Raymond M. Bergner's webpage

Basic objectives of this class are the following: (1) that the student understand what psychopathology (aka "mental disorder", "mental ilness") is; (2) that the student become familiar with the most common forms of psychopathology in this society (e.g., depression, alcoholism, anxiety disorders, and sexual disorders); (c) that the student acquire knowledge of various theoretical explanations of these pathologies (and in the bargain acquire many generally useful forms of explanation that extend beyond psychopathology); and (d) that the student be able to take an intelligent critical approach as a citizen and as a consumer to the many claims put forth in the media regarding psychopathologies and psychotherapies (e.g, the frequently heard claim that "it's all biological, and medication will one day provide the answer to all these problems").

TEXT AND READINGS:

1. Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2008). Abnormal Psychology (4th Ed.). NY: McGraw-Hill.

2. Selected readings available on eReserve from Milner Library.

EXAMS:

All REGULAR EXAMS will be objective in nature. Two different STUDY GUIDES are available to assist you in targeting the most important materials to know. First, at the end of this syllabus, you will find a series of study questions that pertain to LECTURE materials. It is essential to your success in this class that you be able to answer these questions. Second, each chapter in your text has a self-administered quiz, complete with instant feedback, that serves as an excellent study guide for the TEXT. Beyond these, you should FOCUS ON THE LARGER IDEAS, CONCEPTS, AND STUDIES in lecture and text. You will not be called upon to memorize small details in other than the few contained in the study guides.

All MAKE-UP EXAMS will be ESSAY / SHORT ANSWER in nature and will take place on the MONDAY FOLLOWING THE REGULAR EXAM. Be aware that, although they cover the same material, essay/short answer exams are intrinsically more difficult, so prepare accordingly. IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO CONTACT ME TO SCHEDULE A MAKE-UP EXAM. Anyone failing to take either the regularly scheduled or make-up exam at the regular time will incur a late penalty of 5% per weekday taken off of your test grade.

SPECIAL ACCOMODATIONS: If, due to some disability (e.g., a physical handicap or learning disability), you need special accomodations for test taking or other needs, please contact Disability Concerns at 350 Fell Hall, 438-5853 (voice), 438-8620 (TTY).

CHEATING POLICY: Anyone caught cheating on an examination will receive a grade of 0% on that examination. Anyone caught cheating a second time will be subject to more severe sanctions, up to and including expulsion from the university.

EXAM #1: WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24 (tentative--depends on movement through material)

1. The nature of abnormality and psychological health.

Reading: Bergner R (1993). Psychopathology and psychotherapy

from a Descriptive Psychological point of view. In R. Bergner,

(ed.), Studies in Psychopathology (pp. 3-8). Ann Arbor, MI:

Descriptive Psychology Press. (Available online at Milner)

2. Stress disorders and health psychology.

Reading: Text, chapter 6 (including videos).

3. Anxiety disorders

Reading: Text, chapter 7 (including videos)

4. Somatoform and dissociative disorders (including videos)

Reading: Text, chapter 8.

EXAM #2: WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 22 (tentative)

1. Mood disorders (unipolar and bipolar) and suicide.

Readings: Text, chapter 9 (including videos).

2. Suicide.

Readings: Text, chapter 10 (no videos)..

3. Schizophrenia.

Readings: Text, chapter 11 (including videos).

EXAM #3: WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19 (tentative)

1. Sexual disorders.

Readings: Text, chapter 16 (no videos required).

Bergner R & Bergner L (1990). "Sexual misunderstanding: A

descriptive and pragmatic formulation." Psychotherapy,

27, 464-467. (Available online at Milner).

2. Substance abuse disorders.

Readings: Text, chapter 17 (including videos).

3. Personality disorders.

Reading: Text, chapter 12 (including videos).

FINAL EXAM: TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 8:00 TO 9:00 A.M.

Depending on time left, we may cover either or both of the following

topics in final class periods:

1. Eating disorders..

2. Self-esteem problems.

FINAL EXAM IS COMPREHENSIVE in nature: COVERS LECTURE

MATERIALS ONLY for entire course, including the lectures from

the class sessions following test #3. There are no new readings

for this period so that students will have additional time to review

for final.

PAPERS:

There are 2 typewritten papers required for this course. Details are provided below in this syllabus, and a sample paper is provided. However, generally, each will require you to

(1) DESCRIBE AN INDIVIDUAL AND HIS/HER PROBLEM IN LIVING (the person could be you, someone you know very well, or a person described in a case study that I can provide for you);

(2) GIVE A DIAGNOSIS of this person's problem and defend your choice of this diagnosis; and...

(3) most importantly, PROVIDE AN EXPLANATION OF THE PROBLEM BASED ON EXPLANATIONS GIVEN IN CLASS (a frequent cause of low grades in the past has been that students have ignored this requirement -- you must integrate explanations from lecture into your paper).

Due dates for papers are as follows:

Paper #1: WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1.

Topic: any disorder covered up to this point in class --however, if

you select phobia, do not, as many have done in past,

simply copy the rationale from the sample paper

provided below. Do original thinking here.

Paper #2: WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 12.

Topic: any disorder covered after test 1 up until

this date (see list below in further discussion of

paper assignment).

LATE PENALTY: 3 points per weekday that paper is late. See further details

on this assignment on next page.

EXTRA CREDIT:

Extra credit worth a total of 5% of your final grade may be obtained in this course. 3% of this extra credit may be obtained for ATTENDANCE on certain days. These days, 6 altogether, will not be announced in advance. Each of the days that a student is present will result in an increase of 0.5% to the student's final overall average. This is to provide a reward for the effort of those students who attend class regularly.

A further 2% extra credit may be obtained by PARTICIPATING IN EXPERIMENTS. Sign-up sheets for such experiments may be found on a bulletin board in the basement of DeGarmo (go left out of the elevator to the glass door, then right and look for board on right hand wall). Each hour of experimental credit will get you a 1% increase on your final grade; for example, if your final average for all tests was 78%, 2 hours of experimental credit would increase this to 80% (limit: 2 hours credit for 2%).

DETERMINATION OF FINAL GRADE.

Your final grade will be determined in the following way:

Each exam: 100 points. Total = 400 points

Each paper: 50 points. Total = 100 points

Thus, a total of 500 points is possible. Extra credit points will then be added to the percentage of points that you obtain to determine your final grade. For example, if you got 425 points, this would be 85% of the total points possible from the tests and the papers. If you then had gotten 5 extra credit points, your final average for the course would be 90%.

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FURTHER DETAILS REGARDING PAPERS

Basic assignment: Write 2 short papers (3 pages, double spaced, Times New

Roman font, 12 point type)

Topic: Take some difficulty or problem or limitation that you yourself suffer from, or

that someone very close to you whom you know very well suffers from. In

the paper, (1) describe the problem clearly, (2) give a diagnosis or describe

how the problem is like some disorder discussed in class (e.g., it may be an

irrational fear but not severe enough to call it a "phobia"), and (3) provide

an explanation based on the set of explanations described in lecture. The

problem does not have to be super serious, but it should be significant

to you or to the other person affected.

Paper #1 should relate to one of the following topics:

phobia

PTSD

panic disorder

generalized anxiety disorder

obsessive-compulsive disorder

somatoform disorder

multiple personality disorder

psychosomatic disorders

pathological grief reactions

Paper #2 should relate to the following topics:

depression

suicide

mania/bipolar disorder

schizophrenia

sexual disorders

[NB: do not do a disorder not yet covered in class]

alcohol abuse

narcissism

antisocial personality disorder.

Purposes: 1. For you to think about explaining human problems, which is a core

purpose of this course.

2. For you to get writing experience.

Points: Each paper will be worth 50 points.

Criteria used to judge papers:

1. Quality of thinking--esp., of integrating explanations from lecture into

your explanation of problem.

2. Organization: headings (e.g., “Description of problem”; “Diagnosis,”

and “Explanation”) strongly recommended, as well as

use of good topic sentences to alert your reader to

the theme or topic of each paragraph.

3. Poor writing and spelling, which do detract from the quality

of any written product, will result in some loss of points.

Sample: The following is a sample of the kind of paper, and the kind

of organization, we are looking for. While this sample is a humorous

one, it may be used as a model for the sort of thinking, writing,

organization, and overall quality of product we are looking for.

My Phobic Disorder: Cocacola-phobia

Let me share with you the story of my horrible affliction having to do with the ingestion of Coca Cola. Following the outline provided above, I will divide my discussion into three parts: (1) description of problem; (2) diagnosis of problem; and (3) explanation of problem.

Description of Problem

Here’s the problem. For years, probably five or more, I could barely stand the sight of Coca Cola. Not only that but Pepsi, root beer, and Dr. Pepper had almost the same effect on me, and even prune juice gave me twinges. The thought of drinking any of these substances made me nauseous, as did the sight of others drinking them. Even today, many years later, I still barely touch soft drinks.

Was this a “significant restriction in my ability to participate in life in meaningful ways?” Well, no, but it did keep me from enjoying something that I had always enjoyed, so it took one of life’s pleasures away from me. In the long run, I’ve stayed pretty thin, so maybe it’s been good that way.

Diagnosis of Problem

The diagnosis that best fits the above description is that of the phobic disorder known as "Cocacolaphobia", described in the DSM IV as “a chronic condition in which the patient, upon viewing or tasting Coca Cola or any substance that represents a similar stimulus, has a strong nauseous response, and thus a serious impairment in his or her ability to ingest the substance in question.” This description clearly fits the symptoms described in part 1.

Explanation of Symptoms

Onset of symptoms: The critical incident. When I was twelve years old, my brother bet me a dollar (a significant sum in those days when a Hershey bar was a dime) that I could not drink 5 king size cokes in a row. I bet him I could, and immediately gulped down, with some difficulty toward the end, all five. At this point, I became very sick. While I don’t remember throwing up, I do remember feeling very nauseous. I also remember that, right from that moment, I couldn’t stand the sight of coke, much less the thought of drinking it or anything like it.

One of the kinds of explanation we discussed in class was classical conditioning, and it is this explanation that seems best to explain my problem. In classical conditioning, what happens is that an initially neutral stimulus (e.g., a bell in the case of Pavlov's famous dogs) becomes paired with another stimulus (e.g., meat) that naturally (without any learning involved) provokes some sort of reaction (e.g., salivation). Through this pairing, the previously neutral stimulus acquires the ability to evoke the same reaction that the other, unconditioned, stimulus does. In the case of Hilda discussed in class, for example, having snow (neutral stimulus) paired with being buried alive in an avalanche (unconditioned stimulus) resulted in snow acquiring the ability to throw her into an intense panic state.

In my case, coca cola, initially an enjoyable stimulus, became paired with an overdose of it, a stimulus that naturally induced nausea. Through this pairing, just the sight or smell of a small quanity of coke acquired to ability to make me nauseous.

Conclusion.

You may think this a minor problem, but my life has been extraordinarily uneventful, and so it stands as a great turning point in my life. I hope that you, the reader, have profited from my terrible mistake, and when someone bets you that you can’t drink 5 king size cokes, or eat a large bag of Hershey kisses, or down a pint of peach brandy, that you will be man or woman enough to just say no.

STUDY GUIDE FOR LECTURE PART OF TEST #1

1. ACCORDING TO BEHAVIORAL DEFINITIONS OF PSYCHOPATHOLOGY,

THIS TERM REFERS TO A CERTAIN KIND OF BEHAVIOR (E.G.,

DEVIANT OR MALADAPTIVE BEHAVIOR). WHAT POSITION WAS TAKEN

IN LECTURE REGARDING SUCH DEFINITIONS?

2. HOW DOES OSSORIO DEFINE PSYCHOPATHOLOGY? BE SURE YOU

KNOW WHAT THE DEFINITION MEANS -- E.G., ACCORDING TO THIS

DEFINITION, IF JACK HAD A SNAKE PHOBIA, OR JILL WERE STARVING

HERSELF, WOULD THEY AUTOMATICALLY BE CONSIDERED

"ABNORMAL"?

3. ACCORDING TO OSSORIO, WHAT IS "NORMALITY"? WHAT IS "POSITIVE

MENTAL HEALTH" ?

4. WHAT IS THE TRADITIONAL DISTINCTION BETWEEN ANXIETY AND FEAR?

5. WHAT IS A PHOBIA? WHAT ARE THE TYPICAL KINDS OF PHOBIA?

6. WHAT IS THE BEHAVIORAL EXPLANATION OF PHOBIAS?

7. DOES THE BEHAVIORAL EXPLANATION EXPLAIN EVERYTHING ABOUT

HILDA'S SNOW PHOBIA? WHAT DOES IT EXPLAIN? WHAT, IF

ANYTHING, DOESN'T IT EXPLAIN?

8. WHAT ARE THE TWO PSYCHOANALYTIC EXPLANATIONS OF PHOBIAS?

THESE MAY BE TERMED THE "REALLY AFRAID OF SOMETHING ELSE"

AND THE "DISGUISED, PARTIAL ERUPTION" EXPLANATIONS.

9. WHAT EXPLANATION WAS OFFERED IN CLASS FOR THE DELAYED ONSET

OF MANY PHOBIAS?

10.WHAT IS POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER? WHAT ARE

ITS' SYMPTOMS?

11. WHAT EXPLANATION WAS OFFERED IN CLASS FOR EACH OF THESE

PTSD SYMPTOMS?

12. WHAT IS AN "EXPOSURE THERAPY?" WHY DO SUCH THERAPIES TEND TO

WORK?

13. WHAT IS PANIC DISORDER?

14. WHAT IS AGORAPHOBIA? HOW IS IT RELATED TO PANIC DISORDER?

15. WHAT IS THE BIOLOGICAL THEORY OF PANIC DISORDER?

16. WHAT IS THE COGNITIVE THEORY OF PANIC DISORDER?

17. COGNITIVE THERAPY FOR PANIC DISORDER WORKS QUITE WELL.

WHAT DOES THIS FACT IMPLY ABOUT (A) WHAT ACTUALLY CAUSES

PANIC DISORDER, AND (B) THE BIOLOGICAL THEORY OF

CAUSATION?

18. WHAT IS GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER?

19. WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER?

20. WHAT EXPLANATIONS WERE CONSIDERED IN CLASS REGARDING THE

SENSE WHICH (A) OBSESSIONS, AND (B) COMPULSIONS MAKE?

BE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND:

-THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN OBSESSIONS AND COMPULSIONS

-THE TWO PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORIES

-THE COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL THEORY

21. WHY, ACCORDING TO THE CLASS DISCUSSION OF HIS THERAPY, DID

BEN F. HAVE A COMPULSION TO TURN OFF ELECTRICAL SWITCHES?

22. WHAT IS SOMATOFORM DISORDER?

23. WHY, ACCORDING TO PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY, DID "BEAR" DEVELOP

A SOMATOFORM DISORDER?

24. WHAT IS MULTIPLE PERSONALITY DISORDER (AKA "DISSOCIATIVE

IDENTITY DISORDER")?

25. WHAT IS BLISS' EXPLANATION FOR MPD?

26. WHAT ARE PSYCHOSOMATIC DISORDERS?

27. WHAT IS THE DIATHESIS - STRESS MODEL?

28. IS IT POSSIBLE TO HAVE A PSYCHOSOMATIC DISORDER WITHOUT

ANY DIATHESIS?

STUDY GUIDE FOR LECTURE PART OF TEST #2

1. WHAT ARE WORDEN'S FOUR TASKS OF MOURNING, AND WHEN DOES

HE SAY THAT MOURNING IS COMPLETED?

2. WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF DEPRESSION?

3. WHAT DISTINGUISHES UNIPOLAR FROM BIPOLAR DEPRESSION?

4. THE LEADING BIOLOGICAL THEORIES OF DEPRESSION STRESS FACTORS

HAVING TO DO WITH BRAIN CHEMISTRY. WHAT BIOCHEMICAL

FACTORS ARE STRESSED BY THESE THEORIES?

5. WHAT EVIDENCE SUPPORTS THE GENERAL POSITION THAT DEPRESSION

IS PRIMARILY DUE TO BIOLOGICAL FACTORS?

6. ACCORDING TO ELLIS' ABC DIAGRAM, WHAT CAUSES EMOTIONS?

7. ACCORDING TO BECK'S THEORY, WHAT SORTS OF EARLY EXPERIENCES

ARE CONDUCIVE TO LATER DEPRESSION?

8. ACCORDING TO BECK, WHAT IS A "SCHEMA?"

9. ACCORDING TO BECK, WHAT SORTS OF FAULTY INFORMATION

PROCESSING DO DEPRESSED PERSONS USUALLY ENGAGE IN?

10. ACCORDING TO BECK, A PERSON MAY BE GOING ALONG FINE IN

LIFE, BUT THEN CERTAIN EXPERIENCES WILL TRIGGER A

DEPRESSION?

WHAT KIND OF EXPERIENCES WILL DO SO, AND WHY?

11. ACCORDING TO SELIGMAN'S LEARNED HELPLESSNESS THEORY, WHAT

BASICALLY CAUSES DEPRESSION?

12. ACCORDING TO SELIGMAN, WHAT IS THE "INSIDIOUS ATTRIBUTIONAL

STYLE?" HOW IS IT RELATED TO PERSONS' FEELINGS OF HELPLESSNESS?

13. ACCORDING TO PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY, WHAT CAUSES

DEPRESSION?

14. IN HIS RESEARCH, WHAT BIOLOGICAL CHANGE DID JAY WEISS OBSERVE

IN ANIMALS WHO HAD LEARNED HELPLESSNESS? WHAT DOES THIS

IMPLY ABOUT THE RESPECTIVE ROLES OF BIOLOGICAL AND

PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS IN THE CAUSATION OF DEPRESSION?

15. WHAT SYMPTOMS OF MANIA WERE CITED IN CLASS?

16. WHAT IS THE STANDARD OR MOST POPULAR (BUT NOT NECESSARILY

CORRECT) VIEW TODAY OF WHAT CAUSES MANIA?

17. ACCORDING TO WECHSLER, WHAT SORT OF EVENTS TRIGGER MANIC

EPISODES? HOW DOES THE MANIC PERSON RESPOND TO SUCH

EVENTS IN SUCH A WAY THAT HE OR SHE BECOMES MANIC?

18. KNOW AND UNDERSTAND THE FOLLOWING FROM SCHNEIDMAN'S

THEORY OF SUICIDE:

THE COMMON STIMULUS FOR SUICIDE IS

THE COMMON STRESSOR FOR SUICIDE IS

THE COMMON PURPOSE IN SUICIDE IS

THE COMMON INTERNAL ATTITUDE IN SUICIDE IS

THE COMMON COGNITIVE STYLE IN SUICIDE IS

19. IN KIRSCH'S THEORY OF SUICIDE, WHAT IS THE EXPLANATION FOR

WHY PEOPLE MAKE SUICIDE ATTEMPTS?

20. WHY SPEAK OF "THE SCHIZOPHRENIAS" RATHER THAN SCHIZOPHRENIA?

21. WHAT ALTERNATIVE INTERPRETATION IS THERE TO THE POSITION

THAT SCHIZOPHRENIC THOUGHT IS ACTUALLY DISORDERED?

22. WHAT IS A DELUSION? WHAT IS A DELUSION OF INFLUENCE? OF

GRANDEUR? OF REFERENCE? OF PERSECUTION?

23. WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ACUTE VS. CHRONIC

SCHIZOPHRENIA?

24. ACCORDING TO BERGNER'S THEORY, WHY DO PARANOIDS HAVE

DELUSIONS?

STUDY GUIDE FOR LECTURE PART OF TEST #3

1. WHAT DO ALL SEXUAL DISORDERS HAVE IN COMMON--THIS

SOMETHING MAY BE REGARDED AS THE DEFINING CHARACTERISTIC

OF SEXUAL DISORDER.

2. WHAT IS "SEXUAL DYSFUNCTION" (BE SURE TO DISTINGUISH

FROM "SEXUAL DISORDER")?

3. WHAT ARE THE VARIETIES OF SEXUAL DYSFUNCTION THAT WERE

MENTIONED IN CLASS?

4. WHAT CAUSES OF SEXUAL DYSFUNCTION WERE MENTIONED IN CLASS?

5. ACCORDING TO THE ARTICLE, "SEXUAL MISUNDERSTANDING," WHAT

IS THE COMMON DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN

IN THE SIGNIFICANCE THEY ATTACH TO THE ACT OF SEXUAL

INTERCOURSE? HOW CAN THIS DIFFERENCE LEAD TO PROBLEMS

IN THEIR RELATIONSHIP?

6. WHAT IS A "PARAPHILIA?" BE ABLE TO DEFINE THE VARIETIES OF THIS

MENTIONED IN CLASS.

7. CAN CLASSICAL CONDITIONING EXPLAIN PARAPHILIA COMPLETELY?

PARTIALLY? AT ALL?

8. HOW DOES JOHN MONEY, IN HIS FAMOUS "LOVEMAP" THEORY,

EXPLAIN PARAPHILIA?

9. HOW DOES BERGNER EXPLAIN PARAPHILIA?

10. WHAT THREE GENERAL CRITERIA ARE USED TO DETERMINE WHEN

SUBSTANCE USE HAS BECOME SUBSTANCE DEPENDENCE

(AKA "ADDICTION")?

11. WHAT VERY GENERAL THEORY WAS ADVOCATED BY YOUR PROFESSOR

AS TO THE NATURE OF THE INHERITED FACTOR IN ALCOHOLISM?

12. WHAT EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL WERE MENTIONED IN CLASS THAT MAKE

IT AN ATTRACTIVE DRUG FOR MOST PEOPLE, BUT IN THE BARGAIN

ALSO MAKE IT ATTRACTIVE FOR SOME PERSONS TO ABUSE?

13. WHAT IS THE "ENDORPHIN COMPENSATION HYPOTHESIS?"

14. WHAT THEORY WAS ADVANCED IN CLASS REGARDING WHY

JONATHAN B. DRANK?

15. WHAT, IF ANY, ROLE MIGHT JONATHAN'S WIFE HAVE PLAYED IN

HIS DRINKING?

16. WHAT ARE THE PRIMARY CHARACTERISTICS OF NARCISSISTIC

PERSONALITY DISORDER?

17. WHAT IS FREUD'S DEFINITION OF THE TERM "NARCISSISM"?

18. WHAT IS KERNBERG'S EXPLANATION FOR WHY THE NARCISSIST IS

SO ADDICTED TO THE ATTENTION, PRAISE, AND ADMIRATION

OF OTHER PERSONS?

19. WHAT IS KERNBERG'S EXPLANATION FOR WHY NARCISSISTS ARE

UNABLE TO LOVE OTHER PERSONS?

20. WHAT IS KERNBERG'S EXPLANATION FOR THE "LOVE EM AND

LEAVE EM" PATTERN CHARACTERISTIC OF NARCISSISTS?

21. WHAT IS ANTISOCIAL PERSONALITY DISORDER?

22. WHAT IS SHAPIRO'S "SHORT CIRCUIT THEORY" OF THE

IMPULSIVE PSYCHOPATH?

23. WHAT IS BERGNER'S THEORY REGARDING IMPULSIVE PERSONS,

INCLUDING IMPULSIVE PSYCHOPATHS?

STUDYING FOR THE FINAL EXAM

FOR THE FINAL EXAM, SINCE IT PERTAINS ONLY TO THE LECTURE PART OF THE COURSE, I RECOMMEND THAT YOU FOCUS ON THE 3 STUDY GUIDES ABOVE, PLUS MATERIALS FROM ANY LECTURES GIVEN AFTER PART 3 OF COURSE.