The History of Abnormal Psychology 31
observable behaviors rather than unobserv-
able mental processes and mental contents.
They investigated the association between a
behaviors and its consequence, and proposed
scientifi cally testable mechanisms to explain
how maladaptive behavior arises. Behavior-
ism helps explain how maladaptive behavior
can arise from previous associations with an
object, situation, or event. Behaviorism led to
innovative treatments.
Ivan Pavlov discovered and investigated
what is sometimes referred to as Pavlovian
conditioning—the process whereby a refl exive
behavior comes to be associated with a stim-
ulus that precedes it. Pavlovian conditioning
helps explain the severe fears and anxieties
that are part of some psychological disorders.
Cognitive psychology has led to the sci-
entifi c investigation of mental processes that
affect how people pay attention to stimuli
and develop biases in what they expect and
remember. Such biases in turn can confirm
the inaccurate views that perpetuate a psy-
chological disorder. Aaron Beck and Albert
Ellis each focused on how people’s irrational
and inaccurate thoughts about themselves
and the world can contribute to psychologi-
cal disorders, and each developed a type of
treatment to address the irrational and inac-
curate thoughts.
Social forces that help explain psychologi-
cal disorders include diffi culties with attach-
ment and the role of relationships in buffering
negative life events.
The discovery of the biological cause of
one type of mental illness—general paresis—
led to investigations into possible biological
causes of other types of mental illness.However, psychological disorders cannot
be fully explained by any single type of fac-
tor or theory. One approach to integrating dif-
ferent factors is the diathesis–stress model,
which proposes that if a person has a predis-
position to a psychological disorder, stressors
may trigger its occurrence.
The biopsychosocial approach proposes
that both diathesis and stress can be grouped
into three types of factors: biological, psycho-
logical, and social. As research on biological
factors associated with psychological disorders
has advanced, the important effects of the brain
on other biological functions have become
clear. In addition, recent research allows inves-
tigators to begin to understand the feedback
loops among the three types of factors. For
these reasons, this book uses the term neuro-
psychosocial rather than biopsychosocial.Thinking like a clinician
Natasha’s uncle Alex was severely depressed
about 5 years ago—to the point where he went
into the hospital for a week. Natasha’s parents
had talked about Uncle Alex having a “chemical
imbalance.” Based on what you have read,
which of the various modern perspectives
were her parents adopting? If her parents had
used other modern perspectives to explain
Alex’s depression, to what would they have
attributed his depression? Be specifi c.
How would the two integrationist ap-
proaches (diathesis–stress and biopsycho-
social) explain Alex’s depression? (Hint: Use
Figures 1.3 and 1.4 to guide your answers.)
What do the two approaches have in com-
mon, and in what ways do they differ from
each other?Key Terms
Abnormal psychology (p. 4)
Psychological disorder (p. 4)
Psychosis (p. 6)
Hallucinations (p. 6)
Delusions (p. 6)
Culture (p. 8)
Asylums (p. 14)
Moral treatment (p. 15)
Psychoanalytic theory (p. 17)
Id (p. 18)
Superego (p. 18)
Ego (p. 18)
Psychosexual stages (p. 18)
Neurosis (p. 19)
Defense mechanisms (p. 19)
Mental processes (p. 21)
Mental contents (p. 21)
Behaviorism (p. 22)
Diathesis–stress model (p. 27)
Biopsychosocial approach (p. 27)
Neuropsychosocial approach (p. 29)More Study Aids
For additional study aids related to this
chapter, go to:
http://www.worthpublishers.com/rosenberg