STUDY UNIT 1 – ABNORMAL BEHAVIOUR
The study of abnormal behaviour represents the human quest to understand
the causes, development, manifestation and the alleviation and prevention
of disturbances in thinking, feeling and behaving.
The objectives of the scientific approach to investigating abnormal
behaviour is to understand, describe, explain, predict and control abnormal
behaviour. There are four types of methods used to study abnormal
behaviour:
● Naturalistic observational method – to observe naturally occurring
behaviour in a naturally occurring context or environment
● Research method – explores relationships between variable and hopes
to find a correlation between the variables. The aim is to see cause
and effect so that future behaviours can be predicted
● Longitudinal research method – looks at possible correlations over time
by repeatedly observing the same samples over different periods.
Random subjects are assigned to treatment and also control groups in
order to eliminate researcher bias
● Epidemiological approach – examines the rate at which abnormal
behaviour occurs in various population groups and a variety of settings,
such as studying twins to determine environmental and hereditary
contributions to mental disorders
The concerns of abnormal behaviour:
≥ Describing abnormal behaviour:
A psychodiagnosis, an attempt to describe, assess and understand the
situation of the patient and the likelihood that you may be experiencing a
mental disorder
A treatment plan – a proposed course of therapy, developed between
therapist and client and which will address the client’s most distressing mental
health symptoms in an attempt to get them back to functioning in daily life
≥ Explaining abnormal behaviour:
Being able to identify the causes, origins or aetiology of a mental disorder is
of prime concern to the mental health professional. The ability to explain the
symptoms and manifestations to the client is helpful when discussing a
treatment plan
The study of abnormal behaviour represents the human quest to understand
the causes, development, manifestation and the alleviation and prevention
of disturbances in thinking, feeling and behaving.
The objectives of the scientific approach to investigating abnormal
behaviour is to understand, describe, explain, predict and control abnormal
behaviour. There are four types of methods used to study abnormal
behaviour:
● Naturalistic observational method – to observe naturally occurring
behaviour in a naturally occurring context or environment
● Research method – explores relationships between variable and hopes
to find a correlation between the variables. The aim is to see cause
and effect so that future behaviours can be predicted
● Longitudinal research method – looks at possible correlations over time
by repeatedly observing the same samples over different periods.
Random subjects are assigned to treatment and also control groups in
order to eliminate researcher bias
● Epidemiological approach – examines the rate at which abnormal
behaviour occurs in various population groups and a variety of settings,
such as studying twins to determine environmental and hereditary
contributions to mental disorders
The concerns of abnormal behaviour:
≥ Describing abnormal behaviour:
A psychodiagnosis, an attempt to describe, assess and understand the
situation of the patient and the likelihood that you may be experiencing a
mental disorder
A treatment plan – a proposed course of therapy, developed between
therapist and client and which will address the client’s most distressing mental
health symptoms in an attempt to get them back to functioning in daily life
≥ Explaining abnormal behaviour:
Being able to identify the causes, origins or aetiology of a mental disorder is
of prime concern to the mental health professional. The ability to explain the
symptoms and manifestations to the client is helpful when discussing a
treatment plan
