Vault.hanover.edu

PSY 243: Behavior Disorders (Fall, 2011)

Dr. Stephen Dine Young
Office: Science Center 156
Office Hours: M 2-3; W & F 10-11 & by appointment
Phone: 866-7319
e-mail: youngst@hanover.edu
Class Times: 3:00-4:50 M,W

Course Description and Goals
The first goal of this course is to introduce students to the field of behavior disorders (sometimes called ‘abnormal psychology’ or ‘psychopathology’); you will become familiar with the identifying characteristics (diagnosis), causes (etiology) and treatments of commonly recognized mental disorders. The second goal is to help you carefully and critically evaluate the process by which particular behaviors are designated as ‘disordered’ (or ‘pathological’ or ‘abnormal’). Important issues involving values, research methodology and theory will be considered. Finally, you will be encouraged to apply your knowledge of behavior disorders to broader aspects of human functioning in such domains as culture, literature, religion, etc. Issues of human ‘sameness’ and ‘difference’ will be repeatedly highlighted. The following goals of the Psychology Major are advanced in this course:  Students should be able to recognize and differentiate the major theories, principles, findings, and methods of the discipline of psychology as it is commonly defined and practiced in the current time period.  Students should be able to critique empirical studies in psychology with regard to their ethics, the validity of their design, results, and conclusions.  Students should understand the relationship of psychology to other disciplines in the liberal arts, particularly those with strong historical connections (biology, philosophy, sociology, etc.).  Students should be prepared to pursue a career of their choice, either inside or outside of
Texts
Sarason, I.G. & Sarason, B.R. (2005). Abnormal psychology: The problem of maladaptive
behavior (11th ed.). New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Kaysen, Susan. (1993). Girl, interrupted. Turtle Bay Books.
Additional Readings
Benedict, R. (1959). Patterns of culture (pp. 130-172). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.
Hitchcock, A. (Prod. & Dir.). (1954). Rear window. Paramount.
Keen, S. (1986). Faces of the enemy: Reflections on the hostile imagination (pp. 19-24; 99-105).
Kramer, P. (1993). Listening to Prozac (ix-xix; 1-21). NY: Viking Press. Loftus, E.F. (1993). The reality of repressed memories. American Psychologist, 48(5), 518-537. Sacks, O. (1990). The man who mistook his wife for a hat (pp. 3-22). New York: HarperPerennial Shapiro, D. (1965). Neurotic Styles (pp. 54-64). New York: Basic Books. Spiegel, D.A. (1999). Dissociative disorders. In R.E. Hales, S.C. Yudofsky & J.A. Talbott (Eds.), American Psychiatric Press textbook of psychiatry. Wash, DC: Am. Psychiatric Press. Szasz, T. (1960). The myth of mental illness. American Psychologist, 15, 113-118. Watkins, M. (1990). Invisible guests: The development of imaginal dialogues (Ch. 151-172).
Wood, R. (1977). Hitchcock’s films (pp. 100-107). South Brunswick, NJ: A.S. Barnes.
Exams
There will be three in-class exams for this course, each worth 100 points (except final which will worth 150). All tests will be primarily short essay, long answer and matching. The
content of the tests will be drawn from both class and the readings.
Madison State Field Trips
A tour of Madison State Hospital will be required for this class. Times will be arranged early in the semester. In addition, I hope to arrange one or two “party groups” where we visit
different units of the hospital. They will not be required, but I strongly recommend you go to as
many as you can.
Course Writings
A final paper (8-10 pages) will be worth 100 points. For this paper, each student will identify a character in some narrative medium (e.g., film, television, literature, poetry, theater, etc.) that they believe is symptomatic of one or more of the disorders discussed in the course. Students will describe, diagnose and speculate on the causes and possible treatments for this “disordered” character. Detailed instructions will be presented in class. Papers turned in late are subject to a 10% deduction per weekday. There will also be five 10 point homework assignments due at various points throughout the semester.

Attendance, Preparation & Participation
Class attendance is expected and will be taken for each class. Students are allowed one unexcused absence throughout the term without penalty. Unexcused absences after the first will result in a deduction of 5 points per class from the student’s overall grade. Also, regular, informed participation is expected. This means that students should be attentive and prepared for class, they should ask questions, and they should participate actively in classroom discussions. Participation will be worth 100 points and will be factored in based on the following scale: Assignment of +’s & -’s will be made based the overall distribution of scores and other factors (e.g., participation and attendance).
If there is anything preventing you from doing your best in this class (medical
issues, learning disabilities, personal issues, etc.), please contact me as soon as possible, and
I will do what I can to help you maximize your learning in this course.
Class Schedule
Date
Introduction to course; Definitions of mental “Formal parallels”; Historical background The classification of maladaptive behavior Fall Break
10/24 & 10/26 Mood disorders; Medications 10/31 & 11/2 Schizophrenia & other psychotic disorders Thanksgiving Break
Sexual variations/disorders; Voyeurism as a (Final Paper Due 12/07)

Wk. of 12/12 Final Exam (as per college schedule)

Source: http://vault.hanover.edu/~youngst/PSY243.pdf