The word “Schizophrenia” is less than 100 years old; however schizophrenia has been with humans since the very beginning. In 2,000 B.C in Ancient Egypt mental illnesses were considered signs of physical heart ailments. An Egyptian book called “The book of Heart” is possibly the earliest depiction of schizophrenia. During the middle ages Europeans believed that those who suffered from schizophrenia were possessed by demons so in return, holes were drilled in the skull to “cast out evil spirits” in habiting the mind; These procedures were called trepanations. During the 19th century insane asylums were more like human zoos than treatment centers, for a price, outsiders were able to tour the asylums and view the patients.
People have struggled with the concept of Mental Illness since the middle ages. In the Middle Ages if someone was behaving is an abnormal manner they were thought to be possessed by demons and they will be exorcised by priests. In the 1900s lobotomy was widely known as the cure for mental illnesses. In the 1940’s Walter Freeman went on a crusade to offer lobotomy to everyone that needed it (and some that didn’t) and in his career it is estimated that he performed 3500 lobotomies, even when the scientific basis for this was not very strong. In the 1960’s a group of psychiatrists’ formed the anti-psychiatry movement and stated that psychiatry had no validity.
Rusty only agreed with certain things Woroniecki believed. However Woroniecki had a major influence on Andrea, she was capatovated by his ideas. He preached bad mothers who go to hell and raise children who will go to hell too. Those words resonated with Andrea. At the time she killed her children, she believed she was possessed and that the sign of Satan was marked on her scalp.
Historical Perspectives of Abnormal Psychology Abnormal psychology is the study of an individual’s emotional, cognitive, and/or behavioral issues. Abnormal behavior can be defined as a behavior that is socially unacceptable, distressing, self-defeating, and often the result of distorted thoughts. Abnormal psychology has many aspects used to help in defining, understanding, and treating the mentally ill. Throughout centuries the concept and treatments have increased in accuracy and effectiveness. Several perspectives have an explanation for the causes of abnormal behavior.
These men being in power for so long could hardly bare the thought of change “Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change” (Shelley). They were being threatened with losing their power over people. These puritan ministers decided they needed to do something so they could remain in power “The ministers were believed to have encouraged the strange behavior so that they could increase their own influence over the people by showing that they were able to rid the afflicted from evil spirits” (The Salem Witch Trials-Home). This path they chose made monsters out of innocent people. Now for who was the real monster’s behind this is hard to tell.
Skulls were found with holes driven right through the bone so the demon could leave the possessed body. In The book of hearts, symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia were mentioned. Some Scientists believe, that there is a possibility that in the Christian period people that were saints in fact were schizophrenic, that is why they heard voices and saw visions they were really hallucinating. After that many women that suffered from schizophrenic symptoms were considered witches and burned at the stake. Schizophrenia was first called dementia paradox, and it became part of the DSM over 100 years ago or what was like the DSM.
Othello, himself states “that thou be’st a devil, I cannot kill thee.” He then stabs Iago but only wounds him, showing that he thinks that Iago is the devil. In Elizabethan society he could be labeled a demon, or influenced by the devil if not the devil himself. Even if he is only a sociopath, there are many similarities between sociopaths and devilish doings. Poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge ( 1772-1834)saw Iago’s worst side and writes “a being next to the devil, only not quite the devil” He calls Iago’s behavior “motiveless malignity”. A trait that stands out is Iago’s ability to think out and plot what seemingly will be a perfect plan.
Criteria of Psychopathology The Webster’s English Dictionary defined Psychopathology as the scientific study of psychological disorders. Psychological disorders, most common to people’s awareness as abnormal behavior is defined by Barlow and Durand (2015), as a psychological dysfunction within an individual that is associated with distress or impairment in functioning and a response that is not atypical or culturally expected; psychological dysfunction basically refers to a breakdown in an individual’s cognitive, emotional and/or behavioral functioning (Stein et. al, 2010). It was observed over time that researchers, clinicians and mental health professionals have put forth their efforts to define and give array of answers as to what makes
Origins of Abnormal Psychology The deinstitutionalization movement began in the 1960s where the number of psychiatric hospitals radically decreased and conditions for patients improved drastically (Hansell & Damour, 2008). “The blunt realities of mental illness shatter our most deeply held convictions about the nature of human consciousness and behavior. The mentally ill are more different than us than we can imagine and more like us than we care to admit” (Bosco, p. 131). Past methods of treatment used to help the mentally ill has faced a great deal of controversy in society and was clear during this era the methods previously used had negative results on both society and the patients. While in the early stages of the deinstitutionalization the methods were radical and released patients from hospitals most programs were not well thought out or implemented.
Evolution of Cognitive Psychology as a Discipline Bertha Scott PSYCH/560 December 19, 2011 Professor: Bradley Johnson The purpose of this paper is to define cognition. This paper will explain the interdisciplinary perspective as it relates to cognitive psychology. This paper will describe the emergence of cognitive psychology as a discipline. Finally, this paper will assess the impact of the decline of behaviorism on the discipline of cognitive psychology. Define cognition Psychology is generally defined as the scientific study of mental processes and behavior.