Chapter 14

Abnormal Behavior: Myths, Realities, and Controversies

1. Describe and evaluate the medical model of abnormal behavior.

2. Explain the most commonly used criteria of abnormality and complexities that arise in their application.

3. List four stereotypes of people with psychological disorders.

4. Summarize the Featured Study on the admission of pseudopatients to mental hospitals.

5. List the five diagnostic axes of DSM-IV and discuss some of the controversial aspects of this classification system.

6. Discuss estimates of the prevalence of psychological disorders.

Anxiety Disorders

7. List four types of anxiety disorders and describe the symptoms associated with each.

8. Discuss the contributions of biological, cognitive, and personality factors, conditioning, and stress to the etiology of anxiety disorders.

Somatoform Disorders

9. Compare and contrast the three somatoform disorders and discuss their etiology.

Dissociative Disorders

10. Describe three dissociative disorders and discuss their etiology.

Mood Disorders

11. Describe the two major affective disorders: depressive disorder and bipolar mood disorder.

12. Explain how genetic and neurochemical factors may be related to the development of mood disorders.

13. Explain how cognitive factors, interpersonal factors, and stress may be related to the development of mood disorders.

Schizophrenic Disorders

14. Describe the general characteristics (symptoms) of schizophrenia.

15. Describe two classification systems for schizophrenic subtypes and discuss the course of schizophrenia (including factors related to prognosis).

16. Explain how genetic vulnerability, neurochemical factors, and structural abnormalities in the brain may contribute to the etiology of schizophrenia.

17. Summarize evidence on how family dynamics and stress may be related to the development of schizophrenia.

Personality Disorders

18. Discuss the nature of personality disorders and describe the three broad clusters of such disorders.

19. Describe the antisocial personality disorder and discuss its etiology.

Psychological Disorders and the Law

20. Distinguish between the legal concepts of insanity and incompetence and explain the grounds for involuntary commitment.

21. Discuss the evidence on three issues related to culture and pathology.

Putting it in Perspective

22. Explain how this chapter highlighted four of the text's organizing themes.

Application: Understanding and Preventing Suicide

23. Summarize how age, sex, marital status, and occupational status are related to the prevalence of suicide.

24. List four myths about suicidal behavior and summarize advice provided on preventing a suicide.

Terms

Key People