PSYC 204 - Abnormal Psychology

3 Credits: (3 lecture)

Course Description
This course is an introduction to the concept of abnormal behavior. The focus is on recognition of maladjustments from mild disorders to severe illnesses, with a survey of major current approaches to therapy.

Prerequisite PSYC 201 or permission of instructor.

A. Define what is meant by abnormal behavior.

B. Research and explain different historical events and themes as they relate to the understanding and treatment of abnormal behavior.

C. Show knowledge of current legal, economic, and social problems surrounding the management of mental disorder.

D. Research and list the various forms of abnormal behavior.

E. Recognize and define symptoms and theories of abnormal behavior in the context of the most widely used classification system.

F. Identify various assessment procedures including the diagnostic tools of observation.

G. Recognize and define the major concepts of a variety of therapeutic methods employed in treatment of behavior.

H. Identify and cite preventive aspects of mental health and disorder.

Content
A. Historical background of abnormal psychology.

B. Society’s response to maladaptive behavior.

C. Theoretical perspectives of maladaptive behavior.

D. Therapies and their evaluation.

E. Classification and assessment of maladaptive behavior.

F. Characteristics and symptoms of most current and identifiable disorders.

Student Evaluation
Tests, projects, notebooks, research papers as determined by the instructor

Bibliography
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Blehar, Mary. Development of Mental Health in Infancy. Rockville, MD: National Institute of Mental Health, Division of Scientific and Public Information, 1980.

Cahalan, Don. An Ounce of Prevention: Strategies for Solving Tobacco, Alcohol, and Drug Problems. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1991.

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-IV. Washington, D.C.:

American Psychiatric Association. c1994.

Doctor, Ronald M. The Encyclopedia of Phobias, Fears, and Anxieties. New York: Facts on File, 1989.

Ellis, Albert 1913, ed. Ed. Sagarin. Humanistic Psychotherapy: The Rational-Emotive Approach. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1974.

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Frank, Jerome D. and Julia B. Frank. Persuasion and Healing: A Comparative Study of Psychotherapy. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991.

Fullerton, Carol S. and Robert J. Ursano, eds. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Acute &

Long-term Responses to Trauma and Disaster. Washington, D.C.: American

Psychiatric Press, 1997.

Gerdtz, John. Autism: A Practical Guide for Those Who Help Others. New York: Continuum, 1990.

Gutkind, Lee. Stuck in Time: The Tragedy of Childhood Mental Illness. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1993.

Hendin, Herbert. Wounds of War: The Psychological Aftermath of Combat in Vietnam. New York: Basic Books, 1984.

Hollandsworth, James G. The Physiology of Psychological Disorders: Schizophrenia, Depression, Anxiety, and Substance Abuse. New York: Plenum Press, 1990.

Klopfer, Bruno and Helen Davidson. The Rorschack Technique: An Introductory Manual. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1962.

Koch, Sigmund, and David Leary, ed. A Century of Psychology as a Science.

Washington D.C.: American Psychological Association, 1992.