Abnormal Psychology: The Problem of Maladaptive Behavior (11th Edition)
Authors who revise textbooks face many decisions: What to add or change? What to retain? What to delete or cut back? We considered these questions in four domains:conceptual framework, clinical material, research,andpedagogy.Each is very important for students in Abnormal Psychology courses. A coherent conceptual approach provides the organizing principles needed to understand complex subject matter. Clinical case material is crucial because, after all, real people with real problems are what the field is all about. Research is central to the study of maladaptive behavior because new evidence has a great influence over how we understand people with problems. Pedagogy is critical for presenting material in a clear, engaging way that will hold students' interest.Framework of the Eleventh EditionWe continue to believe in an interactional view of abnormal behavior, and recent research has provided additional support for this view. People have problems because of interactions involving their own personal attributes and the situations and challenges they confront in life. We emphasize the personal contributors because of the growing evidence that what we bring to life situations (our vulnerabilities) and our ability to bounce back from reverses and roadblocks (our resiliency) have a lot to do with disorders, treatments, and clinical outcomes. However, clinical work involves the analysis of interactions beyond those between the person and the situation. It is also necessary to consider interactions among psychological, biological, and cultural processes. Researchers and clinicians are increasingly focusing on these interactions, because of mushrooming evidence concerning their importance for several conditions—particularly anxiety disorders, mood disorders, and schizophrenia. For too long, it had been believed by many that biology drives almost everything, and that biological defects always underlie maladaptive behavior. While we emphasize the role of biological determinants wherever they are pertinent (and they are proving to be pertinent to more and more disorders), we also emphasize the growing evidence that the environment can have major impacts on biological processes (for example, how the brain functions). Finally, there is also growing evidence that treatment often requires a combination of treatment elements (for example, medication and psychotherapy) for optimal outcomes.Clinical MaterialThe more we teach Abnormal Psychology classes, the more we appreciate the value of case material to students. Accounts of real people—with their vulnerabilities, resiliencies, and situational challenges—bring abnormal psychology alive. The saying, "A good picture (or example) is worth a thousand words" is often quite correct. For this reason, we have increased the number of cases that we use to illustrate abnormal behavior, and we have used cases in several different ways. Some cases, such as the three extensive therapy cases that open Chapter 3, illustrate clinical principles and raise conceptual issues to which we refer throughout the chapter. We also includeCase StudyandFirst Personboxes that help students gain empathy for the personal experiences of maladaptation and deviancy. Finally, the many brief case examples throughout the text also aid students in understanding and remembering key characteristics of the disorders discussed. In many instances we have used relevant examples from recent events reported in the media to enhance student interest and to emphasize the reality of the problems discussed.ResearchResearch lets us know when clinical roads previously taken lead nowhere, and when there are new roads that should be explored further. With each edition of this book, we have been impressed by the knowledge explosions that continue to occur in the field of abnormal psychology. For example, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has emerged suddenly as a potentially valuable addition to treatment approaches for mood disorders and schizophrenia. Neurogenetic studies, if they continue to be as promising as they have been in recent years, may lay the groundwork for improved treatment approaches. To say the least, research on abnormal behavior is flourishing, and as a result, the number of references to recent research in this edition is far greater than in any previous edition.PedagogyWe continue to believe that a textbook must be accessible and engaging if students are to benefit from it. Several pedagogical features that proved popular in previous editions have been retained, includingCase StudyandFirst Personboxes. One of the more popular features of previous editions is theVulnerabilityandResilienceboxes that illustrate the roles of certain negative and positive personal attributes; in this edition we have increased the number of these boxes. A series ofResearch Close-Upboxes allows us to explore in depth important research evidence.In addition to these pedagogical features, we have added several new features in this edition. The book begins with aPreludethat contains an exchange of e-mails between a brother and sister who are in college, and who have concerns about their own adjustment and the psychological problems of their father. The e-mail correspondence will immediately raise questions in the student's mind about how families and individuals confront psychological difficulties. Each chapter begins withWhat This Chapter Is About,a concise overview of the material that will be covered. At the conclusion of each chapter, inOur Take-Away Message,we present some of our personal views concerning the material that has been covered. Based on our classroom experiences, we know that students are interested in what the instructor thinks about topics discussed in class. We hope that our end-of-chapter thoughts will encourage students to develop and express their own ideas about issues in abnormal psychology. Finally, at the end of most chapters we recommendA Good Bookthat students can read to gain empathy for and insights into adaptive and maladaptive behavior. All these books are widely available in paperback editions or through libraries, and offer engrossing reading that will enrich the student's understanding of the topics covered in the text.Other New Material in the Eleventh EditionA necessity in revising a book is to avoid the temptation to add but not delete. To succumb to this temptation is dangerous because it can lead to a textbook that balloons so much the student becomes overwhelmed. We have worked hard to avoid textbook indigestion, and we think that we have succeeded. By judicious pruning, we have been able to keep the book up to date with regard to research and clinical practice, and to give added depth to the knowledge of the students who will read it.We have made one structural change in this edition. The chapter on therapeutic approaches (formerly Chapter 16) has been revised and moved up to become Chapter 3. This made sense to us because the various therapies are closely linked with the theoretical perspectives presented in Chapter 2.The following is a sampling of new material throughout this edition.Chapter 1An extended presentation of the life of Adolf Wolfli, diagnosed as psychotic, but also an esteemed creative artistClarification of the distinction between moderator and mediator variablesRecent evidence concerning why college students seek help for psychological problemsChapter 2Recent evidence concerning brain plasticity and neurogenesisExpanded discussion of the cognitive-behavioral orientationAdditional material on the humanistic-existential perspectiveChapter 3Recent statistics on the use of various therapiesComparisons regarding the effectiveness of different therapeutic approachesEffects of drugs on bodily systemsRecent meta-analyses regarding therapies and ethnicityChapter 4New tables summarizing diagnostic termsEvidence concerning the need to take ethnicity into account in the diagnostic processHistorical milestones in diagnosis and classificationChapter 5The effects of the 9/11/2001 disaster on New York City residents and people countrywideAdvances in researching and treating dissociative disordersNew data on the prevalence of acute stress disorderChapter 6Role of ethnic factors in physical illness and in its diagnosisCoping styles related to recovery from illness (especially coronary heart disease)Chapter 7New insights (and a new summary figure) concerning somatoform disordersRecent evidence and examples of body dysmorphic disorderLatest information about the psychosocial aspects of painChapter 8New table summarizing the anxiety disordersCombining different therapeutic approaches to treat anxiety disordersNew case material on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)New case material on obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and recent brain imaging findingsChapter 9Recent evidence regarding gender identity disorderRecent treatment approaches for sexual harassersAdditional case material on transsexualismChapter 10New and revised summary tables concerning personality disordersRecent evidence on the personality characteristics of those with dysthymic disorderPredictors of borderline personality disorder and therapeutic outcomesThe dimensional approach to personality disordersChapter 11Use of transcranial magnetic sti...