ABNORMAL PSHCHOLOGY

Abnormal Psychology

Abnormal Psychology

Introduction

'Abnormal behaviour' can be defined as behaviour which is unusual, socially unacceptable, and dangerous to themselves or others, or whether a person is in a significant amount of personal distress. However, each of these must be defined individually and the cultural background must always be taken into account. Although there is a continuum along which everyone will at some point suffer depressed moods, several different criteria must be taken into account before deciding whether the depressed mood a person may be suffering from is abnormal or not.

The cause of the depressed mood also varies due to the many different paradigms which have branched out from psychology over the last few decades and even centuries. The psychoanalytic and biological paradigms are two paradigms which address the cause of depressed moods very differently.

Types of Abnormal Psychology

Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a disorder that can effect anyone. It is the greatest the greatest disorder that effects teenagers (Frangou 2000). When someone is affected by the disorder it is not just that one person that has to learn to deal with it, the families of the patients must also learn to deal with it (Hall 2000).

There are many possible causes for the disorder with many doctors believing that there is more than one cause. What has been thought as the main cause for many years is a chemical imbalance in the brain (Pinel 2000). This could be an imbalance in the number of neurotransmitters and/or an imbalance in the amount of dopamine. Stress is not thought of as directly causing Schizophrenia, but often makes already present symptoms worse. some doctors feel that Schizophrenia might be the result of a slow acting virus since the symptoms can be delayed many years after the first infection (Duncan 1998).

Another possible cause for the disorder is a genetic disposition. This has yet to be proven but it is thought of as a likely cause since children who have a parent with the disorder have a ten times greater chance of developing the illness than children who have abnormal parents (Frangou 2000).

Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder in which the effects who a person feels about the world around and even themselves. It makes them feel depressed and if left untreated suicide is often the result. Around 1.5% of the population is effect by some type of the disorder. Unlike many other disorders, bipolar effects a higher percent of those with a higher social status.

Bipolar disorder usually comes on while the person is in their early twenties. It is thought that the disorder is "polygenetic" meaning dependent upon (Pinel 2000) several genes. This conclusion was reached because child who have parents with the disorder are up to twenty times more likely to suffer from it. Though the disorder can cause serious problems, many famous and successful people have suffered from it including Ernest Hemingway and Vincent Van Gogh.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is a anxiety disorder that about one million people in the United ...