You must successfully complete the "Neurodevelopmental Disorders and the History of Abnormal Psychology" quiz before you will be allowed to post in this discussion forum.

Before working on this discussion, please read Chapter 1 in the course text, the articles by Szasz (1960) and Ausubel (1961), and review any Instructor Guidance.

For this discussion, you will enter into a dialogue regarding a classic and ongoing controversy within abnormal psychology. Specifically, what is the definition of abnormal psychology?

As you enter into the conversation, provide your definition of abnormal psychology. Relate historical events that influenced your thought process as you created your definition. Identify a major theoretical perspective that closely matches your definition. What diagnoses come to mind when defining abnormal psychology?

Your challenge, as a class, is to come to a collective agreement on a definition for abnormal psychology. The goal of this discussion is to have a single dynamic and respectful conversation about the definition, not a series of 20 to 30 separate conversations.

This means that every post should be in response to another post. Your instructor will be posting the initial thread to which you will respond. Only start a new discussion thread if you want to address an entirely different theme or question(s) within the discussion subject area. Additionally, only post after first carefully reading what all the others within the thread have written.

A simple agree or disagree statement is insufficient to be counted as a response. When presenting your opinion, cite relevant sources (beyond your text) to support your statements. Do not repeat what your classmates have already written, and do not ignore them if they ask you questions.

Any questions asked of you must be answered, including questions from your instructor. Try to keep the conversation moving forward by presenting options, insights, alternative ideas on and/or interpretations of the topics and research.

You must post a response within the discussion on at least three separate days by Day 7, and your posts must total at least 800 words.

There is no required word count for individual posts as long as your posts together total at least 800 words. There is no maximum number of posts for any discussion.

Once your discussion is graded, your instructor will provide you with a summary of the week's discussion and any conclusions or definitions that the class agreed on in your grading feedback. Please keep this summary in mind for future discussions in this course.