A colleague recently recounted a conversation she had had with a group of graduate students. For reasons that she cannot recall, the discussion had turned to the topic of "old-fashioned" ideas in psychology-perspectives and beliefs that had once enjoyed widespread support but that are now regarded as quaint curiosities. The students racked their brains to outdo one ofthe historical trivia of psychology: Le Bon's another with their knowledge fascination with the "group mind," Mesmer's theory of animal magnetism, the short-lived popularity of "moral therapy," Descartes' belief that erec tions are maintained by air from the lungs, and so on. When it came his tum to contribute to the discussion, one student brought up an enigmatic journal he had seen in the library stacks: the Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology. He thought that the inclusion of abnormal and social psychology within the covers of a single journal seemed an odd combination, and he wondered aloud what sort of historical quirk had led psychologists of an earlier generation to regard these two fields as somehow related. Our colleague then asked her students if they had any ideas about how such an odd combination had found its way into a single journal.

In Abnormal Psychology, best-selling author William J. Ray brings together current perspectives concerning the manner in which the human mind, behavior, and experience can be understood. In addition to the traditional psychological literature, this book draws from work in the cognitive and affective neurosciences, epidemiology, ethology, and genetics. Ray focuses on unifying and integrating the biopsychosocial understandings of human behavior within a broader consideration of human culture and language as it applies to abnormal psychology. With coverage of DSM–5, ICD–11, and RDoC, the fully revised Third Edition puts even greater emphasis on the range of human experiences and medical comorbidities and includes additional references to representations of mental health in popular culture to connect readers with familiar examples. This title is accompanied by a complete teaching and learning package.

Abnormal Psychology: The Science and Treatment of Psychological Disorders consists of a balance and blending of research and clinical application, the use of paradigms as an organizing principle, and involving the learner in the kinds of real-world problem solving engaged in by clinicians and scientists. Students learn that psychopathology is best understood by considering multiple perspectives and that these varying perspectives provide the clearest accounting of the causes of these disorders as well as the best possible treatments.