HONG KONG BAPTIST UNIVERSITY

Department of Education Studies

Second Semester AY 2019-2020
(revised 19.2.2020)

PSYC 3005 ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY

Prerequisite: PSYC 1005 Principles of Psychology

Teaching Team: Prof. Vicky Tam Office: AAB 826 Tel: 34115690
Email: vtam@hkbu.edu.hk

Mr. Justin So Office: AAB 824 Tel: 34117726

Email: justinso@hkbu.edu.hk

Lecture*: Tuesday, 11:30 - 13:20, AAB 705

Tutorial*: 10001: Monday, 13:30 - 14:20, WLB 209
10002: Monday, 15:30 - 16:20, WLB 209

* Please refer to BU Moodle Course Page for arrangements for lectures and tutorials
delivered via PowerPoint and/or Zoom.

Course Description
This course provides a survey of mental disorders in terms of the emotional, psychological,
and cultural constellation of the person. It includes a survey of various mental disorders,
symptoms, and etiology. Topics include mood disorders, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia,
and others. Legal and ethical issues concerning mental disorders are examined.

Aims
 To provide students with knowledge on the major theoretical trends of contemporary
psychopathology and the current systems for the classification and assessment of
mental disorders;
 To help students develop skills to identify the symptoms, issues, explanations, and
treatment of major psychiatric disorder
 To increase their awareness of legal and professional issues of clinical psychology and
psychiatry.
 PSYC 3005 Abnormal Psychology

Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs):

CILO 1 Compare the major theoretical trends of contemporary psychopathology
CILO2 Describe the current systems for the classification and assessment of
mental disorders
CILO 3 Identify the symptoms, issues, explanations, and treatment of major
psychiatric disorders
CILO 4 Exhibit a positive attitude towards people suffering from mental disorders
CILO 5 Demonstrate a critical awareness of legal and professional issues of
clinical psychology and psychiatry

Learning Materials
Required Textbook Butcher, J. N., Mineka, S., & Hooley, J. M. (2017). Abnormal
psychology: Global edition (17th ed.). Boston: Pearson. [Available
online in HKBU Library]

Web Resources Internet access to course-related materials is available via BU

Moodle at http://buelearning.hkbu.edu.hk/login/index.php. Please
check the Course Moodle page regularly for announcements and
updates.

Lecture Schedule (Subject to amendment)

Lecture Date Topic Textbook
Chapter
1 Jan 21 Introduction 1
Jan 28 Public Holiday
2 Feb 4 Perspectives explaining abnormal behaviors 3
3 Feb 11 Clinical assessment and diagnosis 4
4 Feb 18 Mood disorders and Suicide 7
5 Feb 25 Anxiety disorders 6
6 Mar 3 Obsessive-compulsive disorder 6
7 Mar10 Schizophrenia 13
8 Mar 17 Mid-term Exam
9 Mar 24 Substance-related disorders 11
10 Mar 31 Neurodevelopmental disorders 15
11 Apr 7 Personality disorders 10
Apr 14 Public Holiday 10
13 Apr 21 Professional and ethical issues 17

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Assessment
Note: Updates on assessment arrangements will be announced via BU Moodle Course Page
Assessment Method Alignment with Course Intended Learning Outcomes
Case study (presentation and report) CILO 1, CILO 2, CILO 3, CILO 4, CILO 5
Mid-term examination CILO 1, CILO 2, CILO 3, CILO 5
Final assignment CILO 1, CILO 2, CILO 3, CILO 5

(1) Case study group project (30%): A case of suspected or diagnosed mental disorder
identified through newspaper, mass media, or personal contact is analyzed with respect
to the symptoms, possible etiology, and contextual factors that affect psychological
functioning and prognosis. This project comprises a group presentation and a written
report. Details are listed in a separate handout.

(2) Mid-term examination (30%): This online, open-book exam comprises 40 multiple-choice
questions. It covers topics from Lecture 1 (Nature) to Lecture 6 (Anxiety Disorders and
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder), including content of the lectures, tutorials and the
assigned textbook chapters. This online exam will be administered through BU Moodle
Course Page and is scheduled for March 17, 2020 starting from 11:30 am and ending at
12:25 pm. Late submission will not be accepted. Students who do not attempt the
examination or fail to submit answers by the ending time will receive no mark for this
assessment component.

(3) Final assignment (40%): This assignment is to replace the original final examination. It
comprises long questions and/or case studies and covers topics from all lectures,
tutorials, and assigned textbook chapters. The assignment will be posted on BU Moodle
Course Page on May 11, 2020 at 10:00 am. Students are expected to complete the
assignment and submit it in WORD format through BU Moodle Course Page by May 13,
2020 11:59 pm. The submission must represent the student’s individual work and will be
subject to Turnitin check for plagiarism and cheating. Late submission will not be
accepted. Students who fail to submit the assignment by the above deadline will receive
no mark for this assessment component.

An overall grade for the course will be assigned basing on total marks received for these
three components. The grade assignment scheme is as follows:

Grade Total Marks at or above

A, A- 80
B+, B, B- 65
C+, C, C- 50

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D 40
I Below 40

References
* Item on HKBU Library Course Readings
Adams, H. E., & Sutker, P. B. (2013). Comprehensive handbook of psychopathology (3rd
ed.). New York, NY: Springer.
* American Psychiatric Association (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental
disorders: Fifth edition DSM-5. Virginia, VA: American Psychiatric Association.
Brown, T. A., & Barlow, D. H. (2017). Casebook in abnormal psychology (5th ed.).
Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
Durand, V. M., Barlow, D. H., & Hoffmann, S. G. (2019). Essentials of abnormal
psychology (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
* Hooley, J. M., Butcher, J. N., Nock, M. K., & Mineka, S. (2016). Abnormal psychology
(17th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Global Edition.
Mash, E. J., & Wolfe, D. A. (2019). Abnormal child psychology (7th ed.). Boston, MA:
Cengage Learning.
Meyer, R. G., & Weaver, C. M. (2013). Case studies in abnormal behavior (9th ed.).
Boston, MA: Pearson.
Oltmanns, T. F., Neale, J. M., & Martin, M. T. (2019). Case studies in abnormal
psychology (11th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley & Sons.
Wilmshurst, L. (2017). Abnormal child psychology: A developmental perspective (2nd
ed.). London: Routledge.
Whitbourne, S. K. (2020). Abnormal psychology: Clinical perspectives on psychological
disorders (9th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.
Wilmshurst, L. (2018). Child and adolescent psychopathology: A casebook (4th ed.).
Los Angeles: SAGE.
World Health Organization (2018). International classification of diseases 11th
revision (ICD-11). https://icd.who.int/en

Periodicals
(online access through HKBU Library web page)
American Journal of Psychiatry
British Journal of Clinical Psychology
British Journal of Psychiatry

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Child and Adolescent Mental Health

Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy
International Journal of Mental Health
Journal of Abnormal Psychology
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology
Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology
Psychiatric Bulletin
中國心理衛生雜誌 (Chinese Mental Health Journal)