Introduction To Abnormal Psychology

Abnormal Psychology:-

The word abnormal basically means” away from normal”. Abnormal psychology is a branch of psychology that caters abnormal and psychopathology behaviour. The term abnormal psychology focuses on broad range of disorders, from depression to obsession-compulsion to sexual deviation.It is defined as:-

“Abnormal psychology is the branch of psychology that studies unusual patterns of behavior, emotion and thought, which may or may not be understood as precipitating a mental disorder. Although many behaviours could be considered as abnormal, this branch of psychology generally deals with behavior in a clinical context.”

Significance of abnormal psychology:-

“Abnormal behaviour is behavior that deviates from what is considered or

It has been seen that every culture and society has its own point of views about what are the constituents of abnormal behaviour and what reasons behind the occurrence of these behaviours. Cultural differences play a major framework in making sense of abnormality. In light of evidence that people from Western cultures psychologize abnormality to a greater extent than people from East Asian cultures, the effect of understanding on perceptions of abnormality has been predicted to differ across cultures. Therefore it has been proved that activates or behaviours normal in one culture might be perceived as an act of abnormality in some other

One such example is of schizophrenia. Individuals suffering from Schizophrenic have difficulty discerning reality from unreality. Challenges for many schizophrenics include rational thoughts and inappropriate emotional responses. As the disease ultimately progresses to hallucinations, delusions, emotional numbness and severe stress in social situations. Psychologist with such clients, chalk out treatments that include medication, support groups and psychotherapy. Mood abnormalities including problems as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder and irrational. Psychological problems particularly known by their outward manifestations include eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD) and substance addiction. Categories of abnormal conditions can be misleading. Cognition can affect mood and behavior, for example. Therefore it is concluded that abnormal psychology studies deal with wide range of causes, symptoms, and risks of various disorders or behaviors deviating from normality and provides treatments to improve the lives of the individuals being