PSYCH 3830 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Developmental Psychopathology, Mass Hysteria, Humorism

• School: Clemson University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYCH 3830
• Professor: Jo Jorgensen

Document Summary

Psychological dysfunction refers to a breakdown in cognitive, emotional, or. Knowing where to draw the line between normal and abnormal dysfunction is. That the behavior must be associated with distress to be classified as abnormal. You will see, importantly, that no one criterion has yet been developed that fully defines abnormality. For this reason, these problems are often considered to be on a continuum or a dimension rather than to be categories that are either present or absent. This, too, is a reason why just having a dysfunction is not enough to meet the criteria for a psychological disorder. Personal distress or impairment adds an important component and seems clear: the criterion is satisfied if the individual is extremely upset. The human condition is such that suffering and distress are very much part of life. Furthermore, for some disorders, by definition, suffering and distress are absent.