Essentials Of Abnormal Human Behavior

1. Your uncle consumes a quart of whiskey per day; he has trouble remembering the names of those around him.

“Abnormality is very difficult to define. It can be hard to decide where normal behaviour ends and abnormal behaviour begins”

Butcher, J. N., Hooley, J. M., & Mineka, S. (2014). Abnormal Psychology (16th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc.

The dictionary defines a psychologist as a specialist in the study of the mind and human behavior. Within the process of understanding the human mind it is learned that the same disorder may have different theories of origin, and different methods of treatment. The Biological model, the Psychodynamic model, the Behavior model, the Cognitive model, the Sociocultural model, and the Humanitarian model are the six theoretical models of abnormality. The patient has been lucky enough to have been seen by a specialist from each of these distinct practices.

Abnormality can be hard to define as different people see it in a variety of ways. In this essay, we are going to be focusing on 2 main aspects of the definition towards the topic, “Failure to function adequately” and “Deviation from social norms”.

PSYCHOLOGY Custom Edition for Bergen Community College: (pages 150-151, chapter 4, altered states 4.7 & 4.8)

What constitutes normal and abnormal is not universally agreed upon, but there are certain criteria to consider when evaluating abnormalities, which was pointed out in Rosenhan (1973). However, he questions the standards of sanity in society and the system that diagnoses the abnormal. One of the primary research questions looks at if a psychiatric diagnosis is reflective of the person or the environment. To attempt to answer this, 8 people (pseudopatients) with no history of mental issues checked themselves into a psychiatric hospital under the pretense that they were hearing voices. After they were admitted, they

Problems with defining abnormality using this definition includes the fact that some mental disorders do not cause distress and that sometimes it is normal to be distressed. One problem with this definition is abnormal behaviour may actually be helpful for the individual. For example, a person who has the obsessive-compulsive disorder of hand-washing may find that their behaviour makes them cheerful, happy and able to cope with their day (McLeod, 2008).

Client stated that she was anger because she did not see her dad this weekend like he promised.

In asking the question of what abnormal psychology is really supposed to be, it makes sense that we must first quickly think about the very definition of our word "abnormal¨. By all rights, is a remarkably puzzling word that is very dependent on what is called "normality¨. Both terms may justifiably change fundamentally from one era to another and one culture to a different one. How then do we choose upon what is abnormal and what is normal? Of course, this is much more of a philosophical issue than a psychological one. For logical reasons of practicability, it is essential to generate an approximately uniform definition of abnormal psychology that we can more or less decide upon as a cluster of caregivers. This general definition would obviously be typical in its nature, but the shared definition of the subject of abnormal psychology habitually looks something like this: Abnormal psychology is the research of behavior designs that deviate widely from usually acknowledged norms, particularly those of a compulsive nature (Medved, M. L.,2008). Nevertheless, when it comes to popular culture and reality television, how do these shows depicted abnormal behavior. In this essay I will discuss how a reality TV show called "Jersey Show" depicts abnormal psychology.

Patterns of psychological abnormality are typically deviant (different, extreme, unusual, perhaps even bizarre), distressing (unpleasant and upsetting to the person), dysfunctional (interfering with the person’s ability to conduct daily activities in a constructive way), and possibly dangerous.

For many years scientists, including doctors, psychologists, and psychiatrists, have been interested in trying to understand human behaviour, in particular behaviour that is described as being ‘abnormal’. It is difficult to define ‘abnormal’ in terms of behaviour because there are many differing descriptions which have radically changed over the years. ‘Abnormal’ behaviour is widely categorised as being persistent and in a serious degree contrary to the continued wellbeing of the individual and/or the surrounding community. Cultural beliefs and expectations determine which behaviour patterns are deemed as being ‘abnormal’.

Abnormal behavior is defined as a psychological dysfunction within an individual associated with distress or impairment in functioning and response that is not typical or culturally expected (Durand, 2005). There are

Psychology is an extraordinarily diverse field with hundreds of career paths. Some specialties, like treating the mentally ill, are familiar to most. Others, like helping with the design of advanced computer systems or studying memory, are less well-known. What psychologists have in common is a shared interest in mind and behavior. In their work they draw on an ever-expanding body of scientific knowledge about how humans think, act, and feel, and apply the information to their special areas of expertise. The profession of clinical psychology encompasses both research and statistics, through which is learned fundamental data about behavior; and practice, through which that knowledge is applied in helping to solve

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.