UNIVERSITATEA “BABES-BOLYAI” CLUJ-NAPOCA

FACULTATEA DE LITERE
DEPARTAMENTUL DE LIMBI STRAINE DE SPECIALITATE

ENGLISH STUDY PACK

FOR STUDENTS IN PSYCHOLOGY
AND SCIENCES OF EDUCATION
DISTANCE TRAINING
1ST SEMESTER
2009/2010

Camelia-Daniela Teglaş
cameliateglas@yahoo.com
CONTENTS:
PRESENTATION OF THE COURSE

INTRODUCTION: THE SKILL AND PRACTICE OF READING

UNIT 1: THE STORY OF PSYCHE

UNIT 2: CV MODEL

UNIT 3: REBECCA HASBROUCK

UNIT 4: WHAT IS ABNORMAL BEHAVIOUR?

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PRESENTATION OF THE COURSE
Universitatea Babeş–Bolyai, Cluj–Napoca
Facultatea de Litere
Catedra de Limbi Straine de Specialitate
Anul universitar 2009 - 2010
Semestrul 1

I. Informatii generale despre curs, seminar, lucrare practică sau laborator;

TITLUL DISCIPLINEI: Limba engleză, disciplină obligatorie, anul I, sem. I

II. Informatii despre titularul de curs, seminar, lucrare practica sau laborator;
NUME, TITLUL STIINTIFIC: Asistent Camelia-Daniela Teglas
INFORMATII DE CONTACT (adresă e-mail, eventual nr. de telefon): cameliateglas@yahoo.com

III. Descrierea disciplinei: obiectivele cursului/disciplinei, conţinutul acestuia, competenţele

dobândite prin absolvirea disciplinei, metodele utilizate în cazul predării, al seminarului sau al
lucrărilor prectice
Curs practic, in format de seminar, in care studentilor li se solicita participarea, pregatirea si
implicarea activa; regimul cursului - obligatoriu; obiectivele principale includ: dezvoltarea
competentelor comunicative si a strategiilor de informare in limba engleza, necesare atat studentilor
cat si viitorilor specialisti prin utilizarea vocabularului specializat si a structurilor gramaticale
specifice textelor de specialitate, deprinderea si utilizarea strategiilor de lectura academica,
abordarea diverselor genuri ale scrisului academic – raport de studiu, articol stiintific, eseu
descriptiv si argumentativ, sondaj si chestionar, rezumat, etc. Cursul practic de limbi străine
urmăreşte deprinderea unui vocabular de specialitate; largirea si consolidarea cunostintelor generale
de limba engleza (comunicare orala si scrisa, deprinderi de munca intelectuala) in vederea atingerii
unui nivel performant in materie de competenta lingvistica generala si de specialitate si însuşirea de
către studenţi a unui corpus general de cunoştinţe de gramatică, a lexicului de specialitate a
disciplinei vizate prin studierea textelor autentice, a unor tehnici de muncă intelectuală.

IV. Bibliografia obligatorie: datele complete de identificare a lucrărilor fundamentale utilizate în

cadrul disciplinei, precizarea locului unde acestea se pot accesa (inclusiv resursele accesibile pe
Internet)
1. SIDE, RICHARD – WELLMAN, GUY: Grammar & Vocabulary For Cambridge Advanced and
Proficiency, Longman, 2001, Biblioteca British Council
2. TEGLAS, CAMELIA, Study Pack for Students in Psychology and Educational Sciences
3. Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Longman, 2003, Biblioteca British Council
4. Prodromou, L., Grammar and Vocabulary for First Certificate, Longman, 2001, Biblioteca
British Council
5. http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/acdwrite/bookrev.html
6. http://www.psychologyabout.com

V. Bibliografia opţională:
1. Zdrenghea,M., Greere, A. , A Practical English Grammar (with exercises), Clusium, 1999
2. Chilarescu, M., Paidos,C., Proficiency in English, Institutul European, 1996
3. Jordan, R.R, Academic Writing Course, Nelson, 1992
4. http://www.nytimes.com

3
5. Halgin, R., Krauss Whitbourne, S. Abnormal Psychology: The Human Experience of
Psychological Disorders, Brown & Benchmarks Publishers, 1997
6. VINCE, MICHAEL:Advanced Language Practice, Heinemann, 1991

FOR FURTHER STUDY (to support progress/ revision):

1. http://esl.about.com/c/ec/1.htm (curs gratuit prin corespondenţă pentru nivel intermediar, cu

lista subiectelor de parcurs).
2. http://esl.about.com/c/ec/2.htm (curs gratuit prin corespondenţă pentru nivel începător)
3. http://esl.about.com/od/grammarforbeginners/ (pentru aducere la nivel si consolidare
4. http://esl.about.com/od/grammarintermediate/ (pentru consolidare)
5. http://esl.about.com/library/writing/blwrite_usedictionary.htm (repere practice pentru
utilizarea dictionarelor, alte link/uri)
6. http://esl.about.com/library/beginner/blabsolute_intro.htm (20 de pasi pentru dezvoltarea
abilitatilor minime de comunicare)
7. http://esl.about.com/od/beginnerreadingskills/ (deprinderi de citire)
8. http://esl.about.com/od/readingintermediate/ (deprinderi de citire)
9. http://esl.about.com/od/listeningbeginners/ (exercitii de ascultare urmărind înţelegerea
vorbitorilor nativi- modele utile pt. propria exprimare)
10. http://esl.about.com/od/intermediatelistenin1/ (exercitii de ascultare urmărind înţelegerea
vorbitorilor nativi- modele utile pt. propria exprimare, dezvoltarea abilităţilor de ascultare în
situaţii mai complexe).
11. http://esl.about.com/od/listeningquizzes/ (listă cuprinzătoare cu actvităţi de ascultare).
12. http://esl.about.com/cs/vocabulary/ (modalităţi de organizare a vocabularului)

4
INTRODUCTION
THE SKILL AND PRACTICE OF READING
1. The reading process
Though reading is often considered a passive skill, research in the field of psycholinguistics
has demonstrated that it is actually a highly complex process of interaction between the
reader and text. For example, it has been shown that the reader does not decode the text in
his first language in an orderly, linear fashion, word after word, but rather his eyes move
rapidly over the page, going forward and backward as he perceives meaningful groups of
words and relates these to the non-verbal information at his disposal (that is, to his
knowledge of the world and topic of the written text), thereby deriving meaning from the
text.
Reading thus can be seen as the processing of information. The reader brings to the text his
own store of information deriving from his native culture, education, personal experience,
and, normally some specific knowledge of the written text. At the same time, the reader
possesses a linguistic competence, including knowledge of words, of how these words are
deployed according to the linguistic system in order to form sentences, and the rhetorical
pattern and linguistic conventions which characterize different types of text.
Furthermore, in an ideal situation, the reader approaches a text with a genuine motivation to
read and a reading purpose. Whatever the text, he will also have some expectations or
predictions regarding its content and how the text is likely to be organized depending on its
genre. As he reads, these predictions are confirmed or not confirmed by the text. Depending
of his reason for reading, he will use one or more specific strategies.
2. Reading strategies
When we read in our own language we use – often unconsciously – a variety of reading
strategies and techniques depending on the text and our reason for reading. There are four
principal “styles” of reading:
Skimming involves moving your eyes rapidly over the page or pages in order to get a
general idea of what the text is about, focusing on certain key words or phrases.
Scanning, instead, is a strategy we use when we seek specific pieces of information in a text,
such as names, dates, statistics, or whether a particular topic is treated. Here our expectations
are heightened by our awareness of certain lexical fields or other textural features which are
likely to signal the presence of the information we are looking for.
Intensive reading is the style we use when we wish to have a very clear and complete
understanding of the written text. This implies a careful decodification of the writer’s
discourse, usually with the aim of comprehending not only the literal meaning of the text, but
also the writer’s deeper purpose, his position or other eventual text subtleties.
Extensive reading is the term we use to describe the strategies called into play when we
read longer texts either for pleasure or for information, and may involve all the strategies
previously mentioned, which the reader applies according to the individual text and his
interest in its various parts.
Thus, the reading style we apply to any given text should be a function of the type and
content of the text on the one hand, and our reading purpose on the other. It is important to
use these strategies appropriately and flexibly: obviously not all texts need to be read
intensively, though language learners often apply only this strategy to texts in foreign
languages. In reading English for academic purposes, for example, it will often suffice to
have a general idea of whether certain information is contained in an article and, if so,
where, so that it might be consulted at a later date. On the other hand, information which is
of interest may be located quickly and selected passages focused upon for the purpose of
extracting and annotating specific information.
(Source: Jordan, R.R, Academic Writing Course, Collins, London 1993)

5
UNIT 1:THE STORY OF PSYCHE
The Greek name for a butterfly is Psyche, and the same word means the soul. There is no illustration
of the immortality of the soul so striking and beautiful as the butterfly, bursting on brilliant wings
from the tomb in which it has lain, after a dull, grovelling, caterpillar existence, to flutter in the
blaze of day and feed on the most fragrant and delicate productions of the spring. Psyche, then, is
the human soul, which is purified by sufferings and misfortunes, and is thus prepared for the
enjoyment of true and pure happiness. (From Bulfinch's Mythology: The Age of Fable, Chapter
XI)
The Story of Psyche
Once there lived a King and Queen who had three daughters. The youngest was called Psyche and
she was so beautiful that everybody loved her. At last her fame reached the ears of Aphrodite
(Venus), the goddess of Beauty. Aphrodite grew very jealous of this mortal girl, and sent her son
Eros, the god of love, to punish her.
Eros found Psyche fast asleep. He pierced her with one of his arrows and Psyche opened her eyes.
Feeling ashamed to have harmed anyone so lovely, Eros pierced himself, and scattered the healing
drops over Psyche. The princess recovered immediately, but from that day forth no suitors came to
ask her hand in marriage, and no young man was moved by her beauty.
Her parents became alarmed, and sent a message to the Oracle at Delphi, asking what misfortune
had befallen their daughter. The Oracle replied that “Psyche would never marry a mortal man. Her
husband awaited her on the mountain top. He was a monster and none could withstand his power.”
When the people of the kingdom heard this reply they were filled with grief, but Psyche said that
she would go to the mountain top to meet her husband. Accompanied by a vast train, the princess
journeyed to the top of the mountain, and then bade farewell to her parents and remained there
alone.
A soft wind, called Zephyr, lifted her up and carried her away to a green bank. Here Psyche fell
asleep, and when she awoke she found herself outside a large palace. The doors stood open and, as if
in a dream, Psyche arose and walked into the palace. Light streamed in through the windows, and
the pillars were made of gold. Suddenly a voice began to speak.
“Fair Psyche, this is your palace and we are your servants. You may not see us but we will wait on
you night and day. Eat, drink and be rested.”
Psyche obeyed their commands, and when she was refreshed her husband came to her. His voice
was sweet and his words were gentle, but he too was invisible, and she begged him to show himself
to her.
“I cannot,” he said. “If you saw me you would be dazzled by my radiance. I am a god, but I hide
myself from you so that you can love me as a husband.”
Psyche accepted these words, and for a long time they lived together very happily. At last,
however, she was filled with a longing to see her family once again. At her request the gentle
Zephyr carried her sisters to her, and she greeted them with joy. Seeing Psyche’s prosperity, the two
sisters grew jealous. When Psyche told them about her husband they cried out in horror.
“O, Psyche, he is the monster you were warned of! Tonight you must hide a lamp and a dagger in
your bedchamber, and when he comes to you, slay him while he is asleep.”
Psyche loved her husband dearly but she was blinded by her sisters’ words. That night, when her
husband lay asleep beside her, she lit the lamp she had hidden. To her amazement she saw a radiant
winged god, and she recognised him to be Eros himself. As she gazed at him a drop of hot oil fell
from the lamp onto the sleeper’s face.
“Alas, O foolish Psyche,” cried Eros awakening. “Your frailty has brought about our misery. I
cannot dwell where there is suspicion – go to your sisters, since you love them more than me.”
With these words the god of love rose on his wings and flew away.
Poor Psyche wept bitterly and began to wander far and wide, looking everywhere for her beloved.
One day she came to a temple belonging to Demeter, goddess of the Harvest. The sheaves of corn
inside were strewn all over the floor, and Psyche set them in order.
Demeter was pleased by this kind act, and appeared to the princess.
6
 “Your suffering is due to the anger of the goddess Aphrodite,” she said. “I cannot protect you from
her, but I can advise you to go and beg her forgiveness. If she punishes you, bear the trial with
patience.”
Psyche thanked Demeter and travelled to the temple of Aphrodite. The goddess of Beauty soon
appeared to her and told her that to prove her repentance she must pass certain tests. Psyche agreed
and Aphrodite led her to a storehouse. It was filled with seeds as tiny as the grains of sand on a
beach.
“Separate these grains,” commanded Aphrodite, “and place each kind together.”
Poor Psyche gazed on the heaps of grain in despair, but an army of ants came to her out of the
fields, and carried out the goddess’s command.
When Aphrodite saw that the task had been accomplished she frowned and set Psyche a still
harder test.
“Take this box,” she said. “I wish you to go with it to the Underworld. Ask Queen Persephone to
fill it with beauty, and bring it back to me.”
This task seemed impossible, but Psyche set off to the Underworld, and obtained all she required.
On her return journey she began to think about the contents of the box she was carrying.
“I have grown so pale and weary with grief,” she thought. “What would my dear husband think of
me? Perhaps I can take a little of this beauty, to make myself fair again.”
Psyche opened the box and out flew the sleep of Death which lay within. She fell to the ground
and lay as if dead.
All this time Eros had been longing for his beloved wife. When his mother, Aphrodite, left the
palace, he also slipped away and flew to where Psyche was lying. He closed the box that lay open
beside her, and touching her with his magical arrows, brought her back to life.
“O Psyche,” he said. “Once again your curiosity has almost destroyed you. But do not fear. Carry
out my mother’s bidding, while I seek the mercy of our father, Zeus.”
Eros flew to Mount Olympus and told the story of Psyche to the Father of the Gods. Zeus was
filled with compassion and called Psyche to him.
“Here, my child,” he said. “Drink this cup of heavenly ambrosia and become immortal; you and
your husband shall never be parted again.”
Psyche obeyed, and she and Eros dwelt for evermore amongst the gods of Heaven.

ACTIVITIES:
1. Read the fragment above and try to identify the tenses used in the text. Write down two or three
verbs for each identified tense.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………........

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

7
Unit 2: Curriculum vitae (British English)
Resumé (American English)
Curriculum Vitae

Name: .......................
Surname/Last name: .......................
Date of birth: .......................
Place of birth:
country:.......................... town: ............................
Nationality: .......................
Marital status: .......................
Address:
Street:...................... Town: .......................
Phone:. .......................; Mobile: .......................;
e-mail: .......................

EDUCATION
Primary/secondary/high school: .......................
Higher studies: B.A. ....................... M.A. .......................
Training courses: .......................

WORK PLACES
Period of time: .......................
Employer: .......................
Position: .......................

SKILLS
Foreign language proficiency:
English.......................
French .......................
German .......................
Other languages .......................
Computer skills:
Programme: ....................... Level: .......................

MEMBERSHIP:
.................................................

OTHER ABILITIES, HOBBIES

............................................................................

International words 
B.A = Bachelor of Arts = licenţiat în ştiinţe umaniste
B.Sc = Bachelor of Science = licenţiat în ştiinţe exacte
Curriculum vitae (Latin; Br. English) / Resumé (Am. English)
CV [sivi] (Latin; English)
M.A. = Master of Arts =master în ştiinţe umaniste (English)
M.Sc = Master of Science =master în ştiinţe exacte(English)
PhD = Doctor of Philosophy = doctor

Activities:
1. Fill in the CV with your personal data.

8
UNIT 3: Rebecca Hasbrouck
Read the following passage, both to gain a general idea of its content, and also so that you will be prepared to answer
questions on points of detail.
Twenty years of clinical practice had not prepared me for my encounter with Rebecca Hasbrouck.
Working in the outpatient department of a large psychiatric facility, I had encountered hundreds of people whose stories
would move me, but for some reason, Rebecca's seemed unusually troubling. Perhaps it was her similarity to me in so many
ways that stirred me up. Like me, she was in her mid-forties and had mothered two sons when she was in her early thirties.
She had been raised in a middle-class family and attended excellent schools. In fact, when I first spoke with Rebecca, my
attention was drawn to the faded Polaroid photo that she grasped tightly in her fist. It was the picture of a jubilant 22-year-
old Rebecca on the day of her graduation from an Ivy League university. She stood beside her parents and her older sister,
everyone gleaming with pride about all that she had accomplished and filled with the greatest of expectations about all
that would lie ahead for her.
I later learned that she was planning to attend one of the most prominent law schools in the country, where she would
pursue a specialization in maritime law. Everyone, including Rebecca, assumed that a life of happiness and personal
fulfillment would lie ahead.
Before telling you the rest of Rebecca's story, let me tell you more about my initial encounter with her. It was the
Tuesday morning following Labor Day weekend. The summer was over, and I was returning from a restful vacation,
burdened somewhat by the prospects of the correspondence, the messages, and the new responsibilities that awaited me. I
had arrived early that morning, even before the receptionist, with the hope of getting a head start on my work. As I
approached the clinic's entrance, I was shocked, however, to find a disheveled woman lying up against the locked door.
Her hair was dirty and knotted, her clothes torn and stained. She looked up at me with piercing eyes and spoke my name.
Who was this woman? How did she know my name? The sight of countless homeless people on the streets of the city
every day had made me numb to the power of their despair, but I was suddenly startled to have one of them call me by
name.
After unlocking the door, I asked her to come in and take a seat in the waiting room. As she emerged from a state of
seeming incoherence, this woman told me that her name was "Rebecca Hasbrouck." She explained that she had been
given my name and address by an old college friend whom she had called after paging through a discarded phone book
which she had found on the street. Rebecca's friend apparently recognized the seriousness of her condition and urged her
to get some professional help.
I asked Rebecca to tell me how I could be of assistance. With tears streaming down her face she whispered that she
needed to "return to the world" from which she had fled three years earlier. Not knowing what she meant, I asked her to
tell me what that "world" was. The story that unfolded seemed unbelievable. She explained that just a few years earlier
she was living a life of wealth and comfort in an upper middle-class suburb. Both she and her husband were very
successful attorneys, and their two sons were bright, attractive, and athletically gifted. Oddly, Rebecca stopped there, as
if that were the end of her story. Naturally I asked her what happened then. Upon hearing my question, her eyes glazed
over as she drifted into a detached state of apparent fantasy. I continued to speak to her, but she did not seem to hear my
words. Several minutes went by, and she returned to our dialogue.
Rebecca proceeded to tell me the story of her journey into despair and poverty. Interestingly, the turning point in Rebecca's
life was almost three years to the day of our encounter. As she and her family were returning from their vacation in the
mountains, a large truck violently rammed their car, causing it to careen off the road and roll over several times. Rebecca
was not sure of how her body was propelled from the wreckage, but she does recall lying near the burning vehicle as fire
consumed the three most important people in her life. For the weeks that she spent in the hospital recovering from her own
serious injuries, she wandered in and out of a state of consciousness, convinced all the while that her experience was that
of a bad dream from which she would soon awaken.
Upon her release from the hospital, she returned to her empty home but was tormented relentlessly by the voices
and memories of her sons and her husband. In the middle of a cold October night she walked out the front door of her
home, dressed only in a nightgown and slippers. Walking the four-mile distance into the center of town, she called out
the names of these three "ghosts" and searched for them in familiar places. At one point, she went to the front door of
the police chief’s home and screamed at the top of her lungs that she wanted her sons and husband "released from
prison." A police car was summoned and she was taken to a psychiatric emergency room. However, during the
process of her admission, she cleverly slipped away and set out on a path to reunite with family members, who were
"calling out" to her. During the three years that followed this tragic episode, Rebecca had fallen into a life of
homelessness, losing all contact with her former world.
Sarah Tobin, Ph.D.
(Source: Richard P. Halgin and Susan Krauss Whitbourne, ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY, The Human Experience of Psychological Disorders)

9
Unfamiliar vocabulary
fade = lose freshness and vigor of color

gleam = shine with subdued or interrupted brightness

disheveled = with disordered hair; (of person) untidy, ruffled

numb = deprieved of feeling or power of motion

discard = cast aside; give up

ram = dash or violently impel

careen = turn on one side, heel over

relent = become less stern, abandon harsh intention

Reading Activities
Answer the following questions in your own words. Then link your answers together to provide a
summary of the passage.

1. Why does Sarah Tobin find Rebecca’s story unusually troubling?

2. Which was the most shocking element of the author’s encounter with Rebecca?

3. Why did Rebecca look for assistance?

4. What generated Rebecca’s present condition?

Use of Language
THE PASSIVE VOICE -When the passive voice is used in a sentence, the stress is not on the agent
(or the person), but on the object of the sentence; so using the passive voice, the object becomes the
subject of the sentence.

Study the following excerpts from the text:

She had been raised in a middle-class family and attended excellent schools.

…my attention was drawn to the faded Polaroid photo that she grasped tightly in her fist.

…her body was propelled from the wreckage…

A police car was summoned and she was taken to a psychiatric emergency room.

These sentences contain passives. Could you rephrase these sentences in the active voice?

Compare the active and the passive forms:

ACTIVE: An old college friend had given her my name and address…

Subject verb object

PASSIVE: She had been given my name and address (by an old college friend)…

Subject be + past participle agent

10
OVERVIEW

1 FORM OF THE PASSIVE

We form the passive using be in an appropriate tense or form + the past participle of a transitive
verb:
A small sum of money was stolen from the cash box.
They ought to have been punished more severely.
Having been beaten in the semifinal, she flew home the
next day.
• In spoken English, we sometimes use get instead of
be in the passive:
They got told off for making so much noise.
• However, get + -ed is more common with an active
meaning similar to 'become' in phrases like get
dressed, get married, etc.
2 REASONS FOR USING THE PASSIVE
In English, the topic or subject matter is commonly at the beginning of the sentence, and new
information about the subject is normally at the end. In an active sentence, the 'agent' (the
person or thing that performs the action) usually comes first and is the subject of the sentence:
Subject (Agent) Action Result
Olympiakos scored the first goal.
This active sentence is principally about Olympiakos.
• In the passive, the result or thing affected by the
action comes first and is the subject of the
sentence:
Subject (Result) Action Agent
The first goal was scored by Olympiakos.
This passive sentence is principally about the goal. We choose between active and passive
because of the topic we are talking about, especially when reporting information. An English
newspaper, assuming its readers are interested in the England football team, makes the England
team the topic. It is likely to report:
England have been beaten by Germany in a penalty
shoot-out.
A German newspaper, more interested in their own national team, is likely to report:
Germany has beaten England in a penalty shoot-out.

(Source: Side, R. & Wellman, G. (2001), Grammar and Vocabulary for Cambridge Advanced and Proficiency. Longman

11
 Grammar Activities - Passive

1 Finish each of the following sentences in 3 Fill each blank with a suitable word or phrase.
such a way that it is as similar as possible to a The video machine is behaving strangely but we're
the sentence before it. ........ fixed next week.
a The car completely destroyed my motorbike. b The lights keep flickering: we must ................. to look
My motorbike ..................................................................... at the wiring for us.
b Second prize was awarded to an unknown author c lan's not the easiest person to get on with; that's
from Patras. something you'll have ................ to.
An unknown author from Patras ....................................... d I ............. car broken into the other day and the
c The judge refused him permission to appeal radio stolen,
against the decision. e Elderly people can get .................. in by con men
He ........................................................................................ going from house to house.
d Blur have earned several million pounds from their
new album.
Blur's new album ...............................................................
e They suggested we try a new method of checking
how much we were spending. 4 Finish each of the following sentences in such
We …………………………….. a way that it is as similar as possible to the
2 Fill in each of the blanks with a suitable word sentence before it.
or phrase. a Leaving that dress in the sun has made it fade.
a My proposals were rejected and I was..................... That dress ...........................................................................
back down. b We watched the men sail the boat into the
b I think he needs ................. told to keep his nose harbour.
clean, We watched the boat .........................................................
c The problem was................. been told where the fire c I dropped the glass and cracked it.
escapes were. The glass cracked ..............................................................
d His son is believed ............... kidnapped by d I added flour to the sauce and thickened it.
separatist guerrillas, The sauce ............................................................................
e Under the old proposals, candidates were ...................... e They're selling a lot of copies of that new single.
been given an extra fifteen minutes to complete That new single .................................................................
their papers.

12
UNIT 4: What Is Abnormal Behavior?

Read the following examples. Which of these behaviors do you regard as abnormal?
 Taking a “lucky” pencil to an exam.
 Being unable to sleep, eat, study, or talk to anyone else for days after a lover says
“It’s over between us”.
 Breaking into a cold sweat at the thought of being trapped in an elevator.
 Swearing, throwing pillows, and pounding fists on the wall in the middle of an
argument with a roommate.
 Refusing to eat solid food for days at a time in order to stay thin.
 Having to engage in a thorough hand-washing after coming home from a ride on a
bus.
 Believing that the government has agents who are listening in on telephone
conversations
 Drinking a six pack of beer a day in order to be “sociable” with friends at work.
What is your basis for deciding between “normal” and “abnormal”?

When psychologists attempt to define abnormal functioning they are likely to focus on
three domains of human experience: the body, the mind and the social context of the
individual. In each of these domains, there are various criteria for defining what is abnormal.
The criteria for the body fall within the biological domain, for the mind within the
psychological domain and for the social context in the sociocultural domain.[…] These three
domains have relevance to the understanding and treatment of psychological disorders.
Furthermore, though it is helpful to consider these domains as separate spheres of
functioning, it is important to realize that there is substantial overlap from domain to domain.
Biological Criteria
Most likely, you know when something is wrong with your body. You may have an
elevated temperature, a headache, disturbed sleep, or an upset stomach, for example.
Biological criteria of abnormality include a wide range of dimensions of bodily functioning.
Some biological disturbances are of particular relevance to psychological disorders. […]
Disturbances of appetite and sleep are often symptoms associated with mood disorders.
Even though biological functioning may at first seem remote from the realm of
abnormal psychology, you will see many instances in which biology plays a prominent role in
the causes, expression, and treatment of abnormal behavior. […]
The measurement of biological functioning is becoming increasingly important in the
field of abnormal psychology. As medical technology becomes more and more sophisticated,
mental health professionals are able to use measures of brain structure and function to assist
them in making a diagnosis. Fascinating new procedures are constantly being developed to
get an inside picture of the brain in the living human being, and these procedures can provide
invaluable diagnostic information about abnormalities in the brain’s structures.
Psychological Criteria
Psychological indices used in evaluating normality include a person’s emotional state
and his or her ability to solve new problems, remember what is learned, use language, adapt
to stressful situations, and meet personal needs. One important criterion for psychological
abnormality is personal distress. Mental health professionals often consider that feelings of
unhappiness, lack of fulfillment, and maladjustment are indications of dysfunction. […]
Psychological criteria can include both the individual’s thoughts and feelings and the
expression of these feelings in behavior.
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 Sometimes people do not feel particularly distressed, but their behavior is nevertheless
maladaptive in that it interferes with everyday functioning. Take the case of a first-year
college student, Joey, who refuses to enter any classroom that has an odd number. Such
behavior would certainly create problems for him, even though he may not experience any
distress about this ritualistic behavior. Think about the limitations that Joey would encounter
in college, and perhaps later in life if this behavior continues. Individuals may engage in more
indirect forms of maladaptive behavior, such as a person who constantly gets romantically
involved with people who are exploitative. Whether or not the individual experiences distress
along with the maladaptive behavior, disturbances of psychological functioning can lead to
disability in the form of some serious impairment in life functioning.
Sociocultural Criteria
The sociocultural criteria for abnormality focus on the extent to which the individual
has adopted the prevailing views of society. A behavior is abnormal if it involves stepping
outside of society’s expectations for appropriate behavior. These expectations are called
“social norms”. A social norm is a standard for acceptable behavior that is established in a
given society or culture. […]
One problem with this criterion of abnormality is, as you might imagine, that not
everyone in a given society agrees on what is “acceptable” behavior. Often, there are
significant differences in what is considered acceptable from one country to another or from
one subculture to another. At a more fundamental level, a given culture’s conceptions of the
self and personality may be seen as intimately tied to that culture’s value system and moral
orientations. […]
There are many examples of cultural traditions from all over the world in which
behavior that is considered odd or abnormal in one culture is considered to fall within the
social norms of another.[..]
Sometimes people who violate social norms cause harm to themselves or other people.
Failure to adapt to conventional expectations of the world may interfere with a person’s
ability to sustain a job, to live independently in the community, or to maintain family ties.
People with psychological disorders who have acted in ways that harm others can also
experiment loss of freedom, either through imprisonment or commitment to a psychiatric
facility.
Source: Halgin, R.P., Krauss Whitbourne, S. “ ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY, The Human Experience of Psychological Disorders”, Brown
and Benchmark Publishers, 1997

Many nouns taken from other languages have now become completely naturalised and
form their plurals by adding –s or –es to the singular:
bonus/bonuses, chorus/choruses, area/areas.
However, some have kept their foreign plurals. The largest number of these foreign
plurals are of Latin and Greek origin. Some have both forms.

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LATIN:
um – a datum/data, medium/media, stratum/strata, addendum/addenda,
symposium/symposia, bacterium/bacteria
but
museum/museums, asylum/asylums, stadium/stadiums

watch out!
Datum is much less common than its Latin plural data (‘information, especially information
organized for analysis’) which in English is usually constructed as a plural: These data are
inconclusive but often also as a singular, especially in scientific context This data is
inconclusive.

LATIN:
us – i cactus/cacti also cactuses, focus/foci also focuses, radius/radii,
terminus/termini, nucleus/ nuclei also nucleuses, bacillus/bacilli, stimulus/stimuli
but
bonus/bonuses, genius/geniuses, virus/viruses

LATIN:
a – ae alga/algae, larva/larvae, formula/formulae also formulas,
antenna/antennae also antennas, vertebra/vertebrae also vertebras
but
arena/arenas, dillema/dillemas, diploma/diplomas, era/eras,
encyclopaedia/encyclopaedias, retina/retinas, villa/villas

LATIN:
x – ces index/indices also indexes, appendix/appendices (in books) also appendixes
(anatomical), matrix/matrices

LATIN:
others genus/genera, stamen/stamina

Words of Greek origin retain their declentional endings, but Anglicised plurals for some of
them are favoured:

GREEK:
is – es analysis/analyses, axis/axes, basis/bases, crisis/crises, diagnosis/diagnoses,
hypothesis/hypotheses, paranthesis/parantheses, thesis/theses

GREEK:
On – a phenomenon/phenomena, criterion/criteria
but
demon/demons, neurone/neurones, proton/protons, ganglion/ganglions

Some foreign nouns are at half way stage with two plurals, the original plural and the English
one. As a

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rule, the difference is not of sense, but of style. The foreign plural is characteristic of formal
usage,
particularly in scientific and academic writing. In some cases the two plurals have different
meanings:
index/indices (algebraical signs) indexes (table of contents)
genius/genii (spirits) geniuses (men of genius)
There are also words borrowed from other languages that in certain circumstances retain their
original
endings in the plural:

HEBREW:
cherub/cherubim(cherubs), seraph/seraphim (seraphs)

ITALIAN:
bandit/banditti (bandits), virtuoso/virtuosi also virtuosos

Confetti (from Italian confetto, which is not used in English) takes a singular verb.
Graffiti (lacking a singular form) takes the plural.

FRENCH:
beau/beaux, bureau/bureaux

ACTIVITIES:
Fill in the correct plural form of the words in brackets:
Do other planets revolve on their ……….. like the Earth? (axis)
It can be dangerous if chemists make mistakes in their ……….. (analysis).
…………..are rare in the desert. (oasis)
A great deal of ……………..was collected by the scientists. (datum)
All good reference books contain …………. (index).
The consul sent several …………….back to London. (memorandum)
He spent his time playing with mathematical …………(formula).
Geologists search the rock…………..for valuable minerals. (stratum)
There are not many types of …………around the British coast. (alga)
There have been many international………..since the war. (crisis)
The ………of these lenses are perfect for distance photography. (focus)
What are the……………of success? (criterion)
I’ve always found the idea of ………….in algebra rather difficult. (index)
There are many ……….of animals. (genus)
………..are exact positions of things. (locus)
The…………of theorists must conform to the real world. (hypothesis)
Post-graduate students have to write ………to obtain their Ph.D.s (thesis)
The optician found that both his patient’s eyes had defective………….(retina).
Two………………to the resolution were proposed. (addendum)

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