PSYC 3140 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Abnormal Psychology
Document Summary
Chapter 1 examples and definitions of abnormal behavior. Psychopathology is the symptoms and signs of mental disorders. Abnormal psychology is the application of psychological science to the study of mental disorders. A syndrome is a group of symptoms that appear together and are assumed to represent a specific type of disorder. Characteristics of a behavioural or psychological syndrome: present distress, disabilitiy, significantly increased drisk of suffering death, pain, disability, or an important loss of freedom. Conditions excluded from consideration: an expectable and culturally sanctioned response to a particular event (death of loved one, deviant behavior, conflicts that are between the individual and society. Epidemiology is the scientific study of the distribution of disorders within a population. Incidence is the number of new cases of a disorder that appear in a population during a specific period of time.
