Psychology 2035A/B : Txt Chpt 14- Psychological Disorders

• School: Western University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: Psychology 2035A/B
• Professor: Doug Hazlewood

Document Summary

Medical model: proposes that it is useful to think of abnormal behavior as a disease. Conventional way of thinking about abnormal behavior. Represents progress over earlier models based on superstitions. Thomas szasz: abnormal behavior involves deviation from social norms rather than an illness. Medical diagnoses pin derogatory labels on ppl (social stigma) Diagnosis: involves distinguishing 1 illness from another. Etiology: apparent causation and developmental history of illness. Prognosis: forecast about the probably course of an illness. Criteria of abnormal behavior: deviance (eg. transvestic fetishism: a sexual disorder in which a man achieves sexual arousal by dressing in womens clothing, maladaptive behavior (alcohol and drug use, personal distress. Disorder diagnoses" involve value judgements about what represents normal/abnormal behav judgments on mental illness reflect: cultural values, social trends, political forces, scientific knowledge. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders - keeps getting revised. Organic mental, substance related, schiz, mood, anxiety, somatoform, dissociative, ad gender-identity disorder.