ABNORMAL Mental disorders are

PSYCHOLOGY usually associated with

SIGNIFICANT DISTRESS
Introduction and
OR DISABILITY in social,
Historical Overview
occupational, or other
DEFINING MENTAL important activities. An
DISORDER expectable or culturally
approved response to a
Psychopathology common stressor or
- The field concerned loss, such as the death
with the nature, of a loved one, is not a
development, and mental disorder.
treatment of mental SOCIALLY DEVIANT
disorders. BEHAVIOR (e.g.,
political, religious, or
MENTAL DISORDER sexual) and conflicts
- A mental disorder is a that are primarily
syndrome characterized between the individual
by CLINICALLY and society are not
SIGNIFICANT mental disorders unless
DISTURBANCE in an the deviance or conflict
individual’s cognition, results from a
emotion regulation, or dysfunction in the
behavior that REFLECTS individual, as described
A DYSFUNCTION in the above.
psychological, (DANGER)
biological, or
developmental HISTORY OF
processes underlying PSYCHOPATHOLOGY
mental functioning. EARLY DEMONOLOGY
- Behavior seemingly Regarded the brain as
outside individual the organ of
control was ascribed to consciousness,
supernatural causes - intellectual life, and
displeasure of the gods emotion.
or possession by
Believed that normal
demons.
brain functioning
DEMONOLOGY - depended on a delicate
doctrine that an evil balance among four
being, or spirit can dwell humors, or fluids of the
within a person and body: blood, black bile,
control his or her mind yellow bile, and
and body. phlegm.
EXORCISM - ritualistic Classified mental
casting out of evil disorders into three
spirits. categories:
EARLY BIOLOGICAL  Mania
EXPLANATIONS  Melancholia
 Phrenitis (Brain
Hippocrates - rejected
fever)
the prevailing belief
that the gods sent THE DARK AGES
mental disturbances as
punishment and Christian monasteries,
insisted instead such through their
illnesses had natural missionary and
causes and hence educational work,
should be treated like replaced physicians as
other. healers and as
authorities on mental Swiss physician
disorder. Paracelsus (1493–1541),
who attributed odd
Monks cared for people
behavior to
with mental disorders
by praying over them a misalignment of the
and touching them with moon and stars.
relics, making fantastic
DEVELOPMENT OF
potions for them to
ASYLUMS
drink in the waning
phase of the moon. Asylums - refuges for
the confinement and
The Persecution of
care of people with
Witches. Modern
mental illness.
investigators initially
believed that many of Bethlehem and Other
the people accused of Early Asylums. Viewing
being witches during the patients was
the later Middle Ages considered
were mentally ill. entertainment, and
people bought tickets to
Lunacy Trials. The
see them.
defendant’s orientation,
memory, intellect, daily Benjamin Rush -
life, and habits were at believed that mental
issue in the trial. disorder was caused by
Usually, strange an excess of blood in
behavior was attributed the brain, for which his
to physical illness or favored treatment was
injury or to some to draw great quantities
emotional shock. of blood from
disordered individuals.
Also believed that many and they allowed
people with mental patients to have
illness could be cured by significant input in their
being frightened. own treatment
decisions.
Dorothea Dix -
William Tuke - He
Travelled to cities,
raised funds to open the
collected data on its
York Retreat, a
treatment of the
residential treatment
mentally ill, presented
center where the
her data to local
mentally ill would
community leaders, and
always be cared for with
persuaded them to
kindness, dignity, and
treat the mentally ill
decency; patients
more humanely and
received good food,
adequately.
frequent exercise, and
friendly interactions THE EVOLUTION OF
with staff. CONTEMPORARY
THOUGHT
Philippe Pinel - Created
new institutions in BIOLOGICAL
which patients were not APPROACHES
kept in chains or beaten
Discovering Biological
but, rather, were given
Origins in General
healthy food and
Paresis and Syphilis
benevolent treatment.
Louis Pasteur’s Germ
Eli Todd - Emphasized
Theory of Disease. A
patients’ strengths
causal link had been
rather than weaknesses,
established between
infection, destruction of restricting the ability of
certain areas of the certain people to have
brain, and a form of children.
psychopathology
Biological Treatments
(general paresis).
Electroconvulsive
People with mental
therapy (ECT). Applying
illness manifested a
electric shocks to the
syndrome characterized
sides of the human
by a steady
head.
deterioration of both
mental and physical Prefrontal lobotomy.
abilities – general Surgical procedure that
paresis - patients with destroys the tracts
general paresis also had connecting the frontal
syphilis. lobes to other areas of
the brain.
Genetics
PSYCHOLOGICAL
Francis Galton. Credited
APPROACHES
with coining the terms
nature and nurture to Mesmer and Charcot
talk about differences in
genetics (nature) and During the eighteenth
environment (nurture). century in western
Europe, many people
Also credited with were observed to be
creating the eugenics subject to hysteria,
movement in 1883. which referred to
physical incapacities,
Eliminating undesirable
such as blindness or
characteristics from the
paralysis, for which no
population by
physical cause could be Jean Martin Charcot.
found. Supported hypnosis as a
worthy treatment for
Franz Anton Mesmer
hysteria helped to
believed that hysteria
legitimize this form of
was caused by a
treatment among
particular distribution of
medical professionals of
a universal magnetic
the time.
fluid in the body.
Breuer and the
Mesmerism.
Cathartic Method
During the eighteenth
Cathartic method -
century in western
Reliving an earlier
Europe, many people
emotional trauma and
were observed to be
releasing emotional
subject to hysteria,
tension by expressing
which referred to
previously forgotten
physical incapacities,
thoughts about the
such as blindness or
event was called
paralysis, for which no
catharsis.
physical cause could be
found. Freud and
Psychoanalysis
Franz Anton Mesmer
believed that hysteria  The Structure of
was caused by a the Mind.
particular distribution of  Defense
a universal magnetic Mechanisms.
fluid in the body -  Psychoanalytic
Mesmerism. Therapy:
Free association - a shape adult
patient reclines on a personality.
couch, facing away from  There are
the analyst, and is unconscious
encouraged to give free influences on
rein to his or her behavior.
thoughts, verbalizing  The causes and
whatever comes to purposes of
mind, without censoring human behavior
anything. are not always
obvious.
Transference refers to
the patient’s responses The Rise of
to his or her analyst that Behaviorism
seem to reflect attitudes
and ways of behaving • Classical
toward important Conditioning
people in the patient’s • Operant
past. Conditioning
Interpretation, the • Modeling
analyst points out to the
patient the meanings of The Importance of
Cognition
certain of the patient’s
behaviors. The ways in which
people think about,
Continuing Influences or appraise,
of Freud and His situations can
Followers influence behavior
in dramatic ways.
 Childhood
experiences help
Cognitive Therapy. distress or disability,
emphasize that how and deviance from
people construe social norms.
themselves and the
The history of
world is a major
psychopathology
determinant of
can be traced back
psychological
from the destructive
disorders.
era of dark ages and
Therapist typically evolved throughout
begins by helping time through the
clients become efforts of various
more aware of their individuals until the
maladaptive establishment of
thoughts. asylums designed to
cater people
By changing
suffering from
cognition, therapists
mental illnesses.
hope that people
can change their The contemporary
feelings, behaviors, thought concerning
and symptoms. Mental Illness came
from advances both
SYNTHESIS
in the biological and
Mental disorders psychological
are usually aspects of medicine.
characterized by
dysfunctions,
disturbance,