PSYB32H3 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Extreme Measures, Transvestism, Normal Distribution
28 May 2018
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CHAPTER 1
1.1 - What Is Abnormal Behaviour?
• Psychopathology = The field concerned with the nature and development of mental
disorders (study of mental disorders)
• Abnormal behaviour = patterns of emotion, thought, and action deemed pathological for
one or more of the following reasons: infrequent occurrence, violation of norms, personal
distress, disability or dysfunction, and unexpectedness.
o Statistical infrequency - One aspect of abnormal behaviour is that it is infrequent
in the general population
▪ The normal curve, or bell-shaped curve, places the majority of people in
the middle; very few people fall at either extreme. An assertion that a
person is normal implies that he or she does not deviate much from the
average in a particular trait or behaviour pattern.
▪ Although abnormal behaviour is infrequent, so is great athletic talent,
such as members of the Canadian multiple gold medal-winning Olympic
women’s hockey team. Therefore, infrequency is not a sufficient definition
of abnormal behaviour.
o violation of norms - whether the behaviour violates social norms or threatens or
makes anxious those observing it.
▪ too broad and too narrow b/c Criminals and prostitutes violate social
norms but are not usually studied within the domain of abnormal
psychology and the highly anxious person, who is generally regarded as
abnormal typically does not violate social norms
▪ cultural diversity can affect how people view social norms. What is the
norm in one culture may be abnormal in another.
o Personal suffering - behaviour is abnormal if it creates great distress and torment
in the person experiencing it.
▪ some disorders do not necessarily involve distress ex. psychopath, treats
others cold-heartedly and may violate the law without experiencing any
guilt, remorse, or anxiety
▪ Not all forms of distress ex. hunger or the pain of childbirth belong to the
field.
o disability or dysfunction - Disability is impairment in some important area of life
(e.g., work or personal relationships) because of an abnormality
▪ Substance-use disorders is social or occupational disability (e.g., poor
work performance, serious arguments with one’s spouse) created by
substance abuse and addiction
▪ a phobia can produce both distress and disability; ex. a severe fear of
flying may prevent someone from taking a job promotion
▪ Like suffering, disability applies to some but not all disorders
▪ Transvestism (cross-dressing for sexual pleasure) is a mental disorder if it
distresses the person, but is not necessarily a disability.
o Unexpectedness
▪ Distress and disability are considered abnormal when they are
unexpected responses to environmental stressors
▪ ex. an anxiety disorder is diagnosed when the anxiety is unexpected and
out of proportion to the situation, as when a person who is well off worries
constantly about his or her financial situation.
• Clinical psychologist = An individual who has earned a Ph.D. degree in psychology or a
Psy.D. and whose training has included an internship in a mental hospital or clinic.
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