Abnormal psychology, a sub-field of psychology, has no established core theory, unlike other scientific disciplines such as math, physics, or chemistry (Long, 2009). In order to treat patients with psychological disorders, professionals in the field use knowledge gained from clinical psychology studies, particularly information gained from studies related to psychopathology. Beginning in the 1900's, researchers proposed several theories and treatments of abnormal psychology which centered on the relationship of psychological, physical, and social conditions in the individual and society. During its beginnings, psychology was often studied in conjunction with philosophy, but today it is more commonly applied in the fields of neurology and physiology (Comer, 2003). Modern day psychological theories have found practical applications within the areas of business, personal development, computers, health and even sports. This holds true for the field of abnormal psychology as well.
Models
Studies in abnormal psychology follow three different theoretical models (Long, 2009). These models are used to identify and possibly treat abnormal behavior, and are labeled as psychosocial, biological/medical and sociocultural. A brief look at each will define their applications in the discipline.
The psychosocial model deals with an individual's personal interactions with their environment (Long, 2009). Psychosocial study focuses on stress triggers and self-destructive behavior. An example of abnormal reactions to daily situations might include...
Human Behavior in Organizations Understanding human behavior is critical in organizations The existence of an organization does depend on the employees; therefore, it is important to understand human behavior. Understanding human behavior will make it easy to work in an organization composed of employees with different personality, attitudes, values, perception, motives, and abilities. Managers should understand behavior because they work with people; interact with them in terms of communication, and in terms
Human Behavior, Physiology and Freedom What determines exactly where human behavior comes from? Who is the ultimate authority that in effect, evaluates the appropriateness of such behavior? What is freedom and to what extent does behavior influence freedom? What physiological and environmental factors contribute to the assessment of such factors? Is cultural design and the control of freedom and behavior the answer to solving behavioral issues? The answers to these questions are
Human Behavior: Values, Cultural Design, And Control We are all controlled by the world in which we live, and part of the world has been and will be constructed by men. The question is this: Are we to be controlled by accidents, by tyrants, or by ourselves in effective cultural design?" - B.F. Skinner Cultural Design is much like "instrumental conditioning," where people are conditioned to respond favorably to a situation or
The characters of God, Stan, and Jesus are also significant in this epic and because they are considered valuable in their roles in the poem, we can assume that Milton found similar value with these characters in life itself. Through these characters, Milton is presenting not only a hierarchy but also a way in which things should operate. God's supremacy is unquestionable in this realm and demonstrated early in
Human Behavior Theories Application There are several factors that have been used to explain human behavior in the past and there have been accurate instances that these theories have proven to be applicable and true. The subject of this human behavior study application will be a close friend with whom we study in college. Vincent (not real name) has been a friend from the mid childhood years and we have been
From issues mundane to issues involving the survival of humankind itself, Prospect Theory helps people to analyze the way they analyze the world in order to come up with a much better understanding of the potential risks and outcomes they are faced with. The assignment of value within the decisions and outcomes has a bearing on the decisions themselves, and as each group of people assigns certain value to
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now