present distress, (2) disability in one or more areas of functioning, (3) significantly increased risk of suffering disability, pain, or death, and (4) an important loss of freedom or personal control. In addition, these features must not be merely an expectable response to a predictable event, such as grief over a loved one's death. Thus, some behaviors, such as bathing nude at a public beach, may be socially deviant without being classified as a mental disorder. 5. Ask students to define "normal." While the concept of "normal" tends to be one of those concepts that people "know when they see it," in real-life behavior, it can be very difficult to define operationally. Asking students to define "normal" and to discuss how they arrived at their definitions, as well as what problems they see in each others' definitions, can be a fruitful exercise that leads them to see why psychologists have adopted the specific criteria for abnormality discussed in the text. 6. Ask students how they personally determine when someone's behavior is abnormal. To what extent do they rely on the six criteria identified in the text? Since the designation of abnormality is partly a social judgment, discuss the importance of how such a judgment is made as well as its subjective and irrational aspects. You might cite psychiatrist Thomas Szasz's book The Myth of Mental Illness, including the point that psychological labels are often used as a convenient way of avoiding people who are different or threatening to us. 7. Discuss supernatural explanations of abnormality. Discuss how supernatural explanations of behavior are still alive in the form of astrology, demonic possession, and satanic worship. You might . 4