Abnormal Behaviour - Abnormal Psychology Essay Example
Chapter 1
• Abnormal psychology is the scientific study whose objectives are to describe, explain, predict and control behaviours that are considered strange or unusual.
• The scientific approach/method for investigating abnormal behavior consists of four steps: o Formulating a research question o Expressing the research question in the form of an hypothesis o Applying methods of testing the hypothesis o Drawing conclusions about the correctness or falseness of the hypothesis
• The naturalistic observational method is used when the investigator observes naturally occurring phenomena and behavior under naturally occurring conditions
• The research method explores relationships between variables and attempts to find correlations between variables
• The longitudinal research method investigates possible correlations over time – observation during intervals over a long period
• Experimental method reveals cause-effect relationships – the researcher controls the independent variable under controlled conditions
• The epidemiological approach examines the rate at which abnormal behavior occurs in various population groups and in a variety of settings, e.g. twin study and adoptee research
• The case-study method studies case experimental designs
• The organic/biological perspective tends to view abnormal behavior as the result of emotional or cognitive processes as the reason for mental disorders – emotional/cognitive malfunction causes mental/behavioural malfunction
• Psychodiagnosis – an attempt to describe, assess and systematically draw inferences about an individual’s psychological disorder – this is done using the person’s history and observation by an attentive professional.
• Psychopathology is a synonym for abnormal behavior
Explaining abnormal behaviour
• To explain abnormal behavior the psychologist must identify its causes and determine how they led to the described behavior
• It is however important to note that normal and abnormal
• Abnormal psychology is the scientific study whose objectives are to describe, explain, predict and control behaviours that are considered strange or unusual.
• The scientific approach/method for investigating abnormal behavior consists of four steps: o Formulating a research question o Expressing the research question in the form of an hypothesis o Applying methods of testing the hypothesis o Drawing conclusions about the correctness or falseness of the hypothesis
• The naturalistic observational method is used when the investigator observes naturally occurring phenomena and behavior under naturally occurring conditions
• The research method explores relationships between variables and attempts to find correlations between variables
• The longitudinal research method investigates possible correlations over time – observation during intervals over a long period
• Experimental method reveals cause-effect relationships – the researcher controls the independent variable under controlled conditions
• The epidemiological approach examines the rate at which abnormal behavior occurs in various population groups and in a variety of settings, e.g. twin study and adoptee research
• The case-study method studies case experimental designs
• The organic/biological perspective tends to view abnormal behavior as the result of emotional or cognitive processes as the reason for mental disorders – emotional/cognitive malfunction causes mental/behavioural malfunction
• Psychodiagnosis – an attempt to describe, assess and systematically draw inferences about an individual’s psychological disorder – this is done using the person’s history and observation by an attentive professional.
• Psychopathology is a synonym for abnormal behavior
Explaining abnormal behaviour
• To explain abnormal behavior the psychologist must identify its causes and determine how they led to the described behavior
• It is however important to note that normal and abnormal