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Information about Abnormal Psychology



Abnormal psychology is the scientific study of abnormal behavior in order to describe, predict, explain, and change abnormal patterns of functioning. Abnormal psychology in clinical psychology studies the nature of psychopathology, its causes, and its treatments. Of course, the definition of what constitutes 'abnormal' has varied across time and across cultures. Individuals also vary in what they regard as normal or abnormal behavior. In general, abnormal psychology can be described as an area of psychology that studies people who are consistently unable to adapt and function effectively in a variety of conditions. The four main contributing factors to how well an individual is able to adapt include their genetic makeup, physical condition, learning and reasoning, and socialization.

Nosology

DSM-IV TR

In North America, the 'bible' of abnormal psychology and psychiatry is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association. The current version of the book is known as DSM IV-TR. It lists a set of disorders and provides detailed descriptions on what constitutes a disorder such as Major Depression or Anxiety Disorder. It also gives general descriptions of how frequent the disorder occurs in the general population, whether it is more common in males or females and other such facts. The diagnostic process uses five dimensions called 'axes' to ascertain symptoms and overall functioning of the individual. These axes are as follows
  • Axis I - Particular clinical syndromes
  • Axis II - Permanent Problems (Personality Disorders, Mental Retardation)
  • Axis III - General medical conditions
  • Axis IV - Psychosocial/environmental problems
  • Axis V - Global assessment of functioning (often referred to as GAF)
Part of abnormal psychology has to do with phobias. A phobia is a persistent, abnormal, and irrational fear of a specific thing or situation that compels one to avoid it, despite the awareness and reassurance that it is not dangerous. A person suffering from a phobia may find it hard to socialize, work, or go about their everyday life. Phobias belong to a large group of mental problems known as anxiety disorders which includes panic disorders, post-traumatic stress disorders, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Phobias can be diagnosed after extensive interview with a mental health professional or someone specializing in abnormal behavior/psychology.

ICD-10

The major international nosologic system for the classification of mental disorders can be found in the most recent version of the International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision (ICD-10). The ICD-10 has been used by World Health Organization (WHO) Member States since 1994. Chapter five covers some 300 "Mental and behavioural disorders." The ICD-10's chapter five has been influenced by APA's DSM-IV and there is a great deal of concordance between the two. WHO maintains free access to the ICD-10 Online . Below are the main categories of disorders:
  • F00-F09 Organic, including symptomatic, mental disorders
  • F10-F19 Mental and behavioural disorders due to psychoactive substance use
  • F20-F29 Schizophrenia, schizotypal and delusional disorders
  • F30-F39 Mood [affective] disorders
  • F40-F48 Neurotic, stress-related and somatoform disorders
  • F50-F59 Behavioural syndromes associated with physiological disturbances and physical factors
  • F60-F69 Disorders of adult personality and behaviour
  • F70-F79 Mental retardation
  • F80-F89 Disorders of psychological development
  • F90-F98 Behavioural and emotional disorders with onset usually occurring in childhood and adolescence
  • F99 Unspecified mental disorder

See also



 •  • [ e]
Psychology
• History • Psychologist
ResearchQuantitative psychological research · Qualitative psychological research · Biological · Cognitive · Comparative · Developmental · Evolutionary · Experimental · Mathematical · Neuropsychology · Personality · Physiological · Social · Positive · Psychopathology · Psychophysics · Transpersonal
AppliedAssessment · Clinical · Counseling · Educational · Forensic / Legal · Health · Industrial and organizational · Relationship counseling · School · Sport
OrientationsBehaviorism · Cognitivism · Cognitive Behavioral · Existential · Family Systems · Feminist · Gestalt · Humanistic · Psychoanalysis · Analytical · Psychodynamic · Transpersonal
Historically important writersB.F. Skinner · Jean Piaget · Sigmund Freud · Otto Rank · Albert Bandura · Leon Festinger · Carl Rogers · Stanley Schachter · Neal E. Miller · Edward Thorndike · Abraham Maslow · Gordon Allport · Erik Erikson · Hans Eysenck · William James · David McClelland · Raymond Cattell · John B. Watson · Kurt Lewin · Donald O. Hebb · George A. Miller · Clark L. Hull · Jerome Kagan · Carl Jung · Ivan Pavlov
ListsTopics · Disciplines · Drugs · Neurological Disorders · Organizations · Research Methods · Schools of theory · Psychologists · Psychotherapies · Publications · Timeline · Counseling
Psychology (from Greek: Literally "talk about the soul" (from logos)) is both an academic and applied discipline involving the scientific study of mental processes and behavior.
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Psychology
· History
· Wikiproject
RESEARCH Ψ
Abnormal Biological Cognitive Developmental Emotion Experimental
Evolutionary Legal
Mathematical
Neuropsychology
Personality
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Experimental psychology approaches psychology as one of the natural sciences, and therefore assumes that it is susceptible to the experimental method. Many experimental psychologists have gone further, and have assumed that all methods of investigation other than
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biological psychology or psychobiology[1] is the application of the principles of biology to the study of mental processes and behavior. A psychobiologist, for instance, may compare the imprinting behavior in goslings to the early attachment behavior in human
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Cognitive psychology is the school of psychology that examines internal mental processes such as problem solving, memory, and language. It had its foundations in the Gestalt psychology of Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Köhler, and Kurt Koffka, and in the work of Jean Piaget, who studied
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Developmental psychology, also known as Human Development, is the scientific study of progressive psychological changes that occur in human beings as they age. Originally concerned with infants and children, and later other periods of great change such as adolescence and
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emotion is a "complex reaction pattern, involving experiential, behavioral, and physiological elements, by which the individual attempts to deal with a personally significant matter of event.
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Experimental psychology approaches psychology as one of the natural sciences, and therefore assumes that it is susceptible to the experimental method. Many experimental psychologists have gone further, and have assumed that all methods of investigation other than
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Evolutionary psychology (abbreviated EP) is a theoretical approach to psychology that attempts to explain mental and psychological traits—such as memory, perception, or language—as adaptations, i.e., as the functional products of natural selection.
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Legal psychology involves the application of empirical psychological research to legal institutions and people who come into contact with the law. Legal psychology is a field that takes basic social and cognitive theories and principles and applies them to issues in the
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Mathematical Psychology is an approach to psychological research that is based on mathematical modeling of perceptual, cognitive and motor processes, and on the establishment of law-like rules that relate quantifiable stimulus characteristics with quantifiable behavior.
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Neuropsychology is an interdisciplinary branch of psychology and neuroscience that aims to understand how the structure and function of the brain relate to specific psychological processes and overt behaviors.
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Personality psychology is a branch of psychology which studies personality and individual differences. One emphasis in this area is to construct a coherent picture of a person and his or her major psychological processes.
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Positive psychology is a relatively young branch of psychology that "studies the strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive."[1] People have been discussing the question of human happiness since at least Ancient Greece.
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Psychonomics describes an approach to psychology that aims at discovering the laws (Greek: 'nomos') that govern the workings of the mind (Greek: 'psyche'). The field is directly related to experimental psychology.
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Psychophysics is a subdiscipline of psychology dealing with the relationship between physical stimuli and their subjective correlates, or percepts.

History


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Social psychology is the scientific study of how people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others (Allport, 1985). By this definition, scientific refers to the empirical method of investigation.
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Transpersonal psychology is a school of psychology that studies the transpersonal, the transcendent or spiritual aspects of the human mind. The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology
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The basic premise of applied psychology is the use of psychological principles and theories to overcome problems in other areas, such as mental health, business management, education, health, product design, ergonomics, and law.
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Clinical psychology includes the scientific study and application of psychology for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically-based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and personal development.
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Educational psychology is the study of how humans learn in educational settings, the effectiveness of educational interventions, the psychology of teaching, and the social psychology of schools as organizations.
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Forensic psychology is the intersection between Psychology and the Criminal justice system. It is a division of applied psychology concerned with the collection, examination and presentation of psychological evidence for judicial purposes.
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Health psychology concerns itself with understanding how biology, behavior, and social context influence health and illness.[1] Health psychologists generally work alongside other medical professionals in clinical settings, although many also teach and conduct
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Industrial and organizational psychology (also known as I/O psychology, work psychology, work and organizational psychology, W-O psychology, occupational psychology, personnel psychology or talent assessment
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Sport psychology is a specialization within psychology that seeks to understand psychological/mental factors that affect performance in sports, physical activity and exercise and apply these to enhance individual and team performance.
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This is a list of important publications in psychology, organized by field. Some reasons why a particular publication might be regarded as important:
  • Topic creator – A publication that created a new topic
  • Breakthrough

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: Top - 0–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

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16 Personality Factors - 5-Hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) -

A

A-not-B error  - A. H. Almaas - Aaron Rosanoff - Aaron T.
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This is an alphabetical List of Psychotherapies. It is an incomplete list and new or minor approaches are still being added.

See the main article Psychotherapy for a description of what psychotherapy is and how it developed.
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Abnormality is a subjectively defined characteristic, assigned to those with rare or dysfunctional conditions. Defining who is normal or abnormal is a contentious issue in abnormal psychology.
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Psychology (from Greek: Literally "talk about the soul" (from logos)) is both an academic and applied discipline involving the scientific study of mental processes and behavior.
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