For example, one psychologist may use descriptive psychopathology to which will strive to provide answers for symptoms or mental illness. Either way, psychopathology is formally used to study mental illness or the distresses which may be affecting an individual. The issues of the abnormal psychology will assist in the study by the way we would use it in the attempt to capture interest, trigger concerns, and demands our attention. It also brings us to form and ask certain questions pertaining to any study. Psychopathology is not the same as psychopathy, which has to do with antisocial
Abnormal Psychology Lisa Mac Donald-Clark PSY/410 December 19, 2011 Mark Hurd Abnormal Psychology Abnormal psychology, also known as psychopathology, is the branch of psychology that deals with abnormal behaviors and mental illness (Hansell & Damour, (2008). Although psychopathology is a fascinating field of study it can be equally challenging, covering a broad range of disorders, illnesses, and symptoms. Defining abnormal psychology also poses a challenge. The fundamental concept of abnormal would seem simple in that it would include anything that falls outside of what societies considers normal. Narrowing the group association is essential in defining the behavior as normal or abnormal.
Psychopathology is the term used to describe psychological function which deviates from the norm. This can include mental disorders, and so explanations of psychopathology attempt to describe why individuals develop these disorders. As with all aspects of psychology, there are many different perspectives, and in this essay the Biological and Cognitive models will be addressed. The biological approach sees mental disorders as caused by abnormal physiological processes such as genetic and biochemical factors. Psychological abnormality, according to this model, is an illness or disease.
· brain defects or injury: Defects in or injury to certain areas of the brain have also been linked to some mental illnesses. · prenatal damage: Some evidence suggests that a disruption of early fetal brain development or trauma that occurs at the time of birth -- for example, loss of oxygen to the brain -- may be a factor in the development of certain conditions, such as autism. · substance abuse: Long-term substance abuse, in particular, has been linked to anxiety, depression, and paranoia. · other factors: Poor nutrition[->1] and exposure to toxins, such as lead, may play a role in the development of mental illnesses. PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPLANATIONS: · severe trauma suffered as a child, such as emotional, physical or sexual abuse.
aBNOR Abnormal Psychology University of Phoenix PSY/410 January 31,2010 Abnormal Psychology 1 Abnormal Psychology People have always suffered from abnormal personalities, though they weren’t always understood as such. Most people thought them to be the work of demons, ghosts or evil spirits. The traces of abnormality were removed by use of trepanation. Trepanation is a procedure in which the physician makes a hole in the skull by way of drilling, and this is said to increase the functionality of the brain which in turn is supposed to increase over all well being. This method was used to treat the mental illnesses as well as seizures, and anything thought to be caused by the brain being unbalanced.
Analyzing Psychological Disorders Introduction Many people do not realize how biology can play a role in psychological activities and disorders. Biology is a key aspect of psychology. Understanding the role of biology in behavior and cognitive abilities will create a better understanding of the disorder a person may have. Part A: Schizophrenia “Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe, and disabling brain disorder that has affected people throughout history. About one percent of Americans have this illness” (National Institute of Mental Health, 2009).
It is through this research that scientists have recognized the differences in brains of people with bipolar and those with healthy brains who are not exhibiting signs of the illness. It is these differences in brain function that are assisting scientists in developing insight into the underlying causes of the disorder to gain insight into which treatments will be most effective in treating each type of the disorder. (Soares, 1997) Despite the extensive research, Bipolar Disorder remains one of the most difficult disorders to diagnose and
One of the main issues pertaining to diagnosis is the reliability of it. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) and the International Statistical Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) are the main references for when psychologists are determining whether or not someone has a phobia. If diagnosis was being done with little or no reference to the mentioned articles then it would not be very reliable, as opposed to if they were being cited then it would be a much more reliable classification. Another problem is that it is very possible for diagnostic disagreements to occur due to differences in interpreting the causes or effects. For example, one of the main constituents of a phobia is generally described as being where the ‘anxiety causes interference with the functioning of a normal life’, but what if different doctors had different ideas of what a normal life was?
Psychology Name Institution Challenges in Identifying Mental Disorders Mental disorder is a condition that has affected many people in the world. However, what is worrying much is the complexity of identifying the challenging disorder. This paper tries to examine the difficulties that medics face in identifying and recognizing most of the mental disorders. This means that failure to identify the actual disorder results to giving wrong medication or inappropriate special care. Therefore, understanding the impact of a person’s mental health developmental problem and its medical features becomes a paramount issue when it comes to diagnosis and medical intervention (Kenrick, 2009).
The article explains what Post-traumatic stress disorder is, the symptoms, risk factors, causes, complications, test and diagnosis, treatments and prevention. Although, this article generally explains the depth of PSTD one might experience or not, but it lacks psychological and scientific support and reasoning in describing its research. The academic sources used earlier in this paper emphasizes on the same topic of Post-traumatic stress disorder but leads the information of the disorder by focusing in strength about the history and natural factors associated towards it. The second non academic source is by; ‘Medicinenet.com’ which also explains the PTSD detailed aspect by showing various factor involved in this disorder just like our first non academic research. Both researches are applicable and strongly convey the background information related to PTSD.