PYC3702 Summary and DSM easy

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