544 CHAPTER 14
What Is Abnormality?
I’ve heard people call the different things other people do
“crazy” or “weird.” How do psychologists decide when people are
really mentally ill and not just a little odd?Exactly what is meant by the term abnormal behavior? When is thinking or a mental pro-
cess maladaptive? Abnormal or maladaptive as compared to what? Who gets to decide
what is normal and what is not? Has the term always meant what it means now?Changing Conceptions of Abnormality
14.1 Explain how our definition of abnormal behavior and thinking has
changed over time.
The study of abnormal behavior and psychological dysfunction is called psychopathology.
Defining abnormality is a complicated process, and our view of what is abnormal has
changed significantly over time.
A VERY BRIEF HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS Dating from as early as
3000 bce, archaeologists have found human skulls with small holes cut into them, holes
made while the person was still alive. Many of the holes show evidence of healing,
meaning that the person survived the process. Although trephining, or cutting holes into
the skull of a living person, is still done today to relieve pressure of fluids on the brain,
in ancient times the reason may have had more to do with releasing the “demons” pos-
sessing the poor victim (Gross, 1999).
A Greek physician named Hippocrates (460–377 bce) challenged that belief with
his assertion that illnesses of both the body and the mind were the result of imbalances in
the body’s vital fluids, or humors. Although he was not correct, his was the first recorded
attempt to explain abnormal thinking or behavior as due to some biological process.
Moving forward in time, people of the Middle Ages believed in spirit possession
as one cause of abnormality. The treatment of choice was a religious one: exorcism, or
the formal casting out of the demon through a religious ritual (Lewis, 1995). During the
Renaissance, belief in demonic possession (in which the possessed person was seen as
a victim) gave way to a belief in witchcraft, and mentally ill persons were most likely
called witches and put to death.
Fast forward to the present day, where psychological disorders are often viewed
from a medical model, in that they can be diagnosed according to various symptoms and
have an etiology*, course, and prognosis (Kihlstrom, 2002). In turn, psychological disorders
can be treated, and like many physical ailments, some may be “cured,” whereas other
psychological disorders will require lifelong attention. And while numerous perspectives
in psychology are not medical in nature, the idea of diagnosis and treatment of symp-
toms bridges many of them. This chapter will focus on the types of psychological disor-
ders and some of their possible causes. We will focus more on psychological treatment
and therapies in the next chapter, to Chapter Fifteen: Psychological Therapies.
HOW CAN WE DEFINE WHAT IS ABNORMAL? Defining abnormal behavior, abnormal
thinking, or abnormality is not as simple as it might seem at first. The easy way out
is to say that abnormal behavior is behavior that is not normal, abnormal thinking is
thinking that is not normal, but what does that mean? It’s complicated, as you’ll see
by considering different criteria for determining abnormality. Before we explore differ-
ent criteria for identifying abnormality and mental illness, take a moment to reflect on
psychopathology your own beliefs in the survey Are You Normal?
the study of abnormal behavior and
psychological dysfunction.
These human skull casts show signs of
trephining, a process in which holes were
cut into the skulls of a living person, perhaps
to release “demons” that were making
the person’s behavior or thinking odd or
disturbed. Some who were treated in this
way must have survived, as some of the
holes show evidence of healing.
SOURCE: New York Public Library/Science
Source.
*etiology—the origin, cause, or set of causes for a disorder.