Defining Abnormality

A collaboration between L. Glover, J. Klatter, B. Lewis, C. Swarmer, and A. Thornton

Defining Abnormality

            There are several challenges that come along with defining and classifying normal and abnormal behavior, some of these challenges include situational context, culture, ethnicity, historical relativism, politics, evolving theory of knowledge, gender and sexual preferences and practices, mind/body, age, and religion.  In the following paragraph there is going to be a discussion about three of these challenges, gender and sexual preferences and practices, religion, and mind/body.  Next there will be an explanation of how classification of abnormal behavior can vary based widely on situational factors and then the final paragraph will be a conclusion paragraph that will tie together all of the points that were made throughout the paper. 

Gender and Sexual Preference/Practice

            Gender and Sexual preference/practice is both normal and abnormal depending on how you look at what is happening with a person.  According to the text book, Abnormal Psychology, there are three main core concepts to sexual behavior disorder; continuum between normal and abnormal behavior, importance of context, and cultural and historical relativism.  Continuum is when a “condition can disorder because it causes significant distress and impairment” (Hansell & Damour, 2008, ch 10).  Cultural relativism is when abnormal sexual behavior is normal for the cultural that a person was raised in.  Importance of context is, “sexual behavior that would be considered inappropriate and abnormal in one context might seem normal in another context” (Hansell & Damour, 2008, ch 10). 

            Looking at the different concepts of sexual dysfunction that are times when a person explores his or her body in what may seem to be a sexual way but in fact is not.  In the article, Childhood Sexuality: Discerning Healthy from Abnormal Sexual Behaviors, it talks about what is healthy for a child discovering his or her body.  The challenge with this is some parents find this to be a problem and not a part of development.  A child will start to touch and play with his or her genitals starting at the age of two and will continue to explore until age twelve.  If a child just looks at himself or herself then there is not much to worry about besides talking with your child about the time and place that it is appropriate to explore his or her body.  When or if a parent is faced with a child who is discovering their body the parent needs to stay calm and not make the subject a negative thing.  A parent should watch for different signs of abnormal behavior life masturbation, inserting objects in their genital/anus area.  When a parent starts to see this behavior they need to talk with a professional about the abnormal behavior (Thanasiu, 2004). 

            Some people feel that they are not attracted to the opposite sex and Freud’s idea on this is excessive masturbation in his or her younger years (Hansell & Damour, 2008).  When homosexuality was listed in the DSM-II it was classified as a mental disorder until the change in 1973.  The world is seeing more people coming out as have different sexual desires like, same sex attraction, binding/bondage, not getting sexually gratified, or changing his or her gender altogether.  There are some who may say that these different behaviors are a sexual disorder, others have researched it in different ways.   In the article, Sexual Orientation Identities, Attractions, and Practice to Female-to-Male Transsexuals, it talks about females changing their gender not because of sexual preference but more about gender identity issues.  There are some who feel that they are attracted to females and want to be with females but their cultural background is against it.  So they change their gender to be able to be with the females that she is attracted to and not be looked at in a shameful way (Devor, 1993). 

            Gender and sexual identities have a lot to evaluate when decided if the behavior is normal or abnormal.  The best way to learn this is to know more about a person and their background to know if it comes from genetics, religion, cultural, or any other environmental situations. 

Mind/Body

       A seasoned psychologist must accept that challenges of behavior diagnose are a fact. Out of the many challenges psychologists encounter in their practices, the mind and body connection is one that needs to be carefully reviewed so a clear distinction of normal and abnormal behavior can be made. This, along with the use of the DSM-IV-TR (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders fourth edition) will determine the best course of action in dealing with a possible disorder the patient may have. The mind and body are not disconnected as earlier dualistic school of thought believed (Hansell & Damour, 2008). According to Hansell and Damour (2008), “the mind and the brain are fully interconnected and interdependent” (p. 7). It is safe to assume that what happens to the mind may affect the body and vice-versa besides the intangible nature of the former. Behavior (contrary of behaviorist’s earlier belief) is finally seen as an effect more than the cause of mental activity and possible abnormalities.

      Emotional experience will have a direct effect on the body, which may produce a set of behaviors traceable to the emotional experience he or she may have had or are still experiencing. The often times difficult connection between mind and body cannot be dismissed if the diagnose determines the behavior to be abnormal. Hansell and Damour (2008), cite Charlotte’s depression as a possible link to “profound hormonal changes that take place during the postpartum period” (p. 7). It may be connected with “distorted thoughts about her body and cognitive impairment resulting from her state of physical starvation” (p. 7). The important point in this example lies on Charlotte’s thoughts (the mind) affecting her body and causing depression. Accurately determining this possible link between Charlotte’s mind and body can determine the right treatment and successful recovery so Charlotte may regain the mind and body balance. 

Religion

            Amongst the many contributing factors of bias in the psychological setting, religion plays an instrumental role. Religion can affect the bias of the professional as well as the client by means of diagnosis and normal vs. abnormal behavior. A professional has the duty to put aside any religious concepts they personally hold in order to provide a correct abnormal diagnosis. Faith based judgments come in many forms. A Christian counselor may encourage couples going through a rough patch to work on the marriage based on the construct of their Christian faith which deems the act divorce a major sin. Similarly a client with marriage concerns may feel the need to remain in a clearly unhealthy marital situation because of religious beliefs. Religion and spirituality are elements of the cultural diversity and historicism of psychotherapy.  Faith based religion and psychological sciences are often contradictory of one another and have feuded throughout history. According to Bergin (1980) there is a “religiousness gap” amongst psychologists in general, as the majority have shunned the idea of religion and in turn may have viewed faith as irrelevant and possibly devious, two major criteria for defining abnormality (Harris, 2011). Social deviance is defined as any behavior that does not fall within the normal construct of behavior (Hansell & Damour, 2008). There are many religious rituals or tendencies that fall within the category of deviant behavior. Faith based concepts such as speaking in tongues, angelic encounters, signs of the cross, stigmata, and the consummation of the blood and body of a worshiped figure would each individually be diagnosed as socially deviant from majority behavior in many realms, but within the construct of specific religious tradition it is normal behavior. Amongst religious and psychological bias lies the ever popular case of Tom Cruise and Brooke Shields. Cruise publicly attacked the actress for using antidepressant medication after being diagnosed with postpartum depression after the birth of her first child. Cruise’s comments were a direct application of his applied religion of scientology that prohibits the use of medicine. Other members of such religious organizations abolish all medical practice as unspiritual, including the area of psychopathology. 

Situational Factors that affect Classification of Abnormal Behavior

            Situational factors affect how abnormal behavior is classified. Some situational factors are gender and sexual orientation, religion, and the mind and body. While a certain behavior may be considered abnormal, the continuum between normality and abnormality must first be considered (Hansell & Damour, 2008). Therefore, the continuum between the normal and the abnormality of factors like gender, religion, and the like must be considered before defining a behavior as abnormal. For example, one of the main criterions for classifying abnormal behaviors is that the behavior must be causing a distress. However, one factor that may cause Person A distress may not cause distress in Person B. Person A may be diagnosed with an abnormal disorder based upon his or her distress; whereas, Person B would not. It is believed that abnormal behaviors and feelings are generally just an exaggeration of normal behaviors and feelings (Hansell & Damour, 2008). Based upon this belief, each individual has the potential to have an abnormal disorder; the deciding factor is the extent of the behavior. Factors such as gender, sexual orientation, and religion are important in the consideration of abnormal behaviors and disorders. Gender carries a high importance as there are differences in the way males and females are viewed in a societal context. Females are generally regarded as having more stressors than males (Sue, Sue, & Sue, 2010). Females are usually responsible for the care of children, home, and relationships even while working. The presence of depression in females is believed to be twice of that as that of males (Sue, Sue, & Sue, 2010). This is more than likely due to the fact that females are usually placed under more stress due to societal roles. In classifying abnormality, it is vital to understand the situational factors surrounding the individual.

Conclusion

            In conclusion, there are several challenges associated with defining and classifying abnormal and normal behavior,  include situational context, culture, ethnicity, historical relativism, politics, evolving theory of knowledge, gender and sexual preferences and practices, mind/body, age, and religion.  The challenge of gender and sexual preferences and practices can be determined to be either normal or abnormal depending on who you look at this situation.  According to the textbook (Hansell & Damour, 2008) three of the main concepts associated with sexual behavior disorder includes continuum between normal and abnormal behavior because it causes distress or impairment, importance of context what may seem normal or abnormal to one person may not necessarily be that way to another person or in another context, and cultural and historical relativism this behavior is acceptable in an individual’s cultural or when and where they were brought up.  When it comes to the mind and body emotional experience will have a direct effect on the body, which may produce a set of behaviors traceable to the emotional experience he or she may have had or are still experiencing. The often times difficult connection between mind and body cannot be dismissed if the diagnose determines the behavior to be abnormal.  Amongst the many contributing factors of bias in the psychological setting, religion plays an instrumental role. Religion can affect the bias of the professional as well as the client by means of diagnosis and normal vs. abnormal behavior. Some of the situational factors include gender, sexual orientation, religion, and mind and body.  In classifying abnormality, it is vital to understand the situational factors surrounding the individual. 

  

                                               References

Bergin, A. E., & Jensen, J. P. (1990). Religiosity of psychotherapists: A national survey.             Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 27, 3-7.

Devor, Holly, Sexual Orientations Identities, Attractions, and Practice to Female-to-Male             Transsexuals.  Journal of Sex Reseach, Nov1993. Vol. 30 Issue 4, p 303-315.

Hansell, J., & Damour, L. (2008). Abnormal Psychology (2nd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Harris, K. A. (2011). Clinical judgment faith bias: The impact of faith and multicultural     competence on clinical judgment. (Order No. 3454245, Ball State University).            ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, , 389. Retrieved from             http://search.proquest.com/docview/868530349?accountid=458.             (prod.academic_MSTAR_868530349).

Sue, D., Sue, D. W., & Sue, S. (2010). Understanding Abnormal Behavior (9th ed.).        Boston, MA: Wadsworth.

Thanasiu, Page L., Childhood Sexuality: Discerning Healthy From Abnormal Sexual     Behaviors, Journal of Mental Health Counseling.  Oct2004, Vol. 26 Issue 4,      p309-319.

Plagiarism:

Using someone else's work without giving proper credit, is plagiarism. If you use our work, please reference it.

 

The Case of Anna O.

                                        The Case of Anna O.

     Dissociative Identity Disorder, or Multiple Personality Disorder, is the most severe dissociative disorder. Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) involves two or more distinct personalities that exist in one person. Each of these personalities maintains its own pattern of behavior, thinking, and relationships (Meyer, Chapman, & Weaver, 2009). The relationship between personalities is often complex. Only one personality is dominant at a time and in most cases the core personality is unaware of the other personalities. However, some personalities may be away of the others. The individual maintains his or her own original identity (Hansell & Damour, 2008). The host personality is the one which usually retains the legal name, helps in maintaining employment, relationships, and responsibilities. 

     The etiology of Dissociative Identity Disorder can be explained through several components. These components include biological, psychodynamic, behavioral, cognitive, and social/sociocultural. Psychodynamic researchers believe that dissociative disorders are the result of the individual’s use of repression to block unpleasant or traumatic events (Sue, Sue, & Sue, 2010). The belief is that dissociation of mental processes occurs when complete repression does not occur. Dissociation may also explain the disruption of personal identity. Dissociative Identity Disorder also involves the mechanism of splitting (Hansell & Damour, 2008). In DID, splitting refers to the splitting of the good and bad of an individual. Thus, different personalities are developed. Dissociative Identity Disorder can occur after traumatic childhood events, such as abuse, as well as the inability to cope with them. Biological components involve the brain structure and processes. Some research has shown a link between DID and NMDA receptor antagonists, serotonergic hallucinogens, and cannabinoids (Hansell & Damour, 2008). Other research focuses more on the brain structures such as the hippocampus and amygdale. The hippocampus is associated with memories. Inhibition of this region is believed to be associated with the switching of personalities. It is also believed that a chronic activation of a stress response in childhood trauma can result in permanent structural changes in the brain (Sue, Sue, & Sue, 2010). This results in a reduction of volume of the hippocampus and amygdala and hampers the ability of the brain to integrate emotional memories. This explains why memories are not shared between personalities. Behavioral, cognitive, and social/sociocultural components have less prominence in etiology than psychodynamic and biological. Behavioral components are based on the role of operant conditioning. Behaviorists believe that a disruption of the reinforcements causes a split in personality. In the past, cognitive psychologists used the self – hypnosis theory to explain dissociative disorders. Modern cognitive psychologists believe dissociative disorders are the result of disruptions in memory and attention. The Sociocognitive Model of DID is the basis of the sociocultural perspective (Sue, Sue, & Sue, 2010). This model states that patients may learn about DID through the mass media and then enact the behaviors. In 1973 there was a publication released entitled Sybil where the main subject had sixteen personalities (Sue, Sue, & Sue, 2010). Thus, the mean number of personalities in DID patients grew from three to twelve.

     The Case of Anna O. tells the story of a woman with DID. Anna first sought treatment for a persistent cough (Meyer, Chapman, & Weaver, 2009). By using hypnosis, Anna’s physician Josef Breuer attempted to have her remember events leading up to the initial visit. Some researchers believe that this hypnosis was the cause of Anna’s DID. This assumption would fall in line with the psychodynamic perspective. Anna discussed events such as her childhood and the distress of caring for her ailing father. These events also could have contributed to Anna’s disorder. Some researchers believe that DID is a learned response within the family (Meyer, Chapman, & Weaver, 2009). Due to this, at least one parent is disturbed. Individuals most likely to develop DID include those abused as children, those under significant stress, and those that have experiences maternal rejection. Anan fit into all of these. It is the belief that Anna was generally emotionally abused in that her father and mother, among other factors, stifled her emotional need of independence (Meyer, Chapman, & Weaver, 2009). During the course of Anna’s treatment, two different personalities emerged. Personality 1 was a melancholy personality because of the gaps in consciousness, mood swings, and possible hallucinations (Meyer, Chapman, & Weaver, 2009). Personalities differ and sometimes even are complete opposites of one another. This was the case with Anna. Personality 2 had more antisocial qualities, including being abusive towards others, and displaying odd and rebellious behaviors; Anna called this personality “naughty” (Meyer, Chapman, & Weaver, 2009, p. 61). Breuer ended his treatment with Anna. She was later hospitalized for morphine addiction. However, she exhibited symptoms of DID: inability to speak her native language, absences of consciousness, and a feeling of missing time (Meyer, Chapman, & Weaver, 2009). Anna was able to make a recovery from her disorder and live a productive life.   

 

References

Hansell, J., & Damour, L. (2008). Abnormal Psychology (2nd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Meyer, R., Chapman, L. K., & Weaver, C. M. (2009). Case Studies in Abnormal Behavior (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon.

Sue, D., Sue, D. W., & Sue, S. (2010). Ubderstanding Abnormal Behavior (9th ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth.

Plagiarism: Using someone else's work without giving proper credit, is plagiarism. If you use my work, please reference it. 

The Case of Virginia Woolf

 The Case of Virginia Woolf

            Mood disorders are a disturbance in an individual’s emotions. These disturbances can cause discomfort or hinder function. One mood disorder is bipolar disorder. In bipolar disorder, depression is accompanied by manic episodes. Bipolar has a generally slow onset. However, the onset of manic episodes may be sudden (Meyer, Chapman, & Weaver, 2009). Evidence shows that an individual’s life history may feature symptoms in childhood or adolescence. These symptoms may become more intense during the lifespan. Many creative individuals, such as Virginia Woolf, were believed to have bipolar disorder. The Case of Virginia Woolf demonstrates the severity of bipolar disorder.

            Virginia Woolf began exhibiting symptoms of bipolar disorder in her early teens. Virginia was very close to her mother and took her death hard. Around this time, Virginia had what was considered her first breakdown (Meyer, Chapman, & Weaver, 2009). After her father’s death, Virginia had a more extreme breakdown. Virginia suffered from breakdowns during adulthood as well. These breakdowns usually occurred during the final stages of her writing projects. Her husband, Leonard, began to detect when episodes were beginning and enforced rest for Virginia. This helped her from having relapses. However in 1941, Virginia suffered from another attack and took her own life.

            There are several characteristics related to bipolar disorder. These symptoms fall under affective, cognitive, behavioral, and physiological. The affective symptoms include elevated, expansive, or irritable moods, boundless energy, enthusiasm, and self – assertion. If the individual becomes frustrated, he or she may become profane or belligerent. In Virginia’s episodes, it was reported that she had intense irritable moments. Cognitive characteristics include grandiosity, flightiness, pressured thoughts, lack of focus, and attention, and poor judgment. Speech is accelerated. The individual may change topics mid – sentence and use irrelevant phrases. It was reported that Virginia Woolf often talked rapidly during her episodes. Behavioral characteristics include inhibition and episodes of mania. The classification of bipolar depends on the type of manic episodes experienced; manic or hypomanic. Virginia Woolf experienced manic episodes. In these episodes, the individual exhibits disruptive behavior, pronounced overactivity, grandiosity, hallucinations, and delusions. During her episodes, Virginia believed her nurses were evil and at one point, believed she heard birds chirping in Greek and King Edward VII was hiding in the bushes (Meyer, Chapman, & Weaver, 2009). Physiological characteristics include decreased need for sleep and weight loss or gain. Those individuals with manic episodes are much more debilitated than those with hypomanic episodes. Several characteristics of mania may be confused with schizophrenic episodes. However, there are differences between the two. For instance, schizophrenics are controlled by internal thoughts and ideas; whereas, manics are controlled by external stimuli (Meyer, Chapman, & Weaver, 2009). A complication of untreated bipolar is suicide. Statistics show that 15% of these untreated cases end in suicide. Virginia Woolf lived during a time period where most bipolar cases were treated with only rest. Therefore, Virginia committed suicide believing there was no relief from her symptoms. At the time of her death, Virginia had what was classified as Bipolar I.

            The etiology of bipolar depression involves components such as biological, cognitive, behavioral, psychodynamic, and sociocultural. Most studies focus on depression more than mania (Sue, Sue, & Sue, 2010). The most prominent factor appears to be biological. Biological factors include genetics, neurochemical, and hormonal. Some reasons that depression may occur are dysfunctions in neurotransmission, brain structures affected, and dysregulation in the brain activation system. Mania may be caused by elevated serotonin transporter availability (Sue, Sue, & Sue, 2010). Cognitive causes include how the individual views certain aspects of his or her life. These aspects include themselves, world, and futures. This is called the negative cognitive triad. Behavioral causes include interruption of reinforcements, as developed by Skinner, from the environment. Freud developed the psychodynamic components of depression. He believed that depression was similar to grief. In his research, Freud concluded that depression has roots in the experiences of loss or disappointment (Hansell & Damour, 2008). These experiences resulted in anger. Sociocultural causes include low self – esteem and a weak social support system. Based upon the etiology of depression, Virginia Woolf’s bipolar disorder could have biological or psychodynamic components. Without the proper research and studies on Virginia, biological factors cannot be ruled out. According to Freud, depression has roots in grief. Virginia’s first attack occurred after her mother passed away. She then spent time torn between loving her father and despising him for his actions (Meyer, Chapman, & Weaver, 2009). Freud’s theories involved anger at the disappointing person. Virginia suffered her second attack after her father passed away. She had a strong support system through her husband who loved her and took care of her even when she did not reciprocate his feelings.

            Bipolar disorder interferes with an individual’s functioning. Symptoms and characteristics are similar to other disorders. However, there are ways to distinguish them. Virginia Woolf lived in an era where there was little treatment for her disorder. While bipolar disorder spurred Virginia’s creativity, it was also what cost Virginia her life.

References

Hansell, J., & Damour, L. (2008). Abnormal Psychology (2nd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Meyer, R., Chapman, L. K., & Weaver, C. M. (2009). Case studies in abnormal behavior (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon.

Sue, D., Sue, D. W., & Sue, S. (2010). Understanding Abnormal Behavior (9th ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth.

Plagiarism: Using someone else's work without giving proper credit, is plagiarism. If you use my work, please reference it. 

Historical Perspectives of Abnormal Psychology

Historical Perspectives of Abnormal Psychology

Abnormal psychology is a controversial and fascinating area of study. There is no universally agreed upon definition of abnormal psychology; only approximate definitions. Abnormal psychology, also called psychopathology, is the scientific study with the objectives of describing, explaining, predicting, and controlling those behaviors considered to be strange or unusual. Abnormal psychology has evolved over time including the development of criteria to define abnormality.

Origins and Evolution of Abnormal Psychology

Abnormal psychology has changed throughout its history. Many of the current attitudes and ideas of abnormal psychology have been influenced by earlier beliefs. Beliefs associated with abnormal psychology date back to the prehistoric and ancient eras. During this period, abnormal behaviors were believed to be evil spirits. These evil spirits were believed to be inhibiting and controlling an individual’s body. Behaviors were treated with methods such as trephining and exorcism. Trephining is a surgical method in which a part of the skull was chipped away. This allowed the evil spirits to leave the body (Sue, Sue,  & Sue, 2010). Much of this period involved the belief that illness was caused by demonic possession or sorcery. During the next period, the Greco – Roman period, naturalistic explanations were developed. These explanations differed from the supernatural ones from before. Hippocrates was one of the earliest thinkers who developed a more rational and scientific explanation for mental disorders (Sue, Sue,  & Sue, 2010). Researchers of this period believed that organic causes explained mental illness rather than demons. Hippocrates believed that the brain was the center of intellectual activity. Therefore, deviant behavior was caused by a dysfunction of the brain. In the Middle Ages, supernatural explanations were once again prevalent. During the Dark Ages period of the Middle Ages, supernatural and naturalistic explanations were fused together. During this period, illnesses were believed to be the result of supernatural forces but also from natural causes. Many people believed illnesses to be a punishment from sin. During the Witchcraft period, people believed that mentally ill individuals were witches although there was little evidence to prove it. During the Renaissance, there were advances in science and humanism. From this period to modern times, reforms were made to the causes and treatments of abnormal psychology. Treatments were more humane than in previous eras. More organized and scientific research was developed in the study of abnormality.

Challenges to Defining and Classifying Normal and Abnormal Behavior

Five criteria for defining abnormality were developed. These criteria were help, seeking, irrationality and dangerousness, deviance, emotional distress, and significant impairment (Hansell & Damour, 2008). Criteria used in defining abnormality use a statistical deviation of a normative standard. This creates some challenges. First, the criteria fail to take differences in place, time, and community standards in account. Second, the criteria does not provide any basis for distinguishing between desirable and undesirable deviations from the norm (Sue, Sue,  & Sue, 2010). Another challenge is that people who go in different directions, such as artistically, politically, or intellectually may be seen as abnormal simply because they do not conform to what is considered the norm. Another challenge statistical criteria may present is that widely distributed yet undesirable characteristics may be defined as normal. Culture also poses a challenge in defining abnormality. According to Sue, Sue, & Sue, “If deviations from the majority are considered abnormal, then many ethnic and racial minorities who show strong subcultural differences from the majority must be classified as abnormal” (2010, p. 9). According to the criteria developed, abnormality may be identified by determining those individuals who seek help. This criterion is not always accurate. Most people with significant problems do not seek help. On the other hand, many people seek help for normal life stress. Under the criterion of irrationality and dangerousness, mental illness involves irrational, dangerous, and out – of – control behaviors. In actuality, self destructive behaviors are only associated with a few disorders. Predicting dangerousness is not always easy. No criterion is directly correlated with it (Sue, Sue,  & Sue, 2010). Not all mental disorders involve extreme behaviors as deviance suggests. Emotional distress is one of the best criteria for defining abnormality. Emotional distress is a central feature in most illnesses and a minor feature in others (Hansell & Damour, 2008). However, many forms of emotional distress, such as grieving, are normal. Significant impairment is the best defining criteria of abnormality. However, some psychological impairments can be caused by physical injuries or diseases.

Theoretical Models Related to the Development of Abnormal Psychology

Theoretical models were established to explain the etiology, or causes, of abnormal behaviors. The common models consist of biological, psychological, social, and sociocultural. Biological etiology involves genetics, brain anatomy, biochemical imbalances, the central nervous system functioning, and autonomic nervous system reactivity. Psychological etiology involves personality, emotions, stress coping, learning, self – esteem, cognition, developmental history, self – efficacy, and values. Social etiology involves family, relationships, social support, belonging, love, marital status, and community. Sociocultural etiology includes religion, race, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, gender, culture, and ethnicity. While one – dimensional models are important, multi – path models provide a better and more organized framework for understanding the etiology of abnormality (Sue, Sue,  & Sue, 2010). Multi – path models combine the individual models to determine the numerous causes of an illness.

Conclusion

Abnormal psychology is a complex field of study. Abnormal psychology has roots from prehistoric and ancient eras. From those early roots, abnormal psychology has developed more advanced and scientific methods of research. These methods have helped form a better definition of abnormal psychology. The etiology of illnesses is vital in classifying and treating the illnesses.

References

Hansell, J., & Damour, L. (2008). Abnormal Psychology (2nd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Sue, D., Sue, D. W., & Sue, S. (2010). Understanding Abnormal Behavior (9th ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth.

Plagiarism: Using someone else's work without giving proper credit, is plagiarism. If you use my work, please reference it.

Six Core Concepts in Abnormal Psychology

**What six core concepts continue to shape the field of abnormal psychology?  What is the purpose of these concepts?  What role do they play in abnormal psychology?**

There are six core concepts that continue to shape the field of abnormal psychology. The six core concepts are tools that aid us in the field of abnormal psychology by helping us to answer questions about behavior and the person performing the behavior.  These concepts help us to explore and answer questions such as how we decide who is abnormal, the kind of abnormality, causes, and treatments.  According to Hansell and Damour, the six core concepts are:

-         The importance of context in defining and understanding abnormality.

-          The continuum between normal and abnormal behavior.

-          Cultural and historical relativism in defining and classifying abnormality.

-          The advantages and limitations of diagnosis.

-          The principle of mutual causality.

-           The connection between time and body. (Hansell & Damour, 2008, p. 5)

These concepts help the psychologist to understand the differences between what is “normal” and “abnormal”. Without this, there would be no guide to help discover the abnormality of a behavior or person.

Hansell, J., & Damour, L. (2008). Abnormal Psychology (2nd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.