Course Introduction

Abnormal Psychology:Course IntroductionJanuary 13, 2014PSYC 2340: Abnormal PsychologyBrett Deacon, Ph.D.

Course Introduction • Welcome! • Office hours: MWF 8:00-9:00 in Biological Sciences 128 • Contact: bdeacon@uwyo.edu, 766-3317 • Course website: http://www.uwyo.edu/psychology/faculty/psyc%202340%20abnormal%20psychology.html (accessible on my psychology department faculty page)

The Instructor • A few words about me…

My Last Class at UW • University of Wollongong (Australia)

Readings • Abnormal psychology: An integrative approach (6th edition) • 9 chapters will be covered • One additional reading: On Being Sane in Insane Places,” by D.L. Rosenhan (1973), Science, vol. 179, pp. 250-258.

Course Requirements • Exams: 5 exams, 40 points each, multiple choice • First four exams cover the material presented since the prior exam • Only the final exam is cumulative • Only four out of the scheduled five exams will count toward your final grade • Practically speaking, this means that the fifth exam is optional if you are satisfied with your grade after the first four exams

Course Requirements • Extra credit opportunity: participation in psychology experiments, up to 6 points/hours (3%), same system (Sona) used in Intro. Psych.

Grading Grade Percent Total Points A 90 - 100% 180-200 B 80 - 89% 160-179 C 70 - 79% 140-159 D 60 - 69% 120-139 F < 60% < 119

Grading • Breakdown of final grades in past three years: • Spring 2013: 32 A’s, 52 B’s, 25 C’s, 6 D’s, 6 F’s • Spring 2012: 31 A’s, 47 B’s, 35 C’s, 5 D’s, 6 F’s • Spring 2011: 29 A’s, 57 B’s, 31 C’s, 6 D’s, 2 F’s • Average GPA ≈ 2.75 • A note about end of the semester cutoff scores

Additional Information • No class next Monday: MLK/Equality day • Attendance and class participation • Cell phones • Laptop etiquette • Missing/rescheduling exams

Additional Information • Obtaining lecture PowerPoint slides • How to take notes during lectures • How to get an A or B in this class • How to get a D or F in this class

Course Description and Goals • Survey the body of scientific knowledge on the nature and treatment of mental disorders • Integrative approach: psychological, biological, and social contributions to, and treatments of, mental disorders • Critical evaluation of the scientific evidence • How to distinguish “abnormal” from “normal” behavior

Topics We Will Cover • The basics: defining abnormality, historical and theoretical approaches to mental disorders, science and pseudoscience in abnormal psychology, research methods, diagnosing mental disorders, causal and maintaining factors of mental disorders • Specific problems: anxiety disorders, somatoform disorders, mood disorders, eating disorders, substance use disorders, personality disorders, psychotic disorders

Topics We Will NOT Cover • Dissociative disorders, sleep disorders, physical disorders and health psychology, sexual and gender identity disorders, developmental disorders, cognitive disorders, and disorders usually first diagnosed in infancy/childhood/adolescence • Breath vs. depth considerations

A Sampler of Topics… • What is a mental disorder? Is it an objectively verifiable “thing” a person can have, akin to diabetes or asthma? Or is it an extreme form of experiences that many people have? • How do mental disorders differ from the “problems in living” experienced by many people? How clear is the line that divides them?

A Sampler of Topics… • How do mental disorders make it into the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)? How does this differ from the process via which new medical diseases are added to the ICD? Who decides what counts as a mental disorder, and how are such decisions made? From 1952 to 1994, approximately how many new mental disorders were added to the DSM?

A Sampler of Topics… • The most recent, updated version of the DSM was published in May. Why is it steeped in controversy? Why has an online petition protesting the DSM been signed by 15,000 mental health professionals and 50 mental health organizations?

A Sampler of Topics… • Are mental disorders like depression caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain? Is there a test for this? Do medications work by correcting a chemical imbalance in the brain? • What cultural, psychological, and biological factors influence mental disorders, and how?

A Sampler of Topics… • Why is psychiatry the only branch of medicine that has an opposition movement? Why do protesters picket the annual convention of the American Psychiatric Association every year?

A Sampler of Topics… • What is psychotherapy? Is it simply listening empathically and fostering a trusting and respectful relationship with the client? • How effective are different psychotherapies for different mental disorders? How effective are medications? How effective is their combination?

A Sampler of Topics… • Is psychotherapy an art or science (or both)? • To what extent do mental health clinicians base their treatment decisions on science? • To what extent are mental health consumers able to access effective treatments?

A Sampler of Topics… • Which are more competitive for admission: medical schools or Ph.D. programs in clinical psychology? • If you are interested in getting into graduate school in psychology, what do you need to know right now to prepare yourself? • What are the differences between mental health professions?

Informed Consent: My Values • Science is the best way to understand the nature of reality • Intuition has a role to play as well • We should strive for a scientifically-based understanding of abnormal psychology • We should favor those treatments with demonstrated effectiveness in scientific research • The scientific foundation of mental health practice matters, a lot • What this means for you in this class

Upcoming Schedule • Wednesday and Friday: defining abnormal behavior, brief overview of mental health professions • Next week • No class on Monday • Wednesday and Friday: historical and theoretical approaches to abnormal psychology

Course Introduction