APSY-UE 20 Chapter Notes - Chapter 8: Pediatrics

• School: New York University
• Department: Applied Psychology
• Course: APSY-UE 20
• Professor: Adina R Schick

Document Summary

All behavior can be seen to lie on a continuum with normal, or what might be called effective psychological functioning at one end and abnormal, indicating a psychological disorder at the other. Mental health professionals determine where on this continuum a particular person"s behavior falls. Context of behavior: subjective judgement, but know that some are bizarre for a given situation. Persistence of behavior: a person may exhibit abnormal behavior on occasion without necessarily demonstrating the presence of mental illness, needs to have a pattern over time. Social deviance: when deviant behavior is extreme and persistent, it is evidence of mental illness. Subjective distress: important sign that mental health professionals use in making psychological diagnoses. Psychological handicap: a person who fears success, sabotages each new endeavor in life. Effect on functioning: the extent to which the behaviors in question interfere with a person"s ability to live the life that he or she desires and that society will accept.