Historical Perspectives of Abnormal Psychology

The origin of Abnormal Psychology began with little evidence backed truth about abnormality but since has progressed to a more empirical science. The foundation of this progression are the psychosocial, biological, and sociocultural theoretical models.

These developments are recent in Abnormal Psychology's history. However, the progress of Abnormal Psychology towards an empirical science begins with events that are far removed from a scientific discipline.

Historical Events

According to the Street (1994) the first hospital for the mentally disturbed was the Bethlehem hospital which became famous not for treatment of patients but for the mistreatment and neglect given to people with mental conditions. This first hospital was establish in 1247 and did not end the reign of patient neglect for almost 100 years. The next notable events were the Spanish Inquisition, which tortured and killed mentally disturbed people, and the witch hunts beginning in 1487 and lasting for about 200 years. In the year of 1667 blood transfusions from animals were used to treat mental patients. Gradually humane treatment of mentally ill patients was practiced in Europe and in 1751 the first mental hospital was established in the American colonies. Thirty-one years later the last witch was beheaded in Switzerland. The witch hunt had lasted 300 years following a book titled the Malleus Maleficarum which blamed satanic forces for abnormal behavior.

Street (1994) shows that the chronological events of abnormal psychology followed the openings of many mental hospitals from the 1700s through the 1900s. One patient of the Stamford Hall institution in Stamford Connecticut had a big effect on Abnormal Psychology. The patient's name was Clifford W. Beers. Beers spent three years in different institutions and wrote in detail about his experience in his autobiography, A Mind That Found Itself. This book helped begin the mental hygiene movement in the 1920s and 1930s. The 1900s is the most significant move of Abnormal Psychology to scientific method. Through the establishment of testable theories that are both reliable and valid Abnormal Psychology has gradually developed treatment that is beneficial to patients and given practitioners diagnostic guidelines to follow. The present day diagnosis of mental illness is done under the framework of the following psychological models.

Psychosocial Models

Hansell and Damour (2005) explain that psychosocial pressures can influence the beginning of a mental or physical disorder. An example is psychosocial dwarfism where children stop growing because of being emotionally deprived. Psychosocial pressures are examined in the diagnosis of mental disturbances to determine if an illness exists, the severity of the illness and the most advantageous treatment. Psychosocial pressure is similar to Freud's childhood developmental stages and to Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory. There seems to be little doubt that the developmental stages in children are very important but until recently the biological effect of missing stages or needs has not been fully understood.

Biological Models

Perhaps the beginning of the separation of mind and body started with Descartes (1596-1650) who asserted that mind and body were separate (Hansell & Damour, 2005, p. 38). This separation led to a separation of diagnoses into biological and psychological. Although, biological problems alone can cause psychological problems this is unusual and general belief is disorders are rooted in both biological and psychological causes. (Hansell & Damour, 2005, .38) However, increasingly scientists are looking closely at the biological causes of mental illness especially in the functions of the brain and central nervous system.

(Hansell & Damour, 2005, p. 63)

Sociocultural

According to Hansell and Damour (2005) in a broad sense the exposure to all society has an influence on our mental health. The stress of our workplaces and the demands of our culture have an effect on how we behave. In this area of study an entire social system is studied like the entire population of brain surgeons. However, scientists also breakdown the social system into smaller parts with perhaps the family being one of the smallest social systems. Psychology examines how each of the sociocultural elements influence the development of a mental disorder.

Conclusion

Abnormal Psychology has made tremendous advancements considering the start from the dark years of patient mistreatment and witch hunts. The recent developments of models to follow in the diagnosis of mental illnesses are a great step towards a working categorization of different mental illnesses. However, with the understanding of genetics and the functions of the brain the best is yet to come. Abnormal Psychology and psychology in general is now considered an empirical science. However, through the unification of all branches of research the future looks bright that psychology will evolve to an even more exacting science and assumptions of diagnosis and treatment will become a thing of the past. The challenge then is to take this step towards unification which at this point has not been fully taken as Valsiner (2007, p. 1,¶ 3) states, "Contemporary sciences-both biological and social-have paid lip service to the notion of integration, while in reality they have continued along the lines of their specific ways of creating knowledge within their disciplinary confine." Until this step is taken on a serious level especially in our universities where professors are more interested in tenure than innovative research psychology will remain partially in the dark times.

References

Hansell, J.& Damour, L. (2005). Abnormal psychology. John Wiley and Sons Inc., ISBN 0-471- 38982-X, WIE ISBN 0471-65821-9, [Electronic Edition]

Street, W. R. (1994). A Chronology of Noteworthy Events in American Psychology. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.

Valsiner, J. (2007). Becoming integrative in science: re-building contemporary psychology through interdisciplinary and international collaboration. Integrative Psychological Behavioral Science, Springer New York, 41:1-5 DOI 10.1007/s12124-007-9002-2, [Electronic Version]. Retrieved November 27, 2008 from http://www.springerlink.com/content/v2u2204672463686/

Author: Johnson Lee "Historical Perspectives of Abnormal Psychology" Associated Content by Yahoo!.