Psychological Disorders

How abnormal behaviour is understood: the four Ds, two views of abnormality and the harm of stigma, how ideas changed over history, classification systems, and the models that explain it.

Key ideas

• Abnormal psychology studies behaviour that is maladaptive, its causes and its treatment, as a science rather than a judgement of people.
• One view sees abnormality as deviation from social norms, which changes with culture and time; another sees it as behaviour that harms well-being and growth.
• Stigma makes people ashamed to seek help; psychological problems are best seen like any other health condition.
• Ideas moved from early organic theories (Hippocrates, Galen) to the scientific Age of Reason, the Reform Movement and community care.
• Classification systems let professionals share a common language: DSM-5 (American Psychiatric Association) and ICD-10 (WHO, used in India).
• Models explain from different sides: biological, psychodynamic, behavioural, cognitive, humanistic-existential and socio-cultural.
• Today’s bio-psycho-social approach holds that biological, psychological and social factors act together, so no single model explains enough.

Remember

Watch out

• Treating one D, such as being different, as enough to call behaviour abnormal.
• Mixing up the classifications: DSM-5 is from the American Psychiatric Association, ICD-10 from the WHO.
• Using chapter terms to label a friend or oneself: only trained professionals assess, and it takes far more than a textbook.

Worked example