Abnormal Psychology

Abnormal Psychology is a branch of psychology that deals with the study of abnormal behavior and deciphers the reasons for the same. It deals with the scientific investigation into the sudden abnormal behavioral changes in human beings. People who are not able to function well and adapt themselves to the normal way of living and have an obscure and odd bent of mind are considered abnormal.

This abnormal attitude may be the result of gene malfunctioning, hereditary problems, shock from some terrible incident, or may be due to excessive suppression of desires and emotions. Anything that deviates from the usual pattern is considered abnormal. In the case of mental health, it can be sudden phases of depression, losing senses, hallucinations, schizophrenia, sexual disorder, and delusions.

The most extreme form of abnormal behavior is schizophrenia. This is a personality disorder when an individual forgets his own identity and starts developing a split personality.

An abnormal psychologist analyzes and studies the reasons, factors, circumstances, and situations responsible for abnormal behavior. Abnormal psychology involves an extensive study of the behavioral psychology of the individuals concerned. Several online colleges offer graduate and master’s degrees in abnormal psychology.

Many universities /colleges and psychology institutions and centers publish journals of abnormal psychology. These journals mainly contain articles, and information regarding the latest developments and research conducted in the field, interviews and study reports of psychologists, case studies, and modern theories and treatments.

These publications also have a queries section in which you can send your questions related to any theory or treatment or case history to the editor of the journal.

Behavioral psychology

Behavioral psychology is a learning theory that believes that all behaviors are formed due to the condition acquired by people. Conditioning is nothing but an interaction with the environment. This is also called behaviorism. It involves the study of behaviors in an observational and interactive manner, irrespective of any consideration of the mental state of an individual.

There are normally two kinds of conditioning:

1. Classical conditioning

It is a method employed in behavioral training that involves pairing a response with the stimulus that occurs naturally. Then a stimulus that was previously neutral is combined with a naturally taking place stimulus. Finally, the stimulus which was previously neutral induces the response in the absence of the stimulus that occurs naturally. The two elements formed are then called the conditioned response and the conditioned stimulus.

2. Operant conditioning

This method is also known as instrumental conditioning. This is a technique of learning that arises due to punishments or rewards for behavior. This method makes an association between the behavior of an individual and its consequences.

Ivan Pavlov, John Watson, B. F. Skinner, Clark Hull,, and Edward Thorndike are a few major thinkers of behavioral psychology or behaviorism. There has also been a lot of criticism of this theory of behavioral psychology.

Many critics have argued that this approach is one-dimensional and does not take into consideration free will, along with internal influences like thoughts, moods, and feelings. Another thing that was argued by the critics was it does not take into account learning that occurs due to reasons other than punishments and reinforcements.