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Case Studies in Abnormal Behavior
This rich collection of case studies integrates contemporary and recognizable classic cases to illustrate a wide range of clinical and legal issues related to abnormal psychology. Case Studies in Abnormal Psychology brings the field of abnormal psychology to life for students with its rare combination of readability, humor, and strong scholarship.
- GenresPsychology
368 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1982
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 24, 2011
I want to like this book, I really do. In fact, I think it's such a great idea for a book (famous case studies) that I even emailed the publisher to ask if I could be a reviewer for it (I'm a psych prof and do a lot of reviewing and writing for textbook companies), because I think the lethal problems it has can certainly be corrected, with some work. Here are a just a few:
The authors refer to people who have disorders by the disorder names. In other words, nobody in the book HAS schizophrenia -- they're all schizophrenics. And the schizophrenics are joined by bipolars, depressives, obsessive compulsives, and so on. That may seem like a niggling little point, but it's actually considered offensive by many people with disorders, and is considered extremely bad form by the American Psychological Association...and has been considered extremely bad form for over a decade, which says to me that the primary author is older, and stuck in the past. Never good when one is trying to teach psychology to an up-and-coming generation.
Meyer further demonstrates this tendency to stay in the past by explicitly stating that he doesn't want to use modern diagnostic terms like "dissociative identity disorder" (DID) -- no, he is more comfortable calling it "multiple personality" (and you guessed it, people with the disorder are multiples). He also does things like goes on and on about how DID is probably iatrogenic (created by the therapist) -- and then uses the infamous Josef Breuer case of Anna O. as his example of someone with DID. This is pretty ironic, since by no means does the psychological field agree Anna O. had DID -- and the case study certainly doesn't read as if she does. It reads as if she has Borderline Personality Disorder, and of course Hysteria (histrionic personality disorder). Frankly, I was disappointed in the DID section overall -- I didn't have a sense that Meyer was familiar with the core texts on the subject, such as those by Kluft -- only that he was regugitating regugitated material he'd found elsewhere.
Other cases require the reader to have extensive background knowledge, which we can't assume with students. The professor may be familiar with all the reasons Ted Bundy, for example, is famous, but the case study completely fails to discuss important aspects of the case, such as Bundy's rampage in the sorority house. Likewise, the case study on Hitler assumes that the reader knows why Hitler was a bad man -- it doesn't explain why. What good is a case study that doesn't explicitly address the most pertinent details of a case study?
I would also prefer to see the cases encapsulated completely by the case study section itself. The chapters present the cases, but then continue to add details as they discuss the disorders. I really want students to have to analyze the case themselves first, before they get into the author's analysis -- and they can't do that without all the details.
The authors refer to people who have disorders by the disorder names. In other words, nobody in the book HAS schizophrenia -- they're all schizophrenics. And the schizophrenics are joined by bipolars, depressives, obsessive compulsives, and so on. That may seem like a niggling little point, but it's actually considered offensive by many people with disorders, and is considered extremely bad form by the American Psychological Association...and has been considered extremely bad form for over a decade, which says to me that the primary author is older, and stuck in the past. Never good when one is trying to teach psychology to an up-and-coming generation.
Meyer further demonstrates this tendency to stay in the past by explicitly stating that he doesn't want to use modern diagnostic terms like "dissociative identity disorder" (DID) -- no, he is more comfortable calling it "multiple personality" (and you guessed it, people with the disorder are multiples). He also does things like goes on and on about how DID is probably iatrogenic (created by the therapist) -- and then uses the infamous Josef Breuer case of Anna O. as his example of someone with DID. This is pretty ironic, since by no means does the psychological field agree Anna O. had DID -- and the case study certainly doesn't read as if she does. It reads as if she has Borderline Personality Disorder, and of course Hysteria (histrionic personality disorder). Frankly, I was disappointed in the DID section overall -- I didn't have a sense that Meyer was familiar with the core texts on the subject, such as those by Kluft -- only that he was regugitating regugitated material he'd found elsewhere.
Other cases require the reader to have extensive background knowledge, which we can't assume with students. The professor may be familiar with all the reasons Ted Bundy, for example, is famous, but the case study completely fails to discuss important aspects of the case, such as Bundy's rampage in the sorority house. Likewise, the case study on Hitler assumes that the reader knows why Hitler was a bad man -- it doesn't explain why. What good is a case study that doesn't explicitly address the most pertinent details of a case study?
I would also prefer to see the cases encapsulated completely by the case study section itself. The chapters present the cases, but then continue to add details as they discuss the disorders. I really want students to have to analyze the case themselves first, before they get into the author's analysis -- and they can't do that without all the details.
March 13, 2019
I wish this book was a better one then what was presented. I read Meyer's abnormal psychology textbook coauthored with Thomas Oltmanns. The criticism I have range. TO start out it was great that it used famous cases. The hard part came when it was a lot of criminals which only push the notion that mentally ill individuals are killers or otherwise violent when in the most case not ever mentally ill person is violent. A better balance of those who have had shows a history of violence versus those who have not engaged in violent activity or behavior would have shown a better presentation mentally ill, individuals.
Next comes DID. The author acknowledges that the term Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD) is the old term that the book acknowledges and then the DSM uses the correct term DID, or Dissociative Identity Disorder but then to go around and say I (the author that is) will not use the new term is just plain bad practice. I mean what the hell? The best practice is to go with what the DSM says because that's what the student is going to encounter when it comes to things. And then one of the two cases in this section just didn't seem to represent the disorder well. One is a criminal case which means faking it is high and then the other one just didn't seem to have enough info to determine that she had the disorder. Just disappointed with this one.
Another thing of the book I didn't like the book for doing was to refer anyone with a disorder as the disorder itself ie Schizophrenic versus a person with schizophrenia. It may be more to type but it is the correct way to address someone who has a mental illness.
Finally, at least for the famous cases, the author seemed to expect you to have background knowledge about the individual. I knew some cause I am a crime show watcher but I didn't know everything. So, I couldn't get anything.
The positives of this book is that it did lay out what the disorders were. It was interesting to read even though it had it hang-ups. And finally, it left a list in the back on increasing a positive way for your mental health and a way to be more positive.
Next comes DID. The author acknowledges that the term Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD) is the old term that the book acknowledges and then the DSM uses the correct term DID, or Dissociative Identity Disorder but then to go around and say I (the author that is) will not use the new term is just plain bad practice. I mean what the hell? The best practice is to go with what the DSM says because that's what the student is going to encounter when it comes to things. And then one of the two cases in this section just didn't seem to represent the disorder well. One is a criminal case which means faking it is high and then the other one just didn't seem to have enough info to determine that she had the disorder. Just disappointed with this one.
Another thing of the book I didn't like the book for doing was to refer anyone with a disorder as the disorder itself ie Schizophrenic versus a person with schizophrenia. It may be more to type but it is the correct way to address someone who has a mental illness.
Finally, at least for the famous cases, the author seemed to expect you to have background knowledge about the individual. I knew some cause I am a crime show watcher but I didn't know everything. So, I couldn't get anything.
The positives of this book is that it did lay out what the disorders were. It was interesting to read even though it had it hang-ups. And finally, it left a list in the back on increasing a positive way for your mental health and a way to be more positive.
December 10, 2019
Really interesting
October 24, 2016
This text is great for anybody interested in psychology and the serious student. The reason being is that each psychological behavior is categorized inside by chapter and within are encased case studies. Something about actual events seems to hold a greater weight in my mind and the minds of others. Truly, we all love a good story, so the case studies really help to bring to life the situation that the individual, and those attached to the individual, must endure.
This is the seventh edition and a lot of case studies were added in order to help clarify behaviors, many of which are famous persons that most of us would know.
It's written well and even touches on some humor and sarcasm, which is odd for an academic text, but makes it much easier to read. There is a genuine sense of wanting to deliver information easily in order to help those out there that need it, behaviorally affected individuals and those associated with them in kind.
This is the seventh edition and a lot of case studies were added in order to help clarify behaviors, many of which are famous persons that most of us would know.
It's written well and even touches on some humor and sarcasm, which is odd for an academic text, but makes it much easier to read. There is a genuine sense of wanting to deliver information easily in order to help those out there that need it, behaviorally affected individuals and those associated with them in kind.
May 31, 2016
Case Studies in Abnormal Behavior
Meyer, Robert G.
required text for college courses
Meyer, Robert G.
required text for college courses
Want to read
October 15, 2011excellent
December 29, 2021
Very helpful for my practice.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews