PS280 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1-6: Psychoanalysis, Existential Therapy, Canadian Mental Health Association
Document Summary
The field concerned with the nature and development of abnormal behaviour, thoughts and feelings. Abnormal behaviour- includes such characteristic as statistical infrequency, violation of norms, personal distress, disability or dysfunction and unexpectedness. These are components of abnormal behaviour which are inadequate on their own but each have merit and capture a piece of a full definition. Most abnormal behaviours are infrequent but so are lots of other things (ex. athletic success: violation of norms. Norms are culturally created- what is the norm in one culture is abnormal in another. Prostitutes violate norms and anxious people don"t so it doesn"t fit perfectly: personal distress. Exceptions: psychopaths don"t feel distress and childbirth causes distress: disability or dysfunction. Impairment in some important area of life due to an abnormality. Some things that cause disability (like shortness if you want to play basketball) don"t count as abnormal: unexpectedness. When the reaction doesn"t fit or is disproportionate to the situation.
