Human Adaptation and Its Failures

Human Adaptation and its Failures focuses on the nature of psychopathology and its relation to normal behavior. The book first offers information on key concepts, including environmental factors in adaptation, nonadaptive behavior patterns, and a critique of approaches to normal and psychiatrically impaired behaviors. The text then surveys the development from biological organism to adult social being; social competence and societal expectations; and measurement of social competence. Topics include early experience and psychological development, social status as a way of life, social, moral, and intellectual development, and sex differences in social competence. The manuscript takes a look at social competence, adaptive potential, and psychological development and adaptive potential and adaptive failure. The publication also examines the definition and measurement of adaptive failure, conceptual issues in adaptive failure, and pathological behavior style and life-style. The text is a dependable reference for readers wanting to study human adaptation and its failures.

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

1/Some Key Concepts

Environmental Factors in Adaptation

Nonadaptive Behavior Patterns

A Critique of Current Approaches to Normal and Psychiatrically Inpaired Behaviors

The Plan of This Book

References

2/From Biological Organism to Adult Being

Psychological Development

Early Experience and Psychological Development

Social Status as a Way of Life

References

3/Social Competence and Societal Expectations

Intellectual Development

Social Development

Moral Development

Societal Expectations

References

4/The Measurement of Social Competence

The Current Scale of Social Competence

Earlier Scales of Social Competence

Reliability of Measurement

Sex Differences in Social Competence

Other Approaches to Competence

References

5/Social Competence, Adaptive Potential, and Psychological Development

Competence and Performance under Stress

Competence and Psychological Development

Performance under Stress and Psychological Development

References

6/Adaptive Potential and Adaptive Failure

Prevalence of Disorder

Severity of Disorder

Outcome of Disorder

A Final Comment

References

7/The Definition and Measurement of Adaptive Failure

Major Forms of Pathology

Problems in Classification

Problems in Reliability

References

8/Conceptual Issues in Adaptive Failure

Attitudinal Set and Behavioral Style

Symptom Patterns as Behavior Styles

Behavior Style and Psychiatric Diagnosis

References

9/Pathological Behavior Style, Psychological Development, and Outcome to Pathology

Pathological Behavior Style and Psychological Development

Behavior Style and Outcome in Disorder

The Process-Reactive Distinction and Psychological Development

References

10/Pathological Behavior Style and Life-Style

Sphere Dominance and Life-Style

Sex Identity and Life-Style

Summary

References

11/Culture, Life-Style, and Pathology

Psychological Development, Behavior Style, and Culture

Crosscultural Differences in Pathology

Culture Change and Pathology

References

12/The Social Bases of Adaptation and Failure

The Group

Pressures for Conformity

The Behavior Deviations

Research on Isolation and Pathology

Limitations of the Sociological Framework

References

13/The Interactionist View on Adaptation and Failure

Types of Environment

Implications for Corrective Programs

References

Appendix

Author Index

Subject Index