Abnormal+Psychology+Learning+Objectives

XII. Abnormal Behavior (7–9%) In this portion of the course, students examine the nature of common challenges to adaptive functioning. This section emphasizes formal conventions that guide psychologists’ judgments about diagnosis and problem severity. AP students in psychology should be able to do the following: • Describe contemporary and historical conceptions of what constitutes psychological disorders. • Recognize the use of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) published by the American Psychiatric Association as the primary reference for making diagnostic judgments. • Discuss the major diagnostic categories, including anxiety and somatoform disorders, mood disorders, schizophrenia, organic disturbance, personality disorders, and dissociative disorders, and their corresponding symptoms. • Evaluate the strengths and limitations of various approaches to explaining psychological disorders: medical model, psychoanalytic, humanistic, cognitive, biological, and sociocultural. • Identify the positive and negative consequences of diagnostic labels (e.g., the Rosenhan study). • Discuss the intersection between psychology and the legal system (e.g., confidentiality, insanity defense)

XIII. Treatment of Abnormal Behavior (5–7%) This section of the course provides students with an understanding of empirically based treatments of psychological disorders. The topic emphasizes descriptions of treatment modalities based on various orientations in psychology. AP students in psychology should be able to do the following: • Describe the central characteristics of psychotherapeutic intervention. • Describe majortreatment orientations used in therapy (e.g., behavioral, cognitive, humanistic) and how those orientations influence therapeutic planning. • Compare and contrast different treatment formats (e.g., individual, group). • Summarize effectiveness of specific treatments used to address specific problems. • Discuss how cultural and ethnic context influence choice and success of treatment (e .g ., factors that lead to premature termination of treatment). • Describe prevention strategies that build resilience and promote competence. • Identify major figures in psychological treatment(e.g., Aaron Beck, Albert Ellis, Sigmund Freud, Mary Cover Jones, Carl Rogers, B . F . Skinner, Joseph Wolpe)