PSY-215 Abnormal Psychology examines what defines abnormal behavior, exploring biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors in mental health. The course covers DSM classification systems, depression and anxiety disorders, and the genuine stigma surrounding mental illness, functioning as a required major-core course in SNHU's BA Psychology program.
Defining 'abnormal' as a genuine analytical challenge
The course begins by examining what actually defines abnormal behavior, recognizing this classification question as a genuinely complex analytical challenge, not a simple, self-evident distinction from 'normal' behavior.
Stigma as a real, addressed dimension of mental illness
PSY-215 explicitly covers the stigma surrounding mental illness alongside clinical classification, treating stigma reduction as a genuine part of understanding abnormal psychology responsibly, not a separate social-justice add-on.
Key topics in PSY215
- Defining abnormal behavior
- Biological factors in mental health
- Psychological and sociocultural factors
- DSM classification systems
- Depression and anxiety disorders
- Stigma surrounding mental illness
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Worked example: classification as a genuine analytical challenge
- Simple-distinction view: Assuming 'abnormal' behavior is self-evidently different from 'normal' behavior
- PSY-215's approach: Examining how biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors together genuinely complicate what counts as abnormal
- Lesson: PSY-215 teaches that defining abnormality is itself a genuinely complex analytical question, not a simple, obvious classification
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Frequently asked questions
Determining what counts as 'abnormal' behavior is genuinely complicated by cultural context, situational factors, and the degree of functional impairment involved, meaning a student who assumes this classification is simple or self-evident would apply diagnostic frameworks like the DSM without appreciating their genuine conceptual complexity. PSY-215 examines this definitional question directly because responsible understanding of abnormal psychology requires grappling with this challenge, not treating classification as an unquestioned starting assumption.
Understanding mental illness clinically without also understanding the genuine social stigma surrounding it would leave students with an incomplete picture of how abnormal psychology actually affects real people's lives, since stigma genuinely shapes whether people seek treatment and how they're treated by others. PSY-215 includes this content because responsible study of abnormal psychology requires understanding both the clinical reality and its genuine social consequences together.