A Research On Abnormal Psychology

After reading Chapter 2 of Ronald J. Comer’s book, Fundamentals of Abnormal Psychology, I now understand key principles of 4 models that that contribute to understanding abnormalities. The first model is the biological model, which can be linked to Roman and Greek times as I read in chapter 1. It mainly states that the cause of psychological abnormalities is that of physical illness. In addition, the abnormalities are introduced because of malfunctioning parts in the brain. This includes the possible malfunction of neurons that are found in the cerebrum and the possible malfunction of these neurons and the transmissions between them. Other factors may include genes, evolution and viral infections

Abnormal behavior relates to the influence of psychological factors, biological factors as well as the social factors referring to inadequate relationships. In the face of diverse definition, abnormal behavior refers to the deviating from norm, which norm is the typical behavior or characteristic of the population. As such, Jim behavior is abnormal because it violates moral and conventional mores of the society (Violates societal standards), as such causing social discomfort to others. For instance, Jim fails to recognize the social cues in conversation thereby annoying other interlocutors. Jim is this case is behaving in a manner counterproductive to his own well being by

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has published a fact sheet of statistics on suicide in the United States. In 2007, it is reported that suicide was the tenth leading cause of death. Furthermore, for every suicide committed, eleven were attempted. A total of 34,598 deaths occurred from suicide with an overall rate of 11.3 suicide deaths per 100,000 people. (NIMH, 2010). Risk factors were also noted on this report and listed “depression and other mental disorders, or a substance abuse disorder (often in combination with other mental disorders). More than ninety percent of people who die by suicide have these risk factors (NIMH, 2010).”

Suicide is intentionally causing your own death out of despair. It is considered a behavior and may result from a form of mental illness, but is not classified as a distinct psychiatric disorder. It can stem from different factors such as personal, social, financial or historical well-being. ("Mental health and wellness," 2013)

by the brain to other parts of the body are not normal in people with

Abnormal and clinical psychology are two branches in the field of psychological studies. In simple words, abnormal psychology can be defined as the study of people who engage in unusual behavior and emotional thoughts. These actions and thoughts are considered abnormal compared to those of other members of society, and they significantly interfere with their functioning in life. Clinical psychology goes hand in hand with abnormal psychology because it is the study that deals with the assessment and treatment of those abnormal actions. Learning about these branches of psychology can help us understand and predict behaviors of people who that are affected by these disorders. It is also essential to advance our knowledge to help assess the people who suffer these illnesses to lead a life of better quality. In this paper, a case study that entails a brief vignette of a 35 year old paralegal named Greg will be analyzed. According to concepts of abnormal and clinical psychology, Greg will be diagnosed with the psychological disorder of obsessive-compulsive disorder (more formally known as OCD) that might have originated in the anal stage of the psychoanalytic theory, for which cognitive behavioral therapy will be used as a possible treatment.

Jeffrey was arrested in the same year, 1988, for sexually fondling and drugging a young teenage boy (age thirteen); for this, he was put on probation for five years and for one year he was assigned to a work release camp where he was registered as a sex offender from the incident with the thirteen year old boy. Due to good behavior and a built up trust with the authorities, Dahmer was paroled from his work release camp two months early.

Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. It seeks to comprehend people by understanding mental functions and social behavior. It also explores neurobiological and physiological processes that can drive cognitive functions and behaviors. It is this drive to understand mental processes that pushes psychologists to want to learn about what is normal and abnormal behavior. People have tried for thousands of years to understand and define abnormal behavior. In the past 100 years it has undergone “tremendous change, progress, and controversy”(Hansell, J & Damour, L., 2009, p.3). Throughout the modifications certain principles have remained which are known as the core concepts. These core concepts are what define

3. Presenting Problem: Near the beginning of the movie Fiona’s closest friend Suzie says that sometimes Fiona is just “off color” and needs a time out to get herself back together. Marcus, Fiona’s son, says he disagrees with her that she is just crazy and he knows it. Later on Will says that Fiona is “obviously nuts,” while she makes jokes about her suicide attempt and is wearing a full furry jump suit. Then towards the end of the film Will goes to her concerned and asks her not to try to kill herself again. She then tells him she’s fine and is not going to try to kill herself. Then Will is relieved and he then goes on to say that they have to do something to fix her depression, sadness, and crying all day and she agrees with him. Then at the very end of the movie Will says to Marcus: “That’s just it you cannot make your mom happy, she has to do that for herself; she has to make herself happy.” It is very obvious from all of this that she is struggling with

I have chosen to demonstrate my understanding of this module by focussing on the subject of abnormal psychology, in particular mental ill-health. I was interested in furthering my knowledge of mental ill-health following one shift where my colleague and I were required to treat four patients who had attempted to commit suicide. This essay will begin by defining abnormal psychology and mental health. It will then discuss current statistics regarding mental ill-health as well as discuss causes, the various disorders and how they affect the individual. This essay will then review risk factors that can place an individual at higher probability a mental illness. Furthermore, it will discuss suicide and how the joint royal colleges ambulance liaison committee (JRCALC) suicide and self-harm risk assessment form can be utilised by ambulance clinicians to evaluate patients. This essay will conclude by discussing why knowledge of mental health will benefit me as an ambulance clinician.

Two of the possible diagnoses for Ruth are generalised anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder which is also known as dysthymia.

Suicide is the voluntary act of causing one’s own departure. There are four kinds of people who commit suicide, its important to know this because it can be used to help treat and help the person. They include the death seekers, those who intend on going through the act of suicide. Death initiators, those who believe they are simply moving up the process of death because it’s unavoidable. Death ignorers, those who do not fully understand the finality of death.

Physical well-being is assumed to be directly associated with the mental and behavioural well-being of an individual. It is commonly noted that people adopt difficult and irritating behaviour once they are not in perfect state of physical health. The root cause of depression is often attributed to disturbed situation one is facing. However, it may not be valid in all cases.

Suicide is a main source of death around the world and ranks among the three main causes of death among young adults aged between 15-45 years. Indeed, a response to this continuous worldwide issue, the World Health Organization called for the prevention of suicide (WHO, 2015). Several studies have evaluated some of the contributing factors, however, the connection between suicide and the evaluated factors is conclusively positive or negative.

Chapter 3 During the Middle Ages some “authorities” classified abnormal behaviors into two groups, those that resulted from demonic possession and those due to natural causes. The 19th-century German psychiatrist Emil Kraepelin was the first modern theorist to develop a comprehensive model of classification based on the distinctive features, or symptoms, associated with abnormal behavior patterns (see Chapter 1). The most commonly used classification system today is largely an outgrowth and extension of Kraepelin’s work: the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), published by the American Psychiatric Association. Why is it important to classify abnormal behavior? For one thing, classification is the core of science. Without labeling and organizing patterns of abnormal behavior, researchers could not communicate their findings to one another, and progress toward understanding these disorders would come to a halt. Moreover, important decisions are made on the basis of classification. Certain psychological disorders respond better to one therapy than another or to one drug than another.