A psychological disorder is the control or any dysfunction of the individual. These psychological disorders can be associated with the stress or impairment. The psychological disorder is seen in individuals that have behaviors or dysfunctions that identifies of the essence of abnormality (Durand & Barlow, 2010). To identify that the person has psychological disorder, psychologist looks for some abnormalities in individual behavior. To be able to tell what is abnormal, you have to know the culture, environment, and the persona as an individual (Durand & Barlow, 2010). The cases of abnormality are complex and sometimes fascinating. The abnormality can be caused by biology or by psychosocial factors. Moreover, abnormality can be caused by the genetic contributions, emotional influences, and interpersonal influences.
There are currently four paradigms of psychopathology. They are Genetic, neuroscience, psychodynamic, cognitive behavioral and Diathesis-stress. The two main systems presently in use by Psychologist and health professionals, not only in the USA but also in the UK are the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV) and the International Classification of Diseases (ICD 10) (Durand & Barlow, 2010). These guidebooks help doctors and psychiatrists to communicate easily about abnormal behaviors and cognitive problems by guiding them to a prognosis as well as a path for treatment.
Abnormality is [in psychological terms] any mental, emotional or behavioral activity that deviates from culturally or scientifically accepted norms (Durand & Barlow, 2010). Patterns of emotion, thought, and action deemed pathological for one or more of the following reasons: infrequent occurrence, violation of norms, personal distress, disability or dysfunction and unexpectedness (Durand & Barlow, 2010). To identify the abnormality you have to identify multidimensional approaches and causes.
Our genetics play a big role on how abnormal we could be. Some individuals have genes that make them more susceptible to be easily stressed or genetically prone to becoming addicted to alcohol. One approach that is favored by many is the diathesis-stress model (Durand & Barlow, 2010). This test assumes that dispositions towards a certain disorder may result from a combination of an individual’s genetics and earlier learning. Nonetheless, having the characteristics does not mean that the individual will necessarily develop the disorder. The disorder will only occur if one experience is more stress than that individuals coping mechanisms can handle (Durand & Barlow, 2010). Psychologist look into the relationships between the environment and genetic contributions as well as the emotions which play a dramatic role on our functioning, and in turn plays a critical role on many psychological disorders.
Neuroscience and psychology are closely related to each other. Psychology is the subject of analyzing human activities related to human science rather than natural science (Durand & Barlow, 2010). Neuroscience is the subject that investigates scientific reasons of human activities; finding out the brain process about specific actions. In some measure, Neuroscience is the specified subject of psychology. For example, if psychology analyzes the reason as to why people have certain dreams, neuroscience finds out the chemical and biological process in the brain of the specific dream and also in a way interprets the process and figures out the reasoning behind it; similar to psychology. Neuroscience is the
Abnormal psychology is yet to have been defined in absolute terms. The general accepted terms are the four d’s. The first is deviant, which refers to different or extreme abnormalities. Distressing, this can be unpleasant and/or upsetting to a person with a psychological abnormality. Lastly, dysfunctional inability to preform daily tasks due to abnormalities and being dangerous. Psychological norms are considered to have rules for social and individual thought ideas and activity. The acceptable norms…
Ch1 Diagnosis of a psychological disorder is applied when the symptoms have a substantial effect on one’s life. Abnormal psychology is the subfield of psychology that studies the causes and progression of psychological disorders; it’s also known as psychopathology. 4 D’s: Distress, Dysfunction, Dangerousness, and Deviance. The four elements: distress, impairment, risk of harm, and deviance. Do not all need to be present if one or two of the elements are severe enough to warrant a diagnosis of…
Abnormal Psychology I. What are Psychological Disorders? A. Family members, classmates, and strangers behave in a variety of ways. B. Identifying Abnormal Behavior 1. Something that is abnormal deviates from a standard or norm. C. Perspectives on Mental Illness 1. The diagnosis of a psychological disorder sometimes carries with it a stigma or social disgrace. 2. People who suffer from a mental illness are sometimes considered weak by their peers. 3. The etiology…
Identifying information Djamila Lopes PSY 303 Abnormal Psychology Instructor Edward Fischer Identifying information Peter was born and grew up in Lincoln. He has one sister. Peter has very good memories of his childhood, although his mother suffered from bad health conditions, which led to her death when Peter was sixteen years old. Peter remained close to his father, whom he keeps visiting on a regular basis. His father is now a retired man in his eighties. Peter is twenty-five years old. He is…
Abnormal Psychology and Therapy PSY/300 August 12, 2013 Ms. Karen Croley Abnormal Psychology and Therapy For many decades’ scientists, psychologists and biologists have been trying to understand human behavior. It is important to avoid looking for a single cause of a behavior or event. The psychological experiences of humans lie at the intersection of biology and culture. “At the intersection of biology and culture lies psychology, the scientific investigation of mental processes…
PSY1101 Essay One of the key issues in the Psychology of Abnormal Behaviour is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, also known as OCD. OCD is a mental health condition where you will have obsessive thoughts and behaviours (Martin, Carlson & Buskist, 2007). It is estimated that 3% of the UK population have the condition although some may not even be aware they suffer from it. People who suffer from OCD will have persistent thoughts until a task is carried out to reduce anxiety levels (Comer, 2004)…
Abnormal Psychology Abnormal psychology studies, analyzes, explains abnormal behavior, and looks at the nature of psychopathology. Normal and abnormal psychology is just different ways of looking at one’s mental state, and finding reasoning for one’s actions or behaviors. Understanding and explaining the context in which the abnormality occurs, and abnormal behavior is profoundly influenced by demographic context categories such as gender, age, class, and culture (Hansell & Damour, 2008). Abnormal…
Psychology – “if it is difficult to define atypical behaviour, where does this leave the field of abnormal psychology?” The fact that it is difficult to define atypical behaviour makes it difficult to define the psychological word ‘abnormal’, due to extremely varied human behaviour it is difficult to assess whether a person’s behaviour can be categorised as ‘abnormal’ or ‘normal’ as we all have different perceptions of what these two things are. This also raises the question on whether these words…
Schizophrenia is a psychotic disorder where a person loses contact with the environment, they will have noticeable deterioration in their everyday life, and they may have delusions and hallucinations or withdraw into their own private world. A person with schizophrenia may have been able to function well; they may deteriorate into isolation, unreal perceptions and have very disturbed thoughts and emotions they can also have unusual motor behavior. People who develop schizophrenia experience psychosis…
Psychopathology- the field concerned with the nature and development of abnormal beh thoughts and feelings Challenge in studying abnormal psych is the need to remain objective Abnormal psysh is most popular but it has one distinct disadvantage which is that all of us bring to your study preconceived notions of what the subject matter is WHAT IS ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY? Challenge is how to define it Abnormal beh- patterns of emotion, thought and action deemed pathological for one or more…
