unit 1- historical concepts of abnormality

Question 1

a society that explains everyday events (weather, seasons, war, etc.) as a result of supernatural causes

Answer 1

causes beyond the understanding of ordinary mortals, such as the influence of gods, demons, or magic - will view madness similarly. psychological dysfunction in various historical periods was thought to result from either possession by demons or the witchcraft of evil people. treatment involved ridding the mad person of these influences by exorcism or other magical or spiritual means

Question 2

when worldly events are seen to have natural causes (causes that can be observed and examined),

Answer 2

so too are mental afflictions, and they are treated in a way that addresses these presumed natural causes

Question 3

Evidence from prehistory

Answer 3

paleoanthropologists discovered stone age human remains that were originally interpreted as provided evidence of supernatural beliefs as early as half a million years ago. skulls have been found with circular sections cut out of them with bone regeneration around the holes (trephination)
demonic possession was popularly accepted in early human societies as the cause of madness (disrupts the brains functioning)

Question 4

trephination

Answer 4

operation that was done while the person was still alive, a stone tool was used to cute the holes and it was originally presumed that this was done to let out evil spirits that were causing the victim to engage in severely abnormal behaviour. Or may have been intended to remove bone splinters or blood clots caused by blows to the head during warfare

Question 5

Greek and Roman thought

Answer 5

temples of healing were established that emphasized natural causes for mental disorders and that developed a greater understanding of the causes and treatment of these problems.
hippocrates defines the belief of intervention of gods or demons. believed all disorders had natural causes

Question 6

hippocrates

Answer 6

emphasized the primacy of brain dysfunctions, he argued that stress could influence mental functioning
believed dreams were important in understanding why a person was suffering.
he considered induced bleeding or vomiting as his ideas was that psychological functioning resulted from disturbances or bodily fluids, or humours.

Question 7

humours

Answer 7

-both vomiting and bleeding were thought to reduce excesses of one or another of the humours:
cheerfulness-excess of blood
ill temper- excess yellow bile
gloom- excess of black bile
listlessness- excess of phlegm

Question 8

hippocrates was first to describe hysteria, now known as conversion disorder

Answer 8

psychology induced blindness, deafness, or other apparent defects in perceptual or bodily processes

Question 9

plato

Answer 9

had emphasis on sociocultural influences on though and behaviour. suggested that dreams served to satisfy desired because the inhibiting influences of the higher faculties were not present during sleep

• believed mentally disturbed people who commit crimes should not be held responsible, since they could not be said to understand what they had done
• believed mentally disturbed people needed to be cared for my relatives and their thinking must be rationale challenged in a conversation style of therapy

Question 10

aritstole

Answer 10

advocated the humane treatment of mental patients

Question 11

After alexander the great founded Alexandria, the Egyptians adopted and expanded the medical temples to saturns (sanatoriums)

Answer 11

provided pleasant and peaceful surroundings

priests would employe bleeding, purges and restraints when all other attempts had failed

Question 12

ancient greece

Answer 12

various schools of thought rejected hippocrates theories. the most important and best known of these was methodism

Question 13

methodism

Answer 13

regarded mental illness as a disorder that resulted either from a constriction of body tissue of a form of relaxation of those tissues to exhaustion
no difference between mental and physical disorders ( all occur in the body ) (soranus)

Question 14

aretaeus

Answer 14

considered emotional factors to be primary in causing disturbances of mental functioning and advocating using psychological rather than strictly medical methods

Question 15

The arab world

Answer 15

they continued the greco roman traditions of investigation and humane treatment of the mentally ill

Question 16

arab asylums

Answer 16

treatment followed the tradition of care, support and compassion

Question 17

avicenna’s analyses of mental disorders..

Answer 17

reflect practical approach characterized by an emphasis on natural causes, particularly environmental and psychological factors

Question 18

Europe in the middle ages

Answer 18

possession- may have meant the same as our current understanding of nervous breakdown
may have been a general and vague descriptor of a set of problems without necessarily implying, in all cases, that the afflicted person had been taken over by the devil or some other supernatural force.

Question 19

Martin luther

Answer 19

when people sinned in particularly bad ways, god would deliver them over to satan, who could possess them either corporally or spiritually. According to Luther, if the devil possessed them corporally, they would become mad, but if he possessed them spiritually, they should be considered witches

Question 20

middle ages: exorcism

Answer 20

meant to drive out evil forces that possess the afflicted, was itself mild but then become more vigorous. drove out caring approaches as the idea of possession by devil became more popular

Question 21

middle ages: paracelsus

Answer 21

rejected the four humours theory and instead claimed that all mental illness resulted from disturbances of the spiritus vitae (breath of life). in some cases, spiritus vitae was upset by the stars, in others is was disturbed by vapours arising in the various parts of the body

was first to treat people with an early version of hypnotism

psychic conflicts might cause mental illness

Question 22

middle ages: st vitus’ dance

Answer 22

epidemic of mass hysteria, where groups of people would suddenly be seized by an irresistible urge to leap about, jumping and dancing and sometimes convulsing.

Question 23

middle ages: johannes weyer

Answer 23

advocated natural and psychical treatments. ex fantasies could be traced in some patients to their use of belladonna ointments

Question 24

beginnings of a scientific approach: st vincent de paul

Answer 24

mental disease and bodily disease are not different and advocated for society’s responsibility to develop means to relieve people of their suffering

Question 25

bedlam

Answer 25

describes any form of rowdy, chaotic behaviour

Question 26

pinel

Answer 26

was thoroughly scientific and looked only to natural explanations for the origins of mental disorders

Question 27

mental hygiene movement

Answer 27

a desire to protect and to provide humane treatment for the mentally ill.