Describe and Evaluate Psychological Definitions of Abnormal Behavior

There has been an ongoing debate on whether psychology is indeed scientific, although recent, psychology is now considered a science. This is because it uses scientific methodology in researching, devising treatments and measuring the outcomes. These methods include collecting and analysing data and concluding their findings in order to identify whether the research or treatment adequality solves the problem. Scientific studies must be replicable, this means the if repeated exactly the same, the results should produce an identical outcome. Replicability can be increased by ruling out any alternatives that may not have originally been thought of. Objectivity in science is the idea that scientist, in an attempt to get the best results, must first

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 duration of this behavior is exhibited daily in 3 out of 6 class periods. |

The narrator suffers from catalepsy, a physical condition in which the individual cannot move or speak for hours or, in extreme cases, for months. According to the narrator’s explanation, what are some of the ways that one can tell a cataleptic is still living?

"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

When using this approach to define abnormality you would first have to consider what is normal behaviour for that particular culture otherwise a person could be incorrectly diagnosed as abnormal. Cultural differences are also a problem for the 'Failure to Function Adequately' definition of abnormality. This classification of abnormality involves a person who conforms to their 7 characteristics of the abnormal as having ill mental health. Examples of these characteristics are vividness, unconventionality and observer discomfort.

By using the statistical infrequency definition, a person’s way of thinking or behaviour is classified as abnormal if it is statistically unusual amongst a selected society. With this definition it is very important to decide how statistically rare a behaviour or trait is before it is classified as abnormal. For example a person who has a higher IQ level than the society’s average is then classified as abnormal but contrary to this a person would be highly regarded for their intelligence, this is due to the method failing to identify the appeal of that certain trait (Cardwell, Clark and Meldrum, 2008).

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.

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’.

In the study of abnormal psychology, one of the contentions often debated upon is the determination of abnormal behavior in terms of specific demographics, such as age, gender, and race. However, determining abnormal behavior in terms of age (for example) is a problematic endeavor in that the concept of 'abnormal behavior' itself is subject to different social (cultural) interpretations. One of the challenges encountered in determining normal and abnormal behavior in general (which includes age) is social norms. Because social norms vary across societies and cultures, an acceptable behavior in one culture might be considered abnormal in another. Another challenge to determining normal/abnormal behavior is "historical variation" in terms of acceptable and unacceptable behavior. An example would be the hyperactivity of children: before, this behavior is considered normal as children are considered playful and have short attention span as a result. However, over time, psychologists have identified this kind of behavior as not normal for children, and individuals who demonstrate hyperactivity and very short attention span as having attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (Butcher, 2010:146).

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.

There are several models of abnormality in use today (Comer, 2009) lists “The Biological Model…”, “The Psychodynamic Model…”, The Behavioral Model…”, The Cognitive Model…”, The Humanistic-Existential Model…”, The Sociocultural Model…” (p.33). The biggest contrasts would be the Biological model, and the other models. Comparing the biological model, and the cognitive model will highlight those differences.

Psychological dysfunction is somewhat not satisfactory on the account of the behavior is contiuum. A more sensative impairment would not meet the standards for a disorder. Personal distress, by itself, this criteria doesn’t define abnormal behavior, because distress can be a normal reaction to a trumatic situation. Psychological diorders, by meaning, the suffering and distess is missing. Atypical or not culturally accepted is insufficient when it refers to someone such as a person with an extremely high IQ, who’s atypical but not dysfunctional. Culturally

In the management of patients, it is essential ambulance clinicians understand and adhere to the proficiency ethics set out by the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC, 2014). Furthermore, as a student ambulance clinician I now recognise the relevance of possessing non-technical skills as well as an in-depth knowledge of theoretical subjects such as ethics and law, professionalism and abnormal psychology is equally essential for efficient patient care.

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