In our introductory lecture, we begin our exploration of abnormal psychology, including psychopathology and mental illness, examining how these interrelated terms are defined and measured. The discussion covers the dramatic increase in diagnosed mental disorders over time, while highlighting critical issues in prevalence measurement, diagnostic criteria, and the societal impact of mental illness. Dr. Pihl also covers specific cases such as autism and ADHD to demonstrate how diagnostic trends, cultural factors, and bureaucratic systems influence mental health classifications and treatments.

In lecture two, we examine the prevalence and measurement of psychological abnormalities, including historical shifts from institutionalization to deinstitutionalization and current challenges in mental health care delivery. The discussion covers key epidemiological studies showing rising prevalence rates of mental disorders over time, with particular focus on comorbidity patterns and measurement challenges. The lecture concludes with an examination of the Rosenhan study and its implications for psychiatric diagnosis, highlighting the ongoing challenges in mental health classification and treatment approaches.

In lecture three, Dr. Pihl discusses various models and approaches to classifying and understanding psychopathology, focusing on the evolution and limitations of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). The lecture highlights the importance of reliability and validity in diagnosing mental disorders, the influence of the pharmaceutical industry on the development of the DSM, and the need for a more dimensional and neurobiologically-informed approach to classifying mental disorders, such as the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) and the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP).