Understanding Abnormal Behavior - Cengage Learning

20 Chapter 2: Models of Abnormal Behavior
problems. These ideas are wonderfully summarized in an American Psychologist article by Philip
Brickman et al. (1982). The medical model assumes that people are responsible for neither their
problems nor the solutions to them. The model implies that professionals must provide help and
that disturbed people are relatively passive during recovery. In the extreme form,
humanistic-existential thinkers suggest that people are responsible for both creating and solving
their difficulties. Some might consider this a moral model: Only the sinner can help himself or
herself. Two other quadrants exist as well. One asserts that although people may create their own
troubles, they must rely on to solve them. Finally, a “compensatory” model argues that people
may not be responsible for the cause of their problems, but they must be responsible for solving
them.
You can use the handout for this lecture topic and ask students where the biogenic model and the
humanistic-existential perspective should be placed and why. This should lead to a discussion of
what helpers can do, the disturbed person’s adoption of a “sick role,” the phenomenon of blaming
the victim, and other consequences of adopting a particular model. Another related topic is the
disease model of addiction. If alcoholics are the cause of their own problem and should be
responsible for the solution, they would be seen in the “moral” cell. In many people’s minds,
alcoholism is a disease (the alcoholic is responsible for neither the problem nor its solution). Do
students agree with this model? Do they see people addicted to cigarettes in the same way? What
about compulsive gamblers? Another point implicit in the grid is that responsibility for the cause
of a problem does not necessitate responsibility for its solution (and vice versa). Ask students if
they can think of disorders or other life problems in which a person who is not responsible for the
cause is held responsible for its solution. Does this model seem “fair”? The discussion could
conclude with the idea that adopting a model is anything but a neutral act.
Source: Brickman, P., Rabinowitz, V. C, Karuza, J., Coates, D., Cohn, E., & Kidder, L. (1982).
Models of helping and coping. American Psychologist, 37, 368–384.
Internet Site: http://www.neuropsychologycentral.com/index.html. Massive site with links to all
topics in the neurosciences.
2. You can ask students to assess their own preferred theoretical perspective and its implications.
Present the following short hypothetical case as the focus for this discussion:
John is 17 and has been drinking heavily since he was 12. He drinks almost every day, but when
he is particularly anxious, he drinks until he passes out. His father and his grandfather were
diagnosed alcoholics; the father drank himself to death when John was 14. His mother and older
brother do not drink at all, and they have always told John that he is the family’s black sheep, the
rebellious who is destined to be like his father.
Ask students what they think causes John‘s behavior—genetics? Early childhood experiences?
Problems with feelings and thoughts? Current circumstances? Wider society? Ask them to defend
their choice. The ensuing discussion may lead to an examination of the methods by which we
could discover the causes of alcoholism. It should also show how multiple perspectives can shed
light on a single case.
From the biogenic perspective, you could list genetic vulnerability and briefly explain the concept
of concordance. If John had an identical twin, would he, too, drink heavily and at the same times?
Also under the biogenic heading, neurochemical differences can be discussed. If we found that
John metabolized alcohol differently from his older brother, would that support a biogenic
explanation? Point out the need for a preexisting biological difference. Finally, this example can
give students an appreciation of diathesis-stress theory. If John has a preexisting, inherited
vulnerability, is he doomed to become an alcoholic? (Most likely, a combination of genetic factors
and family and social stressors produced this pattern of use.)
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