Syllabus for
ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY
G. Scott Acton
Rochester Institute of Technology
This course is a survey of descriptive and causal aspects of individual differences in psychopathology.
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Abnormal Psychology Over Time (September 8)
Carson, R. C., Butcher, J. N., & Mineka, S. (2002). Abnormal psychology over time. In Fundamentals of abnormal psychology and modern life (pp. 1-35). New York: Allyn & Bacon.
Class Discussion
Wakefield, J. C. (1992). The concept of mental disorder: On the boundary between biological facts and social values. American Psychologist, 47, 373-388.
Lilienfeld, S. O., & Marino, L. (1995). Mental disorder as a Roschian concept: A critique of Wakefield's "harmful dysfunction" analysis. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 104, 411-420.
Causal Factors and Viewpoints in Abnormal Behavior (September 10)
Carson, R. C., Butcher, J. N., & Mineka, S. (2002). Causal factors and viewpoints in abnormal behavior. In Fundamentals of abnormal psychology and modern life (pp. 36-78). New York: Allyn & Bacon.
Film
"Madness: To Define True Madness"
Clinical Assessment and Treatment (September 15)
Carson, R. C., Butcher, J. N., & Mineka, S. (2002). Clinical assessment and treatment. In Fundamentals of abnormal psychology and modern life (pp. 79-121). New York: Allyn & Bacon.
Class Presentations
Seligman, M. E. P. (1995). The effectiveness of psychotherapy: The Consumer Reports study. American Psychologist, 50, 965-974.
Jacobson, N. S., & Christensen, A. (1996). Studying the effectiveness of psychotherapy: How well can clinical trials do the job? American Psychologist, 51, 1031-1039.
Howard, K. I., Krause, M. S., Caburnay, C. A., Noel, S. B., & Saunders, S. M. (2001). Syzygy, science, and psychotherapy: The Consumer Reports study. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 57, 865-874.
Class Discussion
Costa, P. T., Jr., & McCrae, R. R. (1992). Normal personality assessment in clinical practice: The NEO Personality Inventory. Psychological Assessment, 4, 5-13.
Ben-Porath, Y. S., & Waller, N. G. (1992). "Normal" personality inventories in clinical assessment: General requirements and the potential for using the NEO Personality Inventory. Psychological Assessment, 4, 14-19.
Costa, P. T., Jr., & McCrae, R. R. (1992). Reply to Ben-Porath and Waller. Psychological Assessment, 4, 20-22.
Ben-Porath, Y. S., & Waller, N. G. (1992). Five big issues in clinical personality assessment: A rejoinder to Costa and McCrae. Psychological Assessment, 4, 23-25.
Goldberg, L. R. (1999). A broad-bandwidth, public-domain personality inventory measuring the lower-level facets of several five-factor models. In I. Mervielde, I. J. Deary, F. De Fruyt, & F. Ostendorf (Eds.), Personality psychology in Europe (Vol. 7, pp. 7-28). Tilburg, The Netherlands: Tilburg University Press.
Stress-Related Disorders (September 17)
Carson, R. C., Butcher, J. N., & Mineka, S. (2002). Stress-related disorders. In Fundamentals of abnormal psychology and modern life (pp. 122-148). New York: Allyn & Bacon.
Class Discussion
Dohrenwend, B. P., & Shrout, P. E. (1985). "Hassles" in the conceptualization and measurement of life stress variables. American Psychologist, 40, 780-785.
Panic, Anxiety, and Their Disorders (September 22)
Carson, R. C., Butcher, J. N., & Mineka, S. (2002). Panic, anxiety, and their disorders. In Fundamentals of abnormal psychology and modern life (pp. 149-187). New York: Allyn & Bacon.
Alternative Representations (September 24)
This class session will focus on how to use alternative representations to improve study skills.
First Midterm Exam (September 29)
Take first midterm exam.
Mood Disorders and Suicide (October 1)
Carson, R. C., Butcher, J. N., & Mineka, S. (2002). Mood disorders and suicide. In Fundamentals of abnormal psychology and modern life (pp. 188-236). New York: Allyn & Bacon.
Class Presentations
Flett, G. L., Vredenburg, K., & Krames, L. (1997). The continuity of depression in clinical and nonclinical samples. Psychological Bulletin, 121, 395-416.
Coyne, J. C. (1994). Self-reported distress: Analog of ersatz depression? Psychological Bulletin, 116, 29-45.
Class Discussion
Abramson, L. Y., Seligman, M. E. P., & Teasdale, J. D. (1978). Learned helplessness in humans: Critique and reformulation. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 87, 32-48.
APA Style Tips and Writing Hints (October 6)
This class session will focus on how to write a theoretical or review paper in APA style. Everyone should read these APA Style Tips and Grammatical Hints and this article on How to Write a Review Article. Your papers will be graded partially on adherence to the principles contained in these documents, such as rigid parallelism and omitting needless words.
Personality Disorders (October 8)
Carson, R. C., Butcher, J. N., & Mineka, S. (2002). Personality disorders. In Fundamentals of abnormal psychology and modern life (pp. 290-323). New York: Allyn & Bacon.
Email the instructor your paper title (<= 15 words), abstract (<= 960 characters), outline (in complete sentences with at least two levels), and references (at least 13 in APA style) before class.
Class Presentations
Nigg, J. T., & Goldsmith, H. H. (1994). Genetics of personality disorders: Perspectives from personality and psychopathology research. Psychological Bulletin, 115, 346-380.
Paris, J. (1997). Childhood trauma as an etiological factor in the personality disorders. Journal of Personality Disorders, 11, 34-49.
Film
"World of Abnormal Psychology Series: Personality Disorders"
Substance-Related Disorders (October 13)
Carson, R. C., Butcher, J. N., & Mineka, S. (2002). Substance-related disorders. In Fundamentals of abnormal psychology and modern life (pp. 324-357). New York: Allyn & Bacon.
Class Presentations
Acton, G. S. (2003). Measurement of impulsivity in a hierarchical model of personality traits: Implications for substance use. Substance Use & Misuse, 38, 67-83.
Acton, G. S., Prochaska, J. J., Kaplan, A. S., Small, T., & Hall, S. M. (2001). Depression and stages of change for smoking in psychiatric outpatients. Addictive Behaviors, 26, 621-631.
Peer Review of Papers (October 15)
Bring penultimate draft of paper. Provide peer reviews of other students' papers.
The Schizophrenias (October 20)
Carson, R. C., Butcher, J. N., & Mineka, S. (2002). The schizophrenias. In Fundamentals of abnormal psychology and modern life (pp. 395-430). New York: Allyn & Bacon.
Turn in peer reviews. These should be submitted to the instructor by email by 10:30 a.m.
Second Midterm Exam (October 22)
Take second midterm exam.
Disorders of Childhood and Adolescence (October 27)
Carson, R. C., Butcher, J. N., & Mineka, S. (2002). Disorders of childhood and adolescence. In Fundamentals of abnormal psychology and modern life (pp. 463-494). New York: Allyn & Bacon.
Turn in final draft of paper.
Sexual Variants, Abuse, and Dysfunctions (October 29)
Carson, R. C., Butcher, J. N., & Mineka, S. (2002). Sexual variants, abuse, and dysfunctions. In Fundamentals of abnormal psychology and modern life (pp. 358-394). New York: Allyn & Bacon.
Psychological Compromises of Physical Health and Eating Disorders (November 3)
Carson, R. C., Butcher, J. N., & Mineka, S. (2002). Psychological compromises of physical health and eating disorders. In Fundamentals of abnormal psychology and modern life (pp. 260-289). New York: Allyn & Bacon.
Contemporary Issues in Abnormal Psychology (November 5)
Carson, R. C., Butcher, J. N., & Mineka, S. (2002). Contemporary issues in abnormal psychology. In Fundamentals of abnormal psychology and modern life (pp. 495-518). New York: Allyn & Bacon.
Review Session (November 10)
Review what was covered in course, with special reference to the final exam. Peer commentary assignments made. Bring copies of all posts to the Student Message Forum in order to receive credit for them.
Work on Peer Commentaries (November 12)
Work on peer commentaries during class. Bring copy of both papers so you can write peer commentaries on them.
Peer Commentaries Due (November 14)
Peer commentaries due. These should be submitted to the instructor by email by 6 p.m.
Final Exam (November 20)
Take final exam, Thursday, November 20th, from 2:45-4:45 in 06-3220.
Turn in author responses.
Last modified November 2003
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