PSYC 430 Abnormal Psychology

This course provides an overview of psychological disorders across the lifespan, and investigates the role of various factors (e.g., biological, behavioral, social, cognitive, cultural) in the etiology and treatment of mental disorders.

For information regarding prerequisites for this course, please refer to the Academic Course Catalog.

Course Guide

View this course’s outcomes, policies, schedule, and more.*

*The information contained in our Course Guides is provided as a sample. Specific course curriculum and requirements for each course are provided by individual instructors each semester. Students should not use Course Guides to find and complete assignments, class prerequisites, or order books.


Because of the complexity of modern society and the diversity of today’s medical system, the student needs a comprehensive understanding and working knowledge of all types of abnormal behaviors. It is also critical to understand both the normal and the abnormal and their relationship to each other. This is essential for any type of psychologically-related work, especially as the student works with other professionals and agencies as part of a “healing team.” This course is a requirement for the B.S. Psychology degree.


Textbook readings and lecture presentations

No details available.

Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Discussions (4)

Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, the student must complete 4 Discussions. The discussions will cover topics relating to the course material. The student must post a thread for each discussion of at least 250 words and reply in at least 100 words each to at least 2 classmates’ threads. In the thread, the student must use a journal reference, DSM and/or textbook reference, as well as a Bible passage, including an application of the passage to the discussion topic. (CLO: A, B, D, E, G)

Autism Case Study Assignment

The student will review a case study on autism and provide written answers to the presented questions in a Word document. (CLO: A, C, F, G)

Research Paper Assignment

The student will research a specific mental disorder within the realm of Abnormal Psychology. The topic must be one which is discussed in the course textbook and described in the DSM-5-TR. The length of the body of the paper must be 7 pages and must not exceed 10 pages. In addition, the student must include a current APA-style title page and references page. Sources will be all journals dated within 5 years. (CLO: A, B, C, E, F, G)

Quizzes

The student will complete 4 quizzes for reviewing disorders. The quizzes will be completed in McGraw Hill Connect, where further details and instructions can be located.

Quizzes (8)

In each Module: Week, the student will take a 50-minute, open-book/open-notes quiz based on the assigned textbook readings and media presentations. Each quiz contains 25 multiple-choice questions. Additionally, each quiz will only be available for the full week of the Module: Week. (CLO: A, B, C)


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