Reference no: EM133263909

Comer, R. J., & Comer, J. S. (2019). Fundamentals of abnormal psychology (9th ed.). Worth.

1. What is a cultural factor that may have impacted whether the behavior described for Johanne or Alberto would be considered abnormal?

2. What do you think are two limitations of "the four Ds" in defining what is abnormal?

3. What is your reaction to the ongoing challenge of settling upon one definition of abnormality?

Johanne cries herself to sleep every night. She is certain that the future holds nothing but misery. Indeed, this is the only thing she does feel certain about. "I'm going to suffer and suffer and suffer, and my daughters will suffer as well. We're doomed. The world is ugly. I hate every moment of my life." She has great trouble sleeping. She is afraid to close her eyes. When she does, the hopelessness of her life-and the ugly future that awaits her daughters-becomes all the clearer to her. When she drifts off to sleep, her dreams are nightmares filled with terrible images-bodies, decay, death, destruction. Some mornings Johanne even has trouble getting out of bed. The thought of facing another day overwhelms her. She wishes that she and her daughters were dead. "Get it over with. We'd all be better off." She feels paralyzed by her depression and anxiety, overwhelmed by her sense of hopelessness, and filled with fears of becoming ill, too tired to move, too negative to try anymore. On such mornings, she huddles her daughters close to her and remains all day in the cramped tent she shares with her daughters. She feels she has been deserted by the world and left to rot. She is both furious at life and afraid of it at the same time. During the past year

Alberto has been hearing mysterious voices that tell him to quit his job, leave his family, and prepare for the coming invasion. These voices have brought tremendous confusion and emotional turmoil to Alberto's life. He believes that they come from beings in distant parts of the universe who are somehow wired to him. Although it gives him a sense of purpose and specialness to be the chosen target of their communications, the voices also make him tense and anxious. He does all he can to warn others of the coming apocalypse. In accordance with instructions from the voices, he identifies online articles that seem to be filled with foreboding signs, and he posts comments that plead with other readers to recognize the articles' underlying messages. Similarly, he posts long, rambling YouTube videos that describe the invasion to come. The online comments and feedback that he receives typically ridicule and mock him. If he rejects the voices' instructions and stops his online commentary and videos, then the voices insult and threaten him and turn his days into a waking nightmare.