What Is Abnormal Psychology?

You have probably never heard the term abnormal psychology before. But as we see in this article, abnormal psychology is very well known. To understand this field, you must understand what we mean when we say “abnormal”. At first glance, it seems obvious. Abnormal means something out of the ordinary.

Abnormal psychology focuses on the study and treatment of mental and emotional disorders that interfere with a person’s ability to feel like himself and perform his daily functions. These disorders can be the result of physical or emotional trauma, genetics or a chemical imbalance in the brain. People suffering from these disorders generally require pharmacological treatment, psychotherapy or both.

In this way, abnormal psychology studies people who are “abnormal” or “atypical” in relation to members of a particular society.

The different approaches to abnormal psychology

Abnormal psychology has several different approaches. Although some psychologists or psychiatrists focus on only one perspective, many use other elements from different areas to understand and better treat mental disorders. These perspectives are the psychoanalytic approach, the behavioral approach, the medical / biological approach and the cognitive approach.

The psychoanalytic approach

The psychoanalytic perspective on abnormal psychology stems from Sigmund Freud’s theories. The main ideas of this approach are Freud’s view that abnormality comes from psychological rather than physical causes. He believed that unresolved conflict between the ego and the superego could lead to abnormality.

The psychoanalytic approach suggests that much of the abnormal behavior stems from unconscious thoughts, desires, and memories. Although these things are unconscious, they still affect our conscious actions.

Professionals who follow this particular approach believe that analyzing memories, behaviors, thoughts and even dreams can help treat people’s mental health issues. They believe that these things lead to maladaptive behavior and anxiety.

The behavioral approach

The behavioral approach focuses on observable behavior. Behaviorists believe that your experiences largely presuppose your actions. They do not believe that your actions stem from the underlying pathology of unconscious forces. As a result, they believe that abnormality manifests when an individual develops maladaptive (harmful) behavior patterns.

This perspective emphasizes the environment and looks at how the person achieves abnormal behavior. Behaviorism claims that all behavior (including abnormal behavior) is learned by the environment. They also believe that everyone can put away a behavior. This is actually how they treat abnormal behavior.

In behavioral therapy, professionals focus on reinforcing positive behaviors. They also try to eliminate anything that reinforces maladaptive behavior. In this sense, the behavioral approach sets aside any kind of influence from information processing. Instead, it focuses on precedents (stimuli / reinforcement) and consequences (behavior).

The medical / biological approach

The medical / biological approach believes that disorders have an organic or physical cause. Professionals who follow this approach focus on finding biological causes of mental illness. This perspective emphasizes the understanding of the underlying cause of a condition. They claim that the origin of any disorder may be genetic or caused by a related physical condition, infection or chemical imbalance.

This approach claims that mental disorders are related to the physical structure and function of the brain. Consequently, they treat these disorders with medication. However, many professionals use medications along with some form of psychotherapy.

The cognitive approach of abnormal psychology

The cognitive approach focuses its attention on the influence and power that our thoughts have on how we feel and behave. This perspective studies how the brain processes information and the effect that this treatment has on behavior.

According to this approach:

• Defective or irrational cognitions cause maladaptive behavior.
• The thoughts a person has about a problem, rather than the problem itself, are what cause mental illness.
• Individuals can overcome mental illness if they learn to use more appropriate cognitions.

The cognitive approach sees the individual as an active information processor. The way a person perceives, predicts and evaluates events is what sets the conditions for their behavior. In addition, this approach claims that many of our thoughts are automatic, without us even realizing it.

Abnormality and atypical behavior

Abnormal psychology focuses on atypical behavior. However, it is not the goal to guarantee that everyone fits into a narrow definition of “normal”. In most cases, it focuses on identifying and treating problems that cause anxiety or problems in some aspect of a person’s life. So when researchers and therapists identify what is “abnormal” (that is, what causes injury), they can treat the patient properly.