PSYC 2250 - Abnormal Psychology

1. Articulate a definition of abnormality that incorporates social, functional, objective, subjective, and ethical factors.
2. Demonstrate a clear understanding of the scientific approach in psychopathology.
3. Demonstrate a clear understanding of the historical perspective of mental illness and treatment of the mentally ill, including social influences that have led to change.
4. Evaluate the ethics and morality of past and present treatment approaches.
5. Critically evaluate the major theoretical paradigms for understanding and treating psychological disorders.
6. Critically evaluate the practice of diagnosis using standards of reliability, validity, and ethicality.
7. Recognize and evaluate important ethical and legal issues in abnormal psychology including criminal commitment, civil commitment, insanity, prediction of dangerousness, patient rights, deinstitutionalization, professional ethics, and ethical dilemmas.
8. Describe the diagnostic and statistical features associated with specific psychological disorders.
9. Demonstrate an understanding of etiology and treatment for specific psychological disorders as viewed from a variety of theoretical perspectives, including a focus on prevention and wellness.
10. Apply knowledge of psychological disorders to case examples using multiple theoretical perspectives and an informed ethical perspective.

1. HISTORICAL AND THEORETICAL INFLUENCES
   • Conceptualization of normality, abnormality, and wellness
   • History of attitudes, conceptions, and treatment of psychological disorders
   • Contemporary models of abnormal behavior, including biological and psychological foundations
   • Scientific methodology in the study of abnormal behavior
   • Historical and contemporary practice of diagnosis
2. FORMS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS
   • Anxiety, obsessive-compulsive, and trauma- and stressor-related disorders
   • Depressive and bipolar disorders
   • Schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders
   • Somatic symptom disorders
   • Dissociative disorders
   • Sexual dysfunctions and paraphilic disorders
   • Substance-related and addictive disorders
   • Feeding and eating disorders
   • Personality disorders
   • Neurodevelopmental disorders
   • Disruptive, impulse-control, and conduct disorders
   • Other specific disorders (e.g., neurocognitive, sleep-wake disorders) as time allows
3. ETHICAL AND LEGAL ISSUES
   • Professional ethics
   • Legal/ethical issues: Confidentiality, commitment, patient rights, competency, insanity
   • Social/ethical issues: Labeling, discrimination, mental health policy
   • Ethical decision making