PS381 Chapter Notes - Chapter 5: Antisocial Personality Disorder, Bulimia Nervosa, American Psychiatric Association
Document Summary
Chapter 5- diagnosis and classification of psychological problems. The classification of disorders by symptoms and signs. Psychopathology examines the nature and development of abnormal: behavior, thoughts, feelings, biology. Definitions of abnormality vary widely and may not capture all aspects of psychopathology. Disability: impairment in a key area. Chronic alcohol consumption results in job loss. Personal distress: emotional pain and suffering. Violation of social norms: makes others uncomfortable or causes problems. Statistical infrequency: suggests that rare behaviors are abnormal, normal curve indicates that some behaviours are common while others are rare. Common behaviours are at middle of normal curve. Rare behaviours fall at the tails of the curve. When a person"s behavior becomes patently deviant, outrageous, or otherwise nonconforming, then he or she is more likely to be categorized as abnormal. Advantages: cutoff points can be established and used, intuitive appeal: we tend to think we know abnormal behavior when we see it.
