Abnormal Psychology - Psychology 300 
Abnormal Psychology
Psychology 300
May 26, 2013
Abnormal Psychology
As many know Psychology is the study of the human mind, consciousness, and behavior. Psychology is also an enormous field of study and contains many sub divisions that pertain to more specific areas of the human psyche. One of these subdivisions is the study of Abnormal Psychology. Abnormal psychology focuses studies on an atypical region of any particular society, as to find out why these abnormalities occur. These conditions can vary in how abnormal they are from barely noticeable to extremes that require special needs. Examples of these could be a mild case of depression (not as noticeable) to a severe case of Schizophrenia (extremely noticeable). Various examples will be addressed and explained but first, in order to fully understand the process of abnormal psychology one must know the difference between normal and abnormal. (Mcleod)
As individuals one decides what one likes or dislikes, but not what “normal” society is to like or dislike. Defining what normal is can be harder than one may think. Researchers have worked for years to clearly define normal with no luck in getting a precise definition to relate human behavior to. Normal psychology is defined by the time, place, and people involved, thus making it difficult because culture changes with evolution and values. In order for one to define abnormal psychology, an individual must first define normal psychology. Understanding that normal psychology is outlining what are acceptable actions helps one understand abnormal psychology is dependent on the situation for a definition. Abnormal psychology is best defined as a deviation from what a group decides is acceptable or unacceptable. Psychologist use synonyms for abnormal, such as unusual or maladaptive, to define characteristic traits on a scale with normal in the middle and barriers on each side of normal to compensate for the recurring abnormal behavior, any behavior past
Psychology 300
May 26, 2013
Abnormal Psychology
As many know Psychology is the study of the human mind, consciousness, and behavior. Psychology is also an enormous field of study and contains many sub divisions that pertain to more specific areas of the human psyche. One of these subdivisions is the study of Abnormal Psychology. Abnormal psychology focuses studies on an atypical region of any particular society, as to find out why these abnormalities occur. These conditions can vary in how abnormal they are from barely noticeable to extremes that require special needs. Examples of these could be a mild case of depression (not as noticeable) to a severe case of Schizophrenia (extremely noticeable). Various examples will be addressed and explained but first, in order to fully understand the process of abnormal psychology one must know the difference between normal and abnormal. (Mcleod)
As individuals one decides what one likes or dislikes, but not what “normal” society is to like or dislike. Defining what normal is can be harder than one may think. Researchers have worked for years to clearly define normal with no luck in getting a precise definition to relate human behavior to. Normal psychology is defined by the time, place, and people involved, thus making it difficult because culture changes with evolution and values. In order for one to define abnormal psychology, an individual must first define normal psychology. Understanding that normal psychology is outlining what are acceptable actions helps one understand abnormal psychology is dependent on the situation for a definition. Abnormal psychology is best defined as a deviation from what a group decides is acceptable or unacceptable. Psychologist use synonyms for abnormal, such as unusual or maladaptive, to define characteristic traits on a scale with normal in the middle and barriers on each side of normal to compensate for the recurring abnormal behavior, any behavior past
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