Abnormal Psychology. Classification and Assessment of Abnormal Behavior

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

The episode of the Jim portrayed in the case falls in the dimension of Axis II. The present edition of DSM-IV published in 1994, offers virtually 400 disorders (Crowe, 2000). The advantage of this is that it enhances diagnostic impartiality by adding decision trees demarcating significant characteristics of disorders, which makes clinicians by collections of questions concerning the presence or the absence of the symptoms. The present DSM-IV manual comprises of extensive anthology of information organized into portions for easier reference (Purse, 2009). The first section encompasses instructions on the way to use the tools contained in the DSM-IV, while following section contains comprehensive classification systems catalog of the official codes for each single diagnosis. The fourth section comprises of the manual detailing the diagnostic criteria accompanied by a description for each disorder. Despite the advantages highlighted above, there are some disadvantages in the manual compilation. First, the DSM-IV compilation lacks the exactitude in diagnostic criterion to evidently, differentiate one diagnosis from the other as well as the distinguishing mental disorder, from the situation, such as mental distress. DSM is not visibly clear on how experiences and behaviors cited within the diagnostic criterion justifiably can consider as substantiation of mental disorder as distinctive from rejoinders to life events (Crowe,

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is currently the most frequently used way of standardizing and defining psychological disorders. However, the classification systems such as DSM have advantages and disadvantages. The major weakness of DSM is that it judges symptoms superficially and ignores other possible important factors. The major strength of DSM is that it enables categorization of psychological disorders.

The biological model draws on traditional medicine and attempts to identify the presence of a ‘stable’ phenomenon called mental illness through scientific objectivity. One of the consequences of viewing

"even our negative emotions help us survive. for example, aren't our suspicious often justified?" most likely someone with a ______ theoretical perspective made this statement "I knew right after we got home from the hospital that our kid had a problem," the parents said. unless the parent is using 20-20 hindsight, the child's diagnosis most likely is "i'm concerned about Ritalin use; its possible effects on children's growth, and its increasing heart-attack risk in hypertensive adults" an acquaintance worries. your best reply, based on the most recent research is "it is obvious that this case of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder arises from an early childhood fixation." which type of psychologist

At a young age I have planned to pursue a career in the psychology field. I always thought of myself as an investigator trying to find answers to questions that others might have. Most of my questions relate to the reasoning behind the way people act and why they respond to stimuli. Once I got into my undergraduate studies at Penn State Berks I concentrated in the Applied Psychology Program.

Ever since my later adolescence years, I have always been intrigued by the diverse complexity of the human brain. Numerous days I have sat down obtrusively observing my surroundings just to satisfy my curiosity on how individuals think, reason and problem solve everyday life happenings. As such, when it was time to attend university, I decided to study psychology as a means of gaining knowledge and understanding about individuals’ cognitive processes and their behavior. During my undergraduate studies, for a particular reason, I was struck by Abnormal Psychology and spent hours thinking about the various disorders captured by the then Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM IV). I spent an awful lot of time trying to understand the differing disorders and how their impact on the behavior and thinking processes of individuals that are diagnosed with them.

The poster is going to outline the definition of abnormality and describe two diagnostic classification systems whilst referencing the diagnostic criteria for Schizophrenia and an overlook of its subtype catatonic schizophrenia.

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.

One signifying a small disturbance which was called “vecordia” and another signifying a complete disturbance of the mind which was called “vesania”. The first group showed continuous but interrupted course while group two showed changing symptomatology and signified an ongoing disease. This distinction shaped the outline on which various other signifiers were added, forming a complex, and ultimately unorganized, classification system. Using ideas from Kahlbaum and Falret, Emil Kraepelin tried to categorize all dysfunction of mood, mania, depression and all psychotic

Abnormal is something deviating from what is normal or usual, typical in a way that is uncommon or irregular.

Abnormal psychology is the study of unusual emotion, thoughts or behavior. It basically constitutes individual who are not what society would deem as normal and follow the norms of a particular culture. Individuals that are constantly not able to adapt and function properly in various conditions can be viewed as abnormal because a number of factors could be restricting them from functioning effectively in a society. The definition of what is "abnormal" has changed over time, across different cultures, and is different for individuals within a particular culture. These unusual emotions, thoughts or behaviors may correlate with mental disorders. A distinct set of theories are used to understand these forms of abnormality. Psychopathology can be defined as the study of mental disorders. In more direct terms it focuses on abnormal behavior, mental distress and mental illness. This form of study looks to examine different elements that would affect the mental state or physical being of an individual. When looking at the subject matter of abnormality I can see that there are many books and movies that incorporates characters that demonstrate abnormal behaviors. A movie that consists of characters exhibiting abnormality throughout is Silver Linings Playbook.

He learned experimental methodology under his guidance and some of his works came directly from Wundtian psychology. This paper will discuss some of his greatest discoveries such as his establishment in clinical observation. As well as the importance that Emil Kraepelin had on the taxonomy of psychiatric disorders and how his idea for this came about. It will also review his findings on bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Kraepelin also founded some ideas on what later on came to be known as Alzheimer’s disease.

Abnormal Psychology is the study of unusual thoughts, feelings and patterns of behaviors. Elements that affect disorders classified under abnormal psychology can include one 's genetics, one’s environment, and their economic stability. Eating disorders are a prime examples of what abnormal psychological disorders are. Eating disorders (ED) are defined as illnesses that causes serious disturbances to an individual’s everyday diet, such as eating extremely small amounts of food or severely overeating regardless of actually having appetite.This specific type of disorder is not only focused on the lack of eating but overeating as well.