Historical Context of Abnormal PsychologyandDefinitions of Abnormal Behavior

Chapter 1

Some Terms & Definitions

Psychopathology Prevalence - # people with the disorder at a

given time Incidence - # new cases in a given time period

(# people who develop the disorder) Prognosis – the expected course and outcome

of the disorder Etiology – causes of the disorder, how & why it

developed

The Past: Abnormal Behavior and the Supernatural Tradition

Deviant behavior as a battle of “Good” vs. “Evil” Deviant behavior was believed to be caused by demonic

possession, witchcraft, sorcery Mass hysteria and the church Treatments included exorcism, snake pits, beatings, and

crude surgeries Movement of the moon and stars as a cause of deviant

behavior Paracelsus and lunacy

Both “Outer Force” views were popular during the Middle Ages

Few believed that abnormality was an illness on par with physical disease

trephination

The Past: The Biological Tradition Comes of Age

Hippocrates & Galen- 4 humors (blood, black bile,yellow bile, phlegm), melancholic, phlegmatic, choleric, hysteric personalities

General paresis (Syphilis) and the biological link with madness Associated with several unusual psychological and

behavioral symptoms Pasteur discovered the cause – A bacterial microorganism Led to penicillin as a successful treatment Bolstered the view that mental illness = physical illness

and should be treated as such John Grey, MD., Psychiatrist, American Journal of

Insanity. “All mental illness due to physical causes”.

The Past: Consequences of the Biological Tradition

Mental Illness = Physical Illness The 1930s: Biological treatments were

standard practice Insulin shock therapy, ECT, and brain surgery (i.e.,

lobotomy)

By the 1950s several medications were established Examples include neuroleptics (i.e., reserpine) and

major tranquilizers

Psychological Traditions

Moral Therapy & Mental Hygiene Movement (1700s – Late

1800s) Pinel, Tuke, Rush, and Dorothea Dix

Psychoanalytic Theory (late 1800s – 1950s) Mesmer, Charcot, Freud, psychodynamic theory, psychoanalysis

Humanistic Theory (post-WWII) Rogers, Maslow, self-actualization

Behavioral Model (1920s – 1970s) Watson, Pavlov, Skinner, behavior therapy

Cognitive-behavioral Model (1960s – present) Bandura, Beck, cognitive-behavioral therapy