History of Mental Health and Defining Abnormality Flashcards
What did people believe about mental illness in 6500BC? How did they think this could be treated?
They believed that it was caused by possession of devils and the way to release this was to practise trepanation - holes drilled into skull to release demons.
What did people believe about mental illness around 1000BC?
They believed that ‘madness’ was a punishment from God.
What did people believe about mental illness from 800-700BC? What did Hippocrates think?
Still considered a punishment from God, however the Greek physician Hippocrates believed it was due to an imbalance of the four bodily humours (blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile) and could be cured by balancing these four humours.
What was depression thought to be a result of from 800-700BC? How would this be treated?
Thought to be a result of an excess of black bile and laxatives and bloodlettings would rebalance this excess.
What happened to Hippocrates theory in 100BC?
It was rejected by some and replaced with the belief that melancholy resulted from emotions such as rage, fear and grief.
What was the view on mental illness around AD300?
The Christian church promoted the idea of madness as a punishment from God or demonic possession.
When did the burning of witches peak and when did it start to fade out?
Peaked in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries and began to fade out towards the end of the 1700s
What significant event happened in 1796?
The Tukes (father and son) founded the York Retreat in England, which was the first institution ‘for the humane care of the insane’.
What happened during the nineteenth century?
Mental hospitals in North America, Britain and many countries of continental Europe treated the ‘insane poor’ and psychiatry became a recognised medical speciality.
When did modern psychology start to begin and what is it responsible for?
It began in the 1890s and is responsible for the acceptance that mental illness is a result of influences on the mind, which can vary from biological to the unconscious conflict of Freud’s theory.
What are the 4 main definitions of abnormality suggested bu Rosenhan and Seligman?
Statistical Infrequency, Failure to Function Adequately, Deviation from Social Norms and Deviation form Ideal Mental Health.
What is meant by Statistical Infrequency?
Any behaviour that is shown less often than the normal amount for that society is, by its very nature, abnormal.
What is meant by Failure to Function Adequately?
If a person is unable to live a normal life adequately, for example hold down a job, maintain a relationship, look after themselves or interact in society effectively, then they could be considered abnormal.
What is meant by Deviation from Social Norms?
Every society has social norms that it maintains through laws, guidelines or societal pressure. If someone doesn’t follow a society’s norms, they may be considered abnormal.
What is meant by Deviation from Ideal Mental Health?
Ideal mental health can include :
-feeling positive about yourself
-having self-discipline and independence
-having an accurate perception of reality
-having positive social interactions with friends and family
Someone who deviates from things like this can be considered abnormal.
