Understanding Abnormal Psychology & Mental Disorders
Psychopathology Notes
Criteria for Abnormal Behavior
Distress
How do we know it when we see it?
- Discomfort
- Behavior
- Speech pattern
Abnormal behavior refers to patterns of thought, feeling, or behavior that are atypical, distressing, dysfunctional, and sometimes dangerous.
Impairment
- In major life functions: struggle at work or at school, in relationships
- AKA “psychological disability”
Cultural “Inappropriateness”
- Or behaviors that are “culturally unexpected”?
Diagnosing Syndromes, Not Symptoms
- The difference
Introduction to Psychology: Key Concepts and Biological Foundations
Chapter 1: Introduction to Psychology
Early Influences
Father of Psychology: Wilhelm Wundt (1879, Germany)
Student of Wundt: Edward Titchener, Structuralism
Father of American Psychology: William James, Functionalism
7 Major Perspectives in Modern Psychology
- Psychoanalytic: Unconscious processes, unresolved conflicts, past experiences (Sigmund Freud)
- Behavioral: Objective, observable, environmental influences on overt behavior (John B. Watson, 1913)
- Humanistic: Free will, self-actualization, growth-seeking,
Qualitative Research Methods: A Guide
Demographic Questions
Record age, gender, and ethnicity/race without asking directly. Note participant status (e.g., student, faculty, advisor). Ask about their major (current or past). Depending on the interview’s purpose, other demographic or locational information may be relevant.
Essential Questions
These questions are asked to every participant. Maintain a general order but allow flexibility during the interview. Use follow-up questions to ensure clarity and understanding. Include additional
Read MoreCriminological Theories: Strengths, Weaknesses, and Applications
Criminological Theories: Strengths & Weaknesses
Biological Theories
Strengths
- Account for gender differences in offending
- Account for serious violent offenders
- Account for persistent offenders
Weaknesses
- Assumes certain social groups are biologically flawed
- Conceptualizes crime as a “fixed” natural concept
- Focuses on certain types of offenders
- 90% of young men report engaging in crime at some point in their life
- If crime is biologically linked, what about the process of desistence?
- Much of this research
The Structure of the Mind: Id, Ego, and Superego
Freud’s Concept of the Mind
While Freud didn’t invent the conscious vs. unconscious mind concept, he popularized it. The conscious mind encompasses our current awareness: perceptions, memories, thoughts, fantasies, and feelings.
The Preconscious and Available Memory
Closely related is the preconscious, or “available memory.” It contains memories not currently accessible but retrievable.
The Unconscious: Source of Motivations
The largest part is the unconscious, holding inaccessible elements like instincts,
Read MoreClassical Sociological Theory: Marx, Durkheim, and Weber
Karl Marx (1818-1883): Sociologist of Industrialization
Marx’s focus was not on the market, but on the factory. Observing the industrial world, he saw men reduced to commodities, wages falling, and human generosity eroded by the dominance of money. His materialist conception of history posits that social change is driven not by ideas or values, but by material conditions. Class conflict fuels historical development, and social relations are determined by the relations and mode of production. In the
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