Singapore University of Social Sciences

Abnormal Psychology examines the interactional view of biological, humanistic, behavioural and psychological perspectives of mental illness It surveys the description, causation, prevention and treatment of maladaptive behaviour and psychological disorders. The first study unit covers general issues such as what constitutes normality and abnormality, how mental illness is defined, whether psychopathologies are culture-specific or culture-free and major classification systems used by mental health professionals are also considered. The science of psychopathology is emphasised throughout. This second study unit covers specific disorders including anxiety, trauma- and stressor-related, and obsessive-compulsive and related disorders, somatic symptom and related disorders and dissociative disorders, mood disorders and suicide, eating disorders, sexual dysfunctions, paraphilic disorders and gender dysphoria, schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders, neurodevelopmental and neurocognitive disorders. The concept of the scientist-practitioner approach underlying the curriculum design is discussed. This module aims to familiarise students with a broad understanding of psychological disorders including their description, prevalence, causes and treatment; to recognise the contributions of cognition, behaviour, socio-cultural context and biology in understanding the various psychological disorder; to critique current thinking on aspects of psychopathologies that are culture-specific and aspects that are culture-free; and to introduce awareness and understanding of psychological disorders that exists based on the classification system.