Professor Seth Pollak
 

 
 Please note: This course requires concurrent enrollment in Psychology 509: Abnormal Psychology. The PSY 509 syllabus contains detailed information that also applies to this seminar.
 

Required Readings:

*Abnormal Psychology, Second Edition, T.F. Oltmanns and R.E. Emery

(Text available at Canterbury Books on W. Gorham Street. A copy of the text is also on reserve at the College Library.)
 

*Reserve readings are available in the College Library Reserve Room, as well as on the web through
the College Library electronic reserves.
(To view readings: Simply scroll down to Psychology 589.)
 

Course Requirements:
 

    1. Participation (50%). You will be graded by your fellow seminar participants and their grades will be averaged. Grading criteria will be handed out later, but will be based primarily upon: (a) your preparedness for class, (b) relevance of your comments to ongoing discussion, and (c) your ability to integrate readings with the comments by other seminar participants.
 

    2. Presentation (50%). Each seminar participant will be part of a group that leads discussions on particular topics. You will not be required to "teach" the course, as all members of the group will be expected to participate. However, your role will be to direct the discussion to salient issues. Details regarding presentations will be discussed during the first class meeting. Students who do not attend class for their assigned presentation will receive a failing grade without exception. If your group presentation conflicts with a religious observance, you must inform the instructor in writing by September 15th.
 
 

This course is designed to be taken in tandem with the lecture course Abnormal Psychology. The seminar is intended for students in the L&S/Psychology Honors Program. We will read primary sources on topics that were discussed in your textbook with a focus on integrating theory and clinical research in the study of psychopathology. The readings have been selected so that you can become familiar with a variety of different research approaches used in psychopathology.
 

All presentations will be done by groups of students. Group members will all receive the same grade for each presentation.
 
 
 
 

Course Schedule and Readings:
 
 September 3rd:  Introductions.

Maher, B. (1978). A reader's, writer's, and reviewer's guide to assessing research reports in clinical psychology. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 46, 835-838.
 

September 10th: Clinical Research: How to review a study critically

Litt, F., Cuskey, W., & Rudd, S. (1980). Identifying adolescents at risk for noncompliance with contraceptive therapy. The Journal of Pediatrics, 96, 742-745.
 

September 17th: Classification of Psychopathology

Wakefield, J. (1992). The concept of mental disorder: On the boundary between biological facts and social values. American Psychologist, 47, 373-388.
 

September 24th: What is "abnormal" behavior?

Rosenhan, D. (1973). On being sane in insane places. Science, 179, 250-258.
 

October 1st: Stress and Trauma

Foa, Feske, Murdock, Kozak, and McCarthy. (1991). Processing of threat-related information in rape victims. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 100, 156-162.
 
 
October 8th: Eating and Elimination Disorders

Arnow, Kenardy, & Agras. (1992). Binge eating among the obese: A descriptive study. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 15, 155-170.
 

October 15th: Character Pathology

Newman, J., Kosson, D.S., & Patterson, C.M. (1992). Delay of gratification in psychopathic and nonpsychopathic offenders. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 101, 630-636.
 

October 22nd: Schizophrenia

Suddath, Christianson, Torrey, et al. (1990). Anatomical abnormalities in the brains of monozygotic twins discordant for schizophrenia. New England Journal of Medicine, 322, 789-794.
 

October 29th: Conduct Disorder

Caspi, Moffitt, Newman, & Silva. (1996). Behavioral observations at age 3 years predict adult psychiatric disorders. Archives of General Psychiatry, 53, 1033-1039.
 

November 5th: Attention Deficit Disorder

Klorman, Brumaghim, Fitzpatrick, Borgstedt, and Strauss. (1994). Clinical and cognitive effects of Methylphenidate on children with attention deficit disorder as a function of aggression/oppositionality and age. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 103, 206-221.
 

November 12th: Pervasive Developmental Disorders

Baron-Cohen, S., Leslie, A.M., and Frith, U. (1985). Does the autistic child have a "theory of mind"? Cognition, 21, 37-46.

 
November 19th:  Social and Legal Issues in Psychopathology

Loftus, E. (1993). The reality of repressed memories. American Psychologist, 48, 518-527.
 

December 3rd: Treatment of Abnormal Behavior

Consumer Reports (1995, November). Mental health: Does therapy help? Pp. 734-739.

 
December 10th:  Course Wrap-up