Abnormal Psychology as a Scientific Field

Paper Summary:

This paper provides a brief overview of the origins of abnormal psychology, its development as a scientific field and the theoretical framework relating to its development. The paper discusses the sociocultural and psychosocial perspectives of abnormal psychology and the areas that each type of theorist would consider when examining a person.

Table of Contents:
Origins of Abnormal Psychology
Theoretical Framework

From the Paper:

"The sociocultural and psychosocial perspectives examine social, family and cultural environments in regards how they affect an emotional health. Sociocultural theorists take into consideration such social dynamics as unemployment, poverty, stress, correctional system and culture-bound syndromes when examining a criminal behavior, for example. In addition, they believe that behaviors and attitudes are shaped by learning and modeling after the social and cultural models, ideals and pressures (Hansell, J., & Damour, L., 2005). Anorexia nervosa, for instance, is predominantly found among white young women of an upper-middle class in the western societies, where ideals and models of beauty portray thinness. Conversely, some African societies, like Nigeria, admire plumpness in the woman's body and attribute it to the wealth and happiness. An underweight Nigerian girl would probably suffer from the feelings of inadequacy in her culture, but placed in a western society, may found herself proudly strutting on the fashion podium. Thus, sociocultural perspective emphasizes a broader spectrum of mental health issues, i.e. improving a well-being of society as a whole, instead of narrowing it to the individual differences. From the therapeutic standpoint, such perspective would be cumbersome to apply to the individual treatment, however it helps to understand where a person comes from, before diagnosing him or her as mentally sick."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Hansell, J., & Damour, L. (2005). Abnormal psychology. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

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