MODULE ONE
Note:  Topical Questions are at the end of the Module---scroll down.


SECTION one

Preview
What is abnormal behavior? Clearly, a statistical definition will not do. That is, one would not want to call someone abnormal merely for statistically rare behavior that is not demonstrated by others, as that would include star athletes, brilliant scientists, gifted singers and writers. Certainly, such persons are abnormal (rare) but not "abnormal" as this course would define abnormal. Abnormal behavior has been attributed to possession, and natural occurrences such as eclipses. What is the assessment and attribution process today? Who does the assessing and treating of abnormal behavior in present society? And, is it ok to use the AM radio after noon?

Outcomes/Objectives

After completing this section, the student should be able to:

1. Define and contrast two different definitions of abnormal behavior.
2. Identify reasons why a classification system is needed in the field of abnormal behavior.
3. Identify and contrast the main perspectives on abnormal behavior, e.g., psychodynarnic.
4. Name and differentiate between the roles of psychiatrist, social worker, clinical psychologist and psychiatric nurse.
5. Recognize early beliefs in demonology an identify reasons why exorcism was used as a cure.
6.Identify Hippocrates’ system of classifying mental disorders.
7.Identify the connection between witchcraft and mental illness.
8. Compare and contrast the pluses and minuses of the medical model of abnormal behavior.
9. Contrast the focus of cognitive-behavior clinicians with that of behavior therapists.
10. Identify the three sets of determinants that may be considered in an interdisciplinary approach to psychopathology.

Learning Activities

VIDEO PROGRAMS: #1 Looking at Abnormal Behavior

TEXT: Read Chapter 1: Abnormal Behavior,  Chapter 2: Historical Views; and
Chapter 3: Casual Factors and Viewpoints

INTERNET SITES:
 http://www.mentalhealth.com/
All mental health online
http://www.apa.org/
The American Psychological Association.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_mental_illness
The History of mental illness has long been a process of trial and error guided by public attitudes and medical theory with each society developing its own responses.
http://health.usnews.com/usnews/health/articles/050502/2sick.b.htm
U.S.News: Rethinking Abnormal Behavior

SECTION two

Preview

How do psychologists or psychiatrists go about determining who is OK and who is not and what is causing the illness, abnormality, dysfunction? The "how" is called clinical assessment. Included in assessment is:identifying or diagnosing the problem, from the perspectives of neuropsychological to psychosocial examinations; collecting and coordinating the data; to defining the treatment modalities. A consideration is given to computerized assessment, but mostly from a negative viewpoint.

OUTCOMES/OBJECTIVES

After completing this Section, the student will be able to:

1. Identify the difference between "diagnosis" and "clinical assessment."
2. Differentiate among two neuropsychological procedures used for the physical evaluation of a client.
3. Describe two instruments that are used to make clinical observations.
4. Differentiate among two types of intelligent tests.
5. Define the term "projective test" and contrast it with "objective test."
6. Compare and contrast the Rorschach and Thematic Apperception Tests.
7. Identify the nature of the MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory)
8. Contrast the terms "reliable" and "valid."
9. Identify one limitation of the MMPI-2
10. Identify the elements of the psychosocial assessment process.

LEARNING ACTIVITIES

VIDEO PROGRAM: None

TEXT: Read Chapter 4: Clinical Assessment

INTERNET SITES:

REEL WORLD MOVIES
Dr. McKinley's REELworld Psychology Films---rated
http://www.mindtools.com
Commercial site with tests, links, techniques to "think your way to an excellent life." Includes a free 5 minute Quiz
http://www.psycom.net/depression.central.html
Dr. Ivans' Depression Central

                        SECTION three

                           Preview
Although people commonly think of stress as negative, some stresses may be exhilarating, as with riding a roller coaster, being in love, conducting the Cleveland Orchestra, or running a long distance race. However, the increased number of negative stressors in modern society make this the "age of anxiety" for many persons. What determines whether a stress is positive or negative? The primary answer is the degree to which a person has control over the events. To a lessor degree, stress depends upon the individual’s perceptions and interpretation of the events.  This section will focus on the initiation and consequences of negative stress.  And finally, why is it that you can make amends but not one amend? After completing this section, the student will be able to:

1. Differentiate between eustress and distress.
2. Identify and illustrate three factors which influence the severity of stress.
3. Recognize the factors that would likely account for why two individuals may react differently to the same stressor.
4. Compare and contrast between the terms "chronic" and "acute" stress.
5. Differentiate and identify the various types of conflict.
6.Identify some symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
7.Identify the term "stress inoculations."
8.Assess the biological, psychological, and social treatment possibilities for different kinds of stress reactions.
9.Identify three coping strategies.
10. Assess the effects of prolonged stress.

Learning Activities

VIDEO PROGRAMS: #2 The Nature of Stress

TEXT: Read Chapter 5, Stress and Adjustment Disorders

INTERNET SITES
http://www.apa.org/monitor/apr06/nation.html
Many american resort to unhealthy habits to help manage stress...
http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/index.html
A question and answer service by Heathwise at Columbia University
http://www.orchidrecoverycenter.com/womens-health/ptsd.html
PTSD

SECTION four

Of all the disorders discussed in this course, none are more common than those that involve anxiety. Fear and anxiety are not the same thing, even though the symptoms may be similar. Fears are generally specific to something known like poisonous snakes or taking a test that one is unprepared for. Anxiety, on the other hand is an unreasonable fear-response that has no objective base in reality. Such disorders can range from the specifics as involved with phobias, e.g., claustrophobia to obsessive-compulsive disorders to hypochondriasis. The video focuses on the two most common disorders: panic with agoraphobia and generalized anxiety disorder. After completing this section, the student will be able to:

1. Distinguish between the terms "fear" and "anxiety."
2. Identify the principle manifestations of anxiety disorders.
3. List and define at least three simple phobias and the major manifestations.
4. Describe the symptoms of panic disorders and agoraphobia and why they are listed together.
5. Define and characterize a somatoform disorder.
6. Describe the major manifestations of conversion disorder and identify some sensory, motor and visceral symptoms that often appear.
7. Identify four types of psychogenic amnesia.
8. Identify the letters OCD
9. Recognize at least  three of the five primary types of complusive acts.
10. Compare and contrast how biological, psychosocial and sociocultural factors account for and maintain anxiety-based disorders.

Learning Activities

VIDEO PROGRAMS: #3 The Anxiety Disorders

TEXT: Read Chapter 6: Panic, Anxiety and Their Disorders

INTERNET SITES:
 http://www.ocfoundation.org/
OCD Resource Center
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychogenic_amnesia
Psychogenic Amnesia is a form of amnesia popularized by popular culture, particularly film, related to trauma or general psychological disorientation. http://www.apa.org/pubinfo/panic.html
The symptoms, causes and treatment methods of panic disorders.
http://nationalpsychologist.com/articles/art_v16n2_2.htm
"The psychology of collecting"  By Mark B. McKinley

TOPICAL QUESTIONS
Select 2 of the 6 Questions for this Module.

1. Should animals, e.g., rats, monkeys, dogs be used in psychological research or not?

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2. Is the use of the Internet a "good thing" or a "bad thing" psychologically speaking?
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3. In your estimation, do we live in a "sick society."
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4. Cigarette and "fast food" companies have been sued for causing illnesses/obesity ---who is responsible?
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5. Is the "Abuse Excuse" legit or a legal tactic by which criminal defendants claim a history of abuse as an excuse for violent behavior?
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6. What is society's role in altering unhealthy/abnormal lifestyles?
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Self-Test of Module One

1. Individuals who suggest that behavior is abnormal only if society labels it as such are known as

1. behavioral archivists.
2. social activists.
3. pathologists.
4. cultural relativists.

2. The most rigorous and powerful form of scientific research is

1. the retrospective method.
2. correlational analysis.
3. the experimental method.
4. the case study approach.

3. The behavioristic view of abnormal behavior focuses on the role of _____ in human behavior.

1. insight
2. learning
3. morality
4. thought

4. Cognitive behavioral clinicians have shifted their focus from

1. covert cognitions to their overt behaviors.
2. overt behaviors to their underlying cognitions.
3. reinforcement of overt behaviors to insight.
4. thinking to overt behaviors.

5. Crisis intervention is a way to provide psychological help for people experiencing

1. acute stress
2. chronic stress
3. eustress
4. self-inducted stress

6. Which of the following is the proper sequence of Selye’s general adaptation syndrome?

1. alarm, collapse, resistance
2. alarm, resistance, collapse
3. collapse, alarm, resistance
4. resistance, alarm, collapse

7. Which of the following is not a factor determining how stressful a situation is?

1. age
2. the predictability of the stressor
3. one’s control over the stressor
4. the meaning of the stressor to the person

8. The three key elements in posttraumatic stress disorder are:

1. trauma, intrusive experiences, and psychosomatic illnesses
2. trauma, intrusive experiences, and a numbing or denial of memories
3. expectation of disaster, the disaster, and numbing of memories
4. trauma, shock, and intrusive experiences

9. In which of the following groups do phobic disorders most commonly occur?

1. adolescent boys
2. adolescent girls
3. middle-aged men
4. middle-aged women

10. A persistent preoccupation with a certain mental content, typically an idea or a feeling, is called a(n)

1. obsession.
2. phobia.
3. conditioned fear.
4. compulsion.
 

ANSWERS: (1) 4, (2) 3, (3) 2, (4) 2, (5) 1, (6) 2, (7) 1, (8) 2, (9) 2, (10) 1