PROJECT AVP-IM

Imagine that you are in a coffee shop You wait patiently in line, you order your drink, you pick up your drink and then you sit and sip it quietly Others around you do the same thing and you're able to sip peacefully and read a book or listen to music In other words, it's a pretty normal afternoon in a cafe But what if someone did not stick to the script? What if a man cut in front of everyone else in line? Or what if a woman suddenly starts yelling out nonsense words? Would you still consider it a normal afternoon? Psychology is the study of human thoughts, feelings and behaviors. Abnormal Psychology is the study of abnormal thoughts, feelings and behaviors. Abnormal thoughts, feelings and behaviors, may or may not be part of a larger mental illness, or Psychopathology But Psychologists who study Abnormal Psychology usually work to treat people who have some type of mental illness Even if it's just a temporary cases at loose. Think about the lady in the coffee shop yelling out nonsense words Why would anyone do that? What's wrong with her? There are two theories about what causes abnormality The Somatogenic Theory and Psychogenic Thoery Somatogenic Theory states that abnormality is caused by a biological disorder or illness In the example above, Somatogenic Theory would say that there's something wrong with her brain Perhaps she has damage to the left side of her brain which causes language disorders Or maybe she has damage to the bottom part of the front of the brain, which makes people do things that are socially inappropriate Either way, Somatogenic Theory explains abnormality in terms of physical causes As such, a Somatogenic approach to abnormality often focuses on using drugs, surgery or other physical therapies to treat psychological disorders Compare that to Psychogenic Theory, which says that Abnormality stems from psychological problems For example, Sigmund Freud might say that the woman in the cafe has an underdeveloped Super Ego Which means that she can't stop her urges, like wanting to call out in a public place Treatment for Abnormality based on Psychogenic Theory includes talk therapy and hynosis Of course, most Psychologists don't believe in one theory or the other Most Psychologists believes in one theory more than the other, but will admit that both play a role in abnormality As we said before, Abnormal Psychology deals with all sorts of abnormality Three common disorders that Abnormal Psychology covers, are schizophrenia, antisocial personality disorder, and depression Schizophrenia is a mental illness that makes it difficult for the sufferer to tell the difference from reality and hallucinations Schizophrenic patients often have vivid hallucinations Especially auditory hallucinations like hearing voices The symptoms of Schizophrenia maybe result of too much of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain Schizophrenics can be treated with medication but it is sometimes difficult to get them keep taking their medication Sub Therapy along with medication is an important part of treatment Anti-Social Personality Disorder evolves having a very small conscience People with Anti-Social Personality Disorder often manipulate or harm others and may have a history of breaking the law Anti-Social Personality disorder is very difficult to treat because patients often charm and manipulate their therapists Depression is a general term that covers several different abnormal conditions Most people who use the term depression refer to someone with major depressive disorder Which is characterized by long periods of low mood and a general loss of interest they normally enjoy Treatments for depression range from drugs to therapy Though, a combination of the two is most effective Abnormal Psychology studies abnormalities in thoughts, behavior, and feelings Psychologists usually view abnormality in terms of Somatogenic Theory Which says that the cause of abnormality is biological And Psychogenic Theory which says that the cause of abnormality is psychological Three types of abnormality that are of particular interest to psychologists Are Schizophrenia, Anti-Social personality Disorder and Depression