Introduction To Abnormal Psychology

Nancy Pulido Final 2 Answers Psychology I - 1141 12-13-14

1 The major models used by psychologists to explain abnormal functioning. Abnormal psychology is a division of psychology that studies people who are “abnormal” or “atypical” compared to the members of a given society. There is evidence that some psychological disorders are more common than was previously thought. Provisional on how data are gathered and how analyzes are made, as many as 27% of some population groups may be sorrow from depression at any time (2001: data for older adults). 2 Abnormal psychology is the field devoted to the study of causes of mental dysfunction (mental illness, psychopathology, maladjustment, emotional disturbance). Abnormal behavior expressed because of

6 What Is an Attitude? 7 Psychologists define attitudes as a learned tendency to evaluate things in a certain way. 8 This can include evaluations of people, issues, objects or events. Such evaluations are often positive or negative, but they can also be uncertain at times. For example, you might have mixed feelings about a particular person or issue. 7 Researchers also suggest that there are several different components that make up attitudes. 8 An Emotional Component: How the object, person, issue or event makes you feel. A Cognitive Component: Your thoughts and beliefs about the subject. A Behavioral Component: How the attitude influences your behavior. Attitudes can also be explicit and implicit. Explicit attitudes are those that we are consciously aware of and that clearly influence our behaviors and beliefs. Implicit attitudes are unconscious, but still have an effect on our beliefs and behaviors. 6 How Do Attitudes

We tend to assume that people behave in accordance with their attitudes. However, social psychologists have found that attitudes and actual behavior are not always perfectly aligned. After all, plenty of people support a particular candidate or political party and yet fail to go out and vote. Researchers have discovered that people are more likely to behave according to their attitudes under certain conditions: When your attitudes are the result of personal experience. When you are an expert in the subject it’s too you expect a favorable outcome also it’s When the attitudes are repeatedly expressed. 8 When you stand to win or lose something due to the issue. In some cases, people may actually alter their attitudes in order to better align them with their behavior. Cognitive dissonance is a phenomenon in which a person experiences psychological distress due to conflicting thoughts or beliefs. In order to reduce this tension, people may change their attitudes to reflect their other beliefs or actual