The behavior of people can be fascinating. Psychology is the branch of science that aims to understand how the mind and human behavior works. Throughout the course of time, patterns have been detected and psychologists are able to determine what normal human behavior is and what is deemed to be abnormal. The branch of psychology that deals with this unusual pattern of though, behavior or emotion is termed as abnormal psychology.
When dealing with something that is abnormal, we should first define what this means so that we can have a better understanding of this concept. Abnormal usually indicates something that falls outside the norm. Norms can still be further separated into particular groups such as gender or age. Human behaviors can then be calculated statistically and those that fall under the middle of a bell-shaped curve are known as the average, and this is what is referred to as normal. Those that fall at the ends of the curve are those that are considered to be abnormal.
Now just because something does not fall under the normal, it doesn’t automatically mean that it is bad. Those that fall under the more positive side of the curve, such as people with very high IQ are considered abnormal but it is not really a bad thing as these people are considered as geniuses. But when dealing with abnormal psychology, this refers more on behavior that is distressing and can cause disruption in one’s functioning. Such troubling behavior may require intervention and this is where psychologists and psychiatrists are needed to help restore functionality. Another reason why there may be a reason to intervene is when people start violating social norms. This is when a person violates what is commonly deemed as acceptable in a particular society. Behavior that may be incomprehensible, or make other people feel uncomfortable or threatened may fall under this category.
There are different approaches that you can use in abnormal psychology, and it is usually best to make use of all types of approach when it comes to treating patients. The first is the behavioral approach which focuses on reinforcing positive behavior while discouraging maladaptive behavior. Another approach is the medical approach which focuses on the biological cause of the illness. This involves understanding the cause of the disorder, possibly related to genetic reasons, chemical imbalances in the body, infections and physical causes. Treatment for this approach tends to use drugs to control the patient’s symptoms and combined with psychotherapy. The last approach is the cognitive approach which tries to understand how thoughts and perceptions are towards psychological disorders. This method focuses on trying to change the patient’s thoughts and this is done by using behavioral cognitive therapy.
There are a lot of other disorders that you will encounter if you study psychology. You will come across disorders such as mood disorders, adjustment disorders, anxiety disorders and many more. If you are interested in this topic, taking up a course in abnormal psychology may help you understand more about these disorders and how you may be able to help and treat these people.
