3.1 What is Abnormal Psychology?
2nd edition as of August 2020
Module Overview
Cassie is an 18-year-old woman from suburban Seattle, WA. She was a successful student in high school, graduating valedictorian and obtaining a National Merit Scholarship for her performance on the PSAT during her junior year. She was accepted to a university on the opposite side of the state, where she received additional scholarships giving her a free ride for her entire undergraduate education. Excited to start this new chapter in her life, Cassie’s parents begin the 5-hour commute to Pullman, where they will leave their only daughter for the first time in her life.
The semester begins as it always does in late August. Cassie meets the challenge with enthusiasm and does well in her classes for the first few weeks of the semester, as expected. Sometime around Week 6, her friends notice she is despondent, detached, and falling behind in her work. After being asked about her condition, she replies that she is “just a bit homesick,” and her friends accept this answer as it is a typical response to leaving home and starting college for many students. A month later, her condition has not improved but worsened. Cassie does not hang out with friends like she did when she first arrived for college and stays in bed most of the day. Concerned, Cassie’s friends contact Health and Wellness for help.
Cassie’s story, though hypothetical, is true of many Freshmen leaving home for the first time to earn a higher education, whether in rural Washington state or urban areas such as Chicago and Dallas. Most students recover from this depression and go on to be functional members of their collegiate environment and accomplished scholars. Some students learn to cope on their own while others seek assistance from their university’s health and wellness center or from friends who have already been through the same ordeal. These are normal reactions. However, in cases like Cassie’s, the path to recovery is not as clear. Instead of learning how to cope, their depression increases until it reaches clinical levels and becomes an impediment to success in multiple domains of life such as home, work, school, and social circles.
In this chapter, we will explore what it means to display abnormal behavior, what mental disorders are, and how society views it both today and has throughout history. Then we will review research methods used by psychologists in general and how they are adapted to study abnormal behavior/mental disorders. We will conclude with an overview of what mental health professionals do.
1.1. Understanding Abnormal Behavior
Learning Objectives
- Describe the disease model and its impact on the field of psychology throughout history.
- Describe positive psychology.
- Define abnormal behavior.
- Explain the concept of dysfunction as it relates to mental illness.
- Explain the concept of distress as it relates to mental illness.
- Explain the concept of deviance as it relates to mental