According to Kolwaski and Weston, psychology is the scientific investigation of mental processes and behavior. Two branches of psychology are normal and abnormal psychology. Although the have similarities, they are both different. Normal psychology is an applied and academic field that is associated with the human mind and normal behavior. The scope for normal behavior is set by the standards of considering abnormal behavior. Research is done to understand how an individual thinks, acts and how information is processed is a part of what is thought of as normal. A large component of psychology is diagnosing and treating mental health issues, but it is not the only component. Psychology has many facets and many branches which allows those to study to get a full understanding of each aspect of this branch of scientific investigations. In addition to treating and diagnosing mental health issues that may arise, the school of psychology offers a wide variety of methods that can be applied to impact everyday lives of individuals. Individuals who are considered normal, do not have issues that affect aspects of how an individual performs.
Abnormal psychology is a facet of psychology that is associated with the dealings of psychopathology and abnormal behavior. Behavior of this kind is associated with what is considered not to be normal. It is important to focus on this behavior because it may be causing problems in the individual’s life or the lives of others. While the focus is on the behavior of an individual when referring to what is abnormal, it is best to utilize components from multiple areas to diagnose and treat those with abnormal tendencies. Behavioral, medical, and cognitive are some perspectives in abnormal psychology that should be at the fore front when any signs of abnormality is displayed.
Behavioral approaches focus on behaviors that are observed. This approaches only tackles behavior, not its
References: Cherry, K. (2012). About.com: Psychology. Retrieved from http://psychology.about.com/od/abnormalpsychology/f/abnormal-psychology.htm Cherry, K. (2012). About.com: Psychology. Retrieved from http://psychology.about.com/od/psychology101/f/psychfaq.htm Kowalski, R., & Westen, D. (2011). Psychology (6th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.