* Degenerative
*
Metaphysical.
*
Otherworldly.
Definition of Paranormal
Impossible to explain by known natural forces or by science or very strange and not able to be
explained by what scientists know about nature and the world. Some believe he/she
had paranormal or supernatural powers or paranormal phenomena.
Strange events, abilities, etc. that
cannot be explained by what is known about nature and the world.
The term "paranormal" has existed in the English language since at least 1920. The word
consists of two parts: para and normal. The definition implies that the scientific
explanation of the world around us is 'normal' and anything that is above,
beyond, or contrary to that is 'para'.
Believes in ghosts, guardian angels, and other supernatural beings.
Medical Definition of Paranormal
Not understandable in terms of known scientific
laws and phenomina < experiments in paranormal cognition of drawings –
Psychological Abstracts>.
Abnormal Psychology
Abnormal
psychology is a division of psychology that studies people who are "abnormal" or "atypical" compared to the
members of a given society.
There is evidence that some psychological
disorders are more common than was previously
thought.
Depending on how data are gathered and how
diagnoses are made, as many as 27% of some
population groups may be suffering from
depression at any one time (NIMH, 2001; data for
older adults).
The definition of
the word abnormal is simple enough but applying this to psychology poses a
complex problem: what is normal? Whose norm? For what age? For what culture?
The concept of
abnormality is imprecise and difficult to define. Examples of abnormality can
take many different forms and involve different features, so that,
what at first sight seem quite reasonable
definitions, turns out to be quite problematical. There are several different
ways in which it is possible to define ‘abnormal’ as opposed to our ideas of
what is ‘normal’.
Under
this definition, rather than defining what is abnormal, we define what is
normal/ideal and anything that deviates from this is regarded as
abnormal. This requires us to decide on the characteristics we consider
necessary to mental health. Jahoda
(1958) defined six criteria by which mental health could be measured:
o Positive view of the self.
o Capability for growth and development.
o Autonomy and independence.
o Accurate perception of reality.
o Positive friendships and relationships.
o Environmental mastery – able to
meet the varying demands of day-to-day situations According to this approach, the more
of these criteria are satisfied, the healthier the individual is.
Limitation: It is practically impossible for any
individual to achieve all of the ideal characteristics all of the time.
For example, a person might not be the ‘master of his environment’ but be happy
with his situation. The absence of this criterion of ideal mental health
hardly indicates he is suffering from a mental disorder.
Ethnocentric: Most definitions of psychological
abnormality are devised by white, middle class men. It has been suggested that
this may lead to disproportionate numbers of people from certain groups being
diagnosed as "abnormal."
For example, in the UK, depression is
more commonly identified in women, and black people are more likely than their
white counterparts to be diagnosed with schizophrenia. Similarly, working class
people are more likely to be diagnosed with a mental illness than those from
non manual backgrounds.
Abnormal psychology is the branch of psychology that studies unusual patterns of
behavior, emotion and thought, which may or may not be understood as
precipitating a mental disorder. Although many behaviours could be considered
as abnormal, this branch of psychology generally deals with behaviour in a
clinical context.
Abnormality Treatments
There are four treatments for abnormality that you
need to know for the exam:
Physiological
Treatment =
Biological treatments (Drugs & CBT).
Psychological
Treatments =
Behavioural treatments (Systematic Desensitisation).
Combined Cognitive and Behavioural treatments (CBT).
Psychodynamic treatment (Psychoanalysis).
Biological Treatments =
Anti-anxiety drugs : Minor tranquilizers called Benzodiazepines
(BZs) such as Valium has a calming effect on the nervous system and muscles
and exhibits GABA, which calms brain activity.
Anti-depressant drugs : MAOIs, TCAs & SSRIs. Improve mood by increasing the availability
of neurotransmitters such as serotonin.
Eg. MAOIs block the action of an enzyme that breaks down serotonin, so
increasing its availability in the nervous system.
Anti-psychotic drugs : Major Tranquilizers such as phenothiazine. These sedate and alleviate
symptoms (eg. Hallucinations and delusions) of the person suffering from
psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia. They work by blocking the D2
receptor for dopamine.
Drugs
The Biological approach states that all
abnormal behaviour has a physical cause.
Drug treatmentis the main treatment for mental disorders.
It based on the assumption that chemical imbalance is at the root of the
abnormality.
There are 3 groups of drug treatment:
* Anti-anxiety drugs (Phobias and Generalised Anxiety Disorder) eg.
Vallium
* Anti-depressant drugs (Depression) eg.Prozac (SSRI)
* Anti-psychotic drugs (Schizophrenia) eg. phenothiazines.
Biological Treatments Electroconvulsive
Therapy
* Patient lies on bed in loose clothing.
* Receives an anaesthetic & muscle relaxant
before treatment.
* Fix electrode to the head, usually the
non-dominant hemisphere (in most people the
right this reduced side effect such as memory loss).
* Pass a 70-130 volt current through the brain for
less than one second.
* It induced a convulsion in the patient for about
one minute.
* Once the patient come round from the anaesthetic
the patient recalls nothing about the
procedure.
ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY
Abnormal psychology
is the branch of
psychology that
studies unusual patterns of
behavior,
emotion and
thought,
which may or may not be understood as precipitating a
mental disorder. Although many behaviors could be considered
as
abnormal, this
branch of psychology generally deals with behavior in a clinical context. There
is a long history of attempts to understand and control behavior deemed to be
aberrant or deviant (statistically, morally or in some other sense), and there
is often cultural variation in the approach taken. The field of abnormal
psychology identifies multiple causes for different conditions, employing
diverse theories from the general field of psychology and elsewhere, and much
still hinges on what exactly is meant by "abnormal". There has
traditionally been a divide between psychological and biological explanations,
reflecting a philosophical
dualism in regard to the
mind body problem. There have also been different approaches
in trying to
classify mental disorders.
Abnormal includes three different categories; they are
subnormal,
supernormal and
paranormal.
The science of abnormal psychology studies two types of behaviors:
adaptive and
maladaptive behaviors.
Behaviors that are maladaptive suggest that some problems exist, and can also
imply that the individual is vulnerable and cannot cope with environmental
stress, which is leading them to have problems functioning in daily life.
Clinical psychology is the applied field of psychology
that seeks to assess, understand and treat psychological conditions in clinical
practice. The theoretical field known as 'abnormal psychology' may form a
backdrop to such work, but clinical psychologists in the current field are
unlikely to use the term 'abnormal' in reference to their practice.
Psychopathology is
a similar term to abnormal psychology but has more of an implication of an
underlying
pathology (disease
process), and as such is a term more commonly used in the medical specialty
known as
psychiatry.
Supernatural explanations
In the first supernatural
tradition, also called the demonological method, abnormal behaviors are
attributed to agents outside human bodies. According to this model, abnormal
behaviors are caused by demons, spirits, or the influences of moon, planets, and stars. During the Stone Age, trephining was performed on those who had mental illness to literally cut the evil spirits out of
the victim's head. Conversely, Ancient Chinese, Ancient Egyptians, and Hebrews, believed that these were evil demons or spirits and
advocated exorcism. By the time of the Greeks and Romans, mental illnesses were thought to be caused by an
imbalance of the four humors, leading to draining of fluids
from the brain. During the Medieval period, many Europeans believed that the power
of witches, demons, and spirits caused abnormal
behaviors. People with psychological disorders were thought to be possessed by
evil spirits that had to be exorcised through religious rituals. If exorcism failed, some authorities
advocated steps such as confinement, beating, and other types of torture to make the body uninhabitable by witches, demons, and spirits. The belief that
witches, demons, and spirits are responsible for the abnormal behavior
continued into the 15th century. Swiss alchemist, astrologer, and physician Paracelsus (1493–1541), on the other hand, rejected the
idea that abnormal behaviors were caused by witches, demons, and spirits and suggested that
people's mind and behaviors were influenced by the movements of the moon and
stars.
This tradition is still
alive today. Some people, especially in the developing countries and some
followers of religious sects in the developed countries, continue
to believe that supernatural powers influence human
behaviors. In Western academia, the supernatural tradition has
been largely replaced by the biological and psychological traditions.
Biological
explanations
In the biological tradition, psychological
disorders are attributed to biological causes and in the psychological
tradition, disorders are attributed to faulty psychological development and
to social context. The
medical or biological perspective holds the belief that most or all abnormal
behavior can be attributed to a medical factor; assuming all psychological
disorders are diseases.
The Greek physician Hippocrates, who is considered to be the father of Western
medicine, played a major role in the biological tradition. Hippocrates and his
associates wrote the Hippocratic Corpus between
450 and 350 BC, in which they suggested that abnormal behaviors can be treated
like any other disease. Hippocrates viewed the brain as the seat of consciousness, emotion, intelligence, and wisdom and believed that disorders involving these
functions would logically be located in the brain.
These ideas of Hippocrates and his associates
were later adopted by Galen, the Roman physician. Galen extended
these ideas and developed a strong and influential school of thought within the
biological tradition that extended well into the 18th century.
Medical: The medical approach to abnormal
psychology focuses on the biological causes on mental illness. This perspective
emphasizes understanding the underlying cause of disorders, which might include
genetic inheritance, related physical disorders, infections and chemical
imbalances. Medical treatments are often pharmacological in nature, although
medication is often used in conjunction with some other type of psychotherapy.
Psychological
explanations
Behavioral: The behavioral approach to
abnormal psychology focuses on observable behaviors. In behavioral therapy, the
focus is on reinforcing positive behaviors and not reinforcing maladaptive
behaviors. This approach targets only the behavior itself, not the underlying
causes.
Sociocultural explanations The term
sociocultural refers to the various circles of influence on the individual
ranging from close friends and family to the institutions and policies of a
country or the world as a whole. Discriminations, whether based on social
class, income, race, and ethnicity, or gender, can influence the development of
abnormal behavior.
