PSYC 235 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Etiology, Palpitations, Spirit Possession
3 Jan 2017
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In some disorders, people aren"t that distressed and some where they are really distressed (ie. phobia, they know they have a phobia and recognize it as irrational, but there is no control over it makes them distressed) Different cultures have different responses we may consider something atypical here that is typical somewhere else. Must be suffering as a result of behaviours. Reaction to distress affects other areas of life. If it doesn"t bother them/doesn"t affect their life, it is not a disorder. Con: people are not always aware of the suffering behaviour may create for themselves or others (ie personality disorders) No universal standard for what is abnormal . Pro: uses context to define what is abnormal. Con: thomas szaz (antipsychiatry movement) definition of abnormal is a means of social control. Abnomal psychology is more of a spectrum (in diagnosis, field, cultural relativism)
