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Practice Exams

Module 9.9: Abnormal Behavior & Mental Disorders

I. Defining Abnormal Behavior

What separates "normal" behavior from "abnormal" behavior? Psychologists often use four criteria, known as the "Four D's":

  1. Deviance: The behavior deviates significantly from social norms and cultural expectations. What is considered deviant can change over time and across cultures.
  2. Distress: The behavior causes significant personal distress or emotional pain to the individual.
  3. Dysfunction: The behavior interferes with the person's ability to function effectively in their daily life (e.g., at work, in school, or in forming relationships).
  4. Danger: The behavior poses a danger to the individual or to others. This could be suicidal or homicidal behavior.

A behavior is more likely to be considered abnormal if it meets more than one of these criteria.

III. Major Categories of Mental Disorders

The DSM-5 organizes mental disorders into numerous categories. Here are some of the most common and most relevant to criminology.

A. Anxiety Disorders

  • Core Feature: Characterized by excessive and persistent fear, anxiety, and related behavioral disturbances.
  • Examples:
    • Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): Constant, excessive worry about multiple things.
    • Panic Disorder: Recurrent, sudden, and intense panic attacks.
    • Phobias: An intense, irrational fear of a specific object or situation.

B. Depressive and Bipolar Disorders (Mood Disorders)

  • Core Feature: Characterized by a significant disturbance in a person's mood.
  • Examples:
    • Major Depressive Disorder: A persistent state of sadness, loss of interest, and feelings of worthlessness.
    • Bipolar Disorder (formerly Manic-Depression): Involves alternating episodes of mania (a state of elevated mood, energy, and risky behavior) and depression. The manic phase can sometimes be associated with impulsive criminal acts.

C. Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders

  • Core Feature: The defining feature of psychosis is a loss of contact with reality.
  • Key Symptoms:
    • Delusions: False beliefs that are firmly held despite clear evidence to the contrary (e.g., a delusion of persecution, believing the CIA is spying on you).
    • Hallucinations: Sensory experiences that occur in the absence of any real stimulus. The most common are auditory hallucinations (hearing voices).
    • Disorganized Speech and Behavior.
  • Relevance to Crime: While most people with schizophrenia are not violent, a person experiencing delusions or hallucinations may commit a crime because of their distorted perception of reality (e.g., attacking someone they falsely believe is a demon). This is often the basis for an insanity defense.

D. Personality Disorders

  • Core Feature: A personality disorder is an enduring, rigid, and maladaptive pattern of relating to the world that causes significant distress or impairment. These patterns are a core part of the person's personality and are difficult to change.
  • The DSM-5 groups personality disorders into three "clusters":
    • Cluster A (Odd/Eccentric): e.g., Paranoid, Schizoid.
    • Cluster B (Dramatic/Erratic): e.g., Antisocial, Borderline, Narcissistic.
    • Cluster C (Anxious/Fearful): e.g., Avoidant, Dependent, Obsessive-Compulsive.

V. Mental Disorders and the Law

The criminal justice system intersects with the field of mental health in two key ways:

  1. Competency to Stand Trial:

    • Legal Question: Does the defendant have a sufficient present ability to consult with their lawyer with a reasonable degree of rational understanding and a rational as well as factual understanding of the proceedings against them?
    • Focus: The defendant's mental state now (at the time of the trial).
    • If found incompetent, the trial is postponed, and the defendant is typically sent for treatment until they are competent.

  2. The Insanity Defense:

    • Legal Question: Was the defendant so mentally ill at the time they committed the crime that they cannot be held criminally responsible for their actions?
    • Focus: The defendant's mental state then (at the time of the offense).
    • Standard (M'Naghten Rule): The most common standard is whether, due to a mental disease or defect, the defendant did not know the nature and quality of the act they were doing, or if they did know it, that they did not know that what they were doing was wrong.
    • A successful insanity defense is very rare and results in the person being committed to a psychiatric hospital, not set free.

Introduction

Human Behavior refers to the full range of actions and mannerisms exhibited by individuals. While most behavior falls within a "normal" range, Abnormal Behavior deviates from this norm in a way that is distressing, disabling, or puts the individual or others at risk. The study of abnormal behavior and mental disorders is a key part of Psychology and has significant relevance to Criminology. Understanding these conditions can help explain certain types of criminal behavior and is essential for the legal concepts of competency and the insanity defense. This module provides a basic overview of abnormal behavior and the major categories of mental disorders.

Key Learning Objectives:

  • Define abnormal behavior and the "4 D's" used to identify it.
  • Understand the purpose of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5).
  • Identify the major categories of mental disorders, such as anxiety, mood, and psychotic disorders.
  • Explain the characteristics of Antisocial Personality Disorder and its link to criminality.

II. Classifying Mental Disorders: The DSM-5

To diagnose and study mental disorders in a systematic way, mental health professionals use a standard classification manual.

  • DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition): Published by the American Psychiatric Association, the DSM-5 is the standard manual used in the United States and much of the world (including the Philippines) to classify and diagnose mental disorders.
  • Purpose:
    • To provide a common language for clinicians to communicate about their patients.
    • To present clear, descriptive criteria for every mental disorder to ensure that diagnoses are reliable and consistent.
  • Important Note: The DSM-5 describes the symptoms of disorders; it does not describe their causes or recommend treatments.

IV. The Criminologist's Focus: Antisocial Personality Disorder

Of all the mental disorders, the one most closely associated with criminality is Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD), found in Cluster B.

  • Core Feature: ASPD is characterized by a pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others. This is the clinical diagnosis that most closely corresponds to the concept of psychopathy or sociopathy.
  • DSM-5 Diagnostic Criteria (Abridged): A pattern of behavior since age 15, indicated by three or more of the following:
    • Failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors (repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest).
    • Deceitfulness (repeated lying, use of aliases, conning others).
    • Impulsivity or failure to plan ahead.
    • Irritability and aggressiveness (repeated physical fights or assaults).
    • Reckless disregard for the safety of self or others.
    • Consistent irresponsibility (failure to sustain work or honor financial obligations).
    • Lack of remorse (being indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another).
  • Important Note: A person cannot be diagnosed with ASPD until they are 18 years old, but they must have shown evidence of a similar pattern (Conduct Disorder) before age 15.

ASPD and Crime: While not all criminals have ASPD, and not all people with ASPD are criminals, the disorder is highly prevalent in prison populations. The core traits of impulsivity, aggression, and a lack of empathy or remorse are a potent recipe for a life of crime.

Conclusion

The study of abnormal behavior provides critical insights for criminology. While the vast majority of people with mental illness are not violent and are more likely to be victims than perpetrators of crime, certain disorders can and do increase the risk of criminal behavior. Psychotic disorders can distort a person's perception of reality, while personality disorders, particularly ASPD, can strip away the empathy and remorse that inhibit violence in most people. Understanding these conditions is essential for the justice system to make informed decisions about competency, criminal responsibility, and the proper treatment and management of mentally disordered offenders.