PSYC 407 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Mental Disorder, Dorothea Dix, General Paresis Of The Insane
Document Summary
Three characteristics are commonly considered in defining abnormal behavior: cultural inappropriateness, subjective distress, and psychological disability. In general, abnormality does not lend itself to precise definition. Abnormality can be seen as residing in an interpersonal system, such as a family or larger social group, as well as being a characteristic of an individual. It makes sense to view abnormality as a continuum in which incapacitation and distress are extreme at one end and minimal at the other end. Most of us fall in the middle, with some mild inhibitions or anxieties that do not seriously handicap us. Despite some looseness in definition, psychological disorders are identifiable syndromes that affect a substantial proportion of our population. The study of abnormal behavior can be approached in a scientific manner. To do so, we need to be familiar with such concepts as sampling and generalization, reliability and validity of measurement, normative research, correlational research, and experimental research.
