abnormal psychology
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Abnormal Psychology
PSY/410
February 24, 2014 Arpi Melokonian
Origins
Abnormal psychology focuses on the study, treatment, and defining abnormal behavior. The science is only about one hundred years old but has roots that go back thousands of years. In the Bible there are stories that suggest suffering that is remarkably similar to a modern day diagnosis of depression. The earliest known explanations of mental illness were based in the power of the spirit/religious world and its influence over our actions. This theory treated mental illness as a type of possession and was alleviated by drilling holes in the skull to release the evil spirit, this type of procedure was commonplace around three thousand B.C. To us this seems barbaric but at the time it seemed to be a logical form of treatment. Progress
For many years there was not much progress in psychology becoming a science until around the four hundreds when Greeks began to make some advancements. For the first time someone was making the connection between psychological symptoms and biological causes not spiritual. This type of thinking made the connection between body and mind for the first time. Later during the twentieth century somatogenic and psychogenic psychological viewpoints cane to life. The somatogenic perspective prescribed to the thought that abnormal behavior was physiological in nature. The psychogenic perspective maintained that abnormal behaviors were psychological in nature. The study of hypnotism was a tool that Freud used extensively and was the basis for his theory of the unconscious ruling the current conscious life. His contribution was connecting hysteria with the unconscious, despite his theories having little scientific basis this became the first theory in abnormal psychology. Early Models
The various theoretical models associated with abnormal psychology all have similarities and
Abnormal Psychology
PSY/410
February 24, 2014 Arpi Melokonian
Origins
Abnormal psychology focuses on the study, treatment, and defining abnormal behavior. The science is only about one hundred years old but has roots that go back thousands of years. In the Bible there are stories that suggest suffering that is remarkably similar to a modern day diagnosis of depression. The earliest known explanations of mental illness were based in the power of the spirit/religious world and its influence over our actions. This theory treated mental illness as a type of possession and was alleviated by drilling holes in the skull to release the evil spirit, this type of procedure was commonplace around three thousand B.C. To us this seems barbaric but at the time it seemed to be a logical form of treatment. Progress
For many years there was not much progress in psychology becoming a science until around the four hundreds when Greeks began to make some advancements. For the first time someone was making the connection between psychological symptoms and biological causes not spiritual. This type of thinking made the connection between body and mind for the first time. Later during the twentieth century somatogenic and psychogenic psychological viewpoints cane to life. The somatogenic perspective prescribed to the thought that abnormal behavior was physiological in nature. The psychogenic perspective maintained that abnormal behaviors were psychological in nature. The study of hypnotism was a tool that Freud used extensively and was the basis for his theory of the unconscious ruling the current conscious life. His contribution was connecting hysteria with the unconscious, despite his theories having little scientific basis this became the first theory in abnormal psychology. Early Models
The various theoretical models associated with abnormal psychology all have similarities and
References: Kowalski, R. and Weston, D. (2005) Psychology (4th ed.) Retrieved from the University oF Phoenix eBook Collection database. Coville, W. J., In Costello, T. W., & In Rouke, F. L. (1960). Abnormal psychology. New York: Barnes & Noble. Feist, J., & Feist, G. (2009) Theories of Personality (7th ed.). New York: McGraw Hill Hansel, J. (2008). Abnormal Psychology, 2nd Edition (2nd ed.). Wiley.