Rosenhan (1973) states that in psychology, abnormality plays a key role in diagnosing a person as mentally ill. However, the line that divides normal from abnormal is not clear. All behaviour lies on a continuum with normal, also called effective psychological functioning, and at the other end abnormal indicating mental illness. Mental health professionals look for bizarreness and persistence of the behaviour with a certain pattern over time. Social deviance, when a person 's behaviour violates expectations and norms. Subjective distress which involves a specific situation that makes us feel uncomfortable. Psychological handicap, when a person finds it impossible to be satisfied with life due to psychological problems. Effect on functioning, …show more content…
Rosenhan had theoretical propositions where he questioned whether the characteristics that lead to psychological diagnoses reside in the patients or in situations in which observers find patients. He proposed one way to test mental health professionals ' ability to categorize patients, which consists in admitting normal people in the hospital to see if they are psychologically …show more content…
Once inside the hospital they displayed no symptoms. In order to be able to leave, they had to convince the hospital staff that they were healthy enough to be discharged, so they cooperated with the staff. The result of this study was that the hospital staff didn 't detect the pseudopatients. In contrast, real patients were suspicious that the pseudopatients were not actually mentally ill. Also, Rosenhan 's study demonstrated that normal people can 't be distinguished from the mentally ill in a hospital setting. Once patients are admitted, they are labelled by the staff who give them a central characteristic. They saw only the behaviour relevant to the pathological traits assigned to the patients. However there was no indication that the staff 's distortions were done intentionally. They believed in the diagnosis and interpreted a patient 's behaviour in ways that were consistent with that diagnosis. However, the results demonstrated that the sane could not be distinguished from the “insane” in mental hospital settings. Also, Rosenhan (1973) describes that when a person is labelled as having a certain psychological condition, that “label eclipses any and all of his or her other characteristics” (p.
As medical advances are being made, it makes the treating of diseases easier and easier. Mental hospitals have changed the way the treat a patient’s illness considerably compared to the hospital described in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
" This improved the treatment of patients but the mentally ill that weren't in this asylum may have
Movies and shows like, “Girl Interrupted” and “American Horror Story: Insane Asylum” portray hospitals in a way that has truth to it, however they portray the people in a negative way. It has become more known to society that the hospitals that the mentally ill are subjected to living in are not a good place to be. However, the stigma that mentally ill people are dangerous and cannot overcome their illness is still widely
Diagnosing a patient with a personality disorders where often evaluations done by a clinician. The clinician would listen to the importance of interpersonal experiences and observing the patients behavior in a consulting room (Westen, 2001). This was normally done in one session, if the patient informed the clinician of harming himself. The clinician would diagnose the patient as a borderline personality disorders.
Psychology consists of countless different components that help describe various aspects of individuals both mentally and physically. Though Psychology is used for multiple different areas, one of the most common areas to observe in this field is behaviors. Behaviors range from person to person and can be altered by different situations and variables. The point when behaviors can become of interest is when an individual’s actions and behavior are extreme or they are inconsistent with the appropriate behavior in certain circumstances. These abnormal behaviors are often consistent and can be related to psychological disorders. Though some psychological disorders may be manageable to live
people, especially when the behavior differs from the normal as radically as in the cases
Schildkrout, Barbara. “Unmasking Psychological Symptoms: How Therapists Can Learn To Recognize The Psychological Presentation Of Medical Disorders”. n.p.: Hoboken, N.J. : John Wiley & Sons, c2011., 2011. USMAI Catalog. Web. 12 Nov. 2013.
However, mental health is more than just the absence of mental disorders and there are a number of problems that can interfere with a person’s cognitive, social and emotional abilities. Biological approaches to mental health view all psychiatric disorders as being caused by organic factors such as genetic and biochemical factors. The role of psychiatrists or clinical psychologists is to help the patient cope with the illness or control the effects of it by means of medication or therapy (Cardwell, Clark, and Meldrum, 2008). In contrast to the biological theory, the social theory to mental ill health offers a holistic approach to try and understand mental disorders. This means that there may also be social factors that may influence a person’s resistance or susceptibility to psychiatric disorders. These could be triggered by certain life events such as a tragedy or stress. It also takes into consideration the labelling theory where society labels a person as ‘mentally ill’ who then accepts that status (self-fulfilling prophecy) and may lead to a severe mental
When considering the 5 D’s of abnormality, he possesses characteristics of them all. For dysfunction, he experiences social dysfunction by being unable to create and maintain relationships. He also experiences emotional dysfunction by having a fear of being alone, bouts of crying, and feelings of low self-worth. Physiological symptoms such as insomnia,
Barlow, David H., Vincent Mark. Durand, and Sherry H. Stewart. Abnormal Psychology: An Integrative Approach. Toronto: Nelson Education, 2012. 140-45. Print.
History shows that signs of mental illness and abnormal behavior have been documented as far back as the early Greeks however, it was not viewed the same as it is today. The mentally ill were previously referred to as mad, insane, lunatics, or maniacs. W.B. Maher and B.A. Maher (1985) note how many of the terms use had roots in old English words that meant emotionally deranged, hurt, unhealthy, or diseased. Although early explanations were not accurate, the characteristics of the mentally ill have remained the same and these characteristics are used to diagnose disorders to date. Cultural norms have always been used to assess and define abnormal behavior. Currently, we have a decent understanding of the correlates and influences of mental illness. Although we do not have complete knowledge, psychopathologists have better resources, technology, and overall research skills than those in ancient times.
Barlow, D., Durand, V., & Stewart, S. (2009). Abnormal psychology an integrative apporach. (2nd ed.). United States of America: Wadsworth
This model, along with its “key therapist technique” is one of the only institutionally applied ways that discusses this topic, as most of society is weary, uncomfortable, or uneducated of how to approach it. While one of its weaknesses is that its research support is merely moderate, this is simply because testing this model is more difficult than testing the success of other models. This is because this model does not believe in turning humans into test subjects, and thus ridding them of their humanity, which is enlightening and can justify this low research support. The fact that the “consumer designation” is client based is also a strength of the model because referring to those seeking advice or guidance as “patients,” medicalizes these individuals, and thus may impose them with a permanent, stigmatized, and inaccurate label because of this term. This is also true with certain models like the biological model that searches for perhaps natural or inherent and inescapable internal causes to abnormality, which negatively accredits certain individuals as biologically abnormal and dysfunctional. This trend was a prominent approach in historical dynamics as well. For example, this occurred when certain
People sometimes have symptoms of mental disorders, but they usually do not meet the criteria or are not clinically significant, severe enough to necessitate treatment. Before a person can be diagnosed with a mental disorder, his or her problematic thoughts, feelings, and actions must meet the criteria for the mental disorder and must prevent adequate social, occupation, or other forms of functioning.
Halgin, R. P., & Whitbourne, S. K. (2010). Abnormal psychology: clinical perspectives on psychological disorders (6th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.