Psychology, in the simplest of terms, can be called the science of behavior and mental processes. The study of this subject includes the study of various psychological theories and practices that have evolved through the 20th and 21st centuries. Various methodologies of research are introduced to the students and their understanding is tested in the form of psychology assignments. These assignments require the students to undertake extensive research and demonstrate an understanding of the various areas of psychology like learning and memory, social psychology, sensation and perception, emotion, development, and psychopathology.

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Psychology Assignment Sample

Areas of Psychology Assignment Hippo Experts Can Assist With

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  • Behaviourism
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  • Research Methods in Psychology
  • Psychology of Adjustment
  • Counselling Theory and Practice
  • History and Theories in Psychology
  • Sensation, Perception, and Consciousness
  • Intercultural and Developmental Issues in Psychology

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Psychological Abnormality – Case Study – Samantha (AC 2.1 & 3.1)

Samantha is a 36-year-old woman with one child aged seven. She is happily married to Dan, a successful portfolio manager. They met when Samantha worked in finance.  The family is well off, although Dan’s long working hours mean that he gets to see less of his family than they would like. Samantha does not work; she does not have to.  She puts much energy into her daughter and is a loving, devoted, and strong mother. As a young girl, she worked hard to become a professional ballet dancer but did not make it.  Sam was told she did not have the look and had grown too tall. Although most people considered her beautiful and extremely attractive, with the look of a professional model – Samantha hates her image.  She views herself as being tall and too curvy.

Friends, family, and colleagues will swear of Dan’s devotion to his wife and daughter.  In his spare time Dan will organize fun days for the family aside from the annual holiday, and when possible, frequently takes Samantha on breaks away. Lately, Samantha has been feeling neglected by Dan, assuming that he has other reasons for always working late.  Samantha often thinks the worst of any given situation, being caught up in a spiral of negative thinking – being half empty, rather than half full as they say.  She had an unhappy childhood; her mother was an addict and suffered from depression, committing suicide when Samantha was eight years old.  Samantha was raised by her aunt, who was very cold and austere. Her family originally came from the Caribbean, whilst Dan’s are from England.

Recently, Samantha has been feeling depressed and has begun drinking heavily to numb the pain she feels inside.  She indulges in shopping sprees to make her feel good and lift her spirit.  However, Sam is hiding this habit and getting into debt. At times she finds it hard to sleep. When Sam does sleep, she dreams about her mother and believes her mother is trying to tell her something, trying to reach out to her. In addition, Samantha has been experiencing mood swings of extreme highs and lows, displaying erratic behavior that is incomprehensible to others and makes some people feel uncomfortable. Her aunt says she is behaving just like her mother did. She needs to get a grip of herself and “fix-up”. Samantha is fraught with anguish and worries that history might be repeating itself.

Last night, Dan found evidence of Samantha’s spending when he looked over the household accounts. He was more upset that she had kept the state of her finances away from him, than the actual spending itself. Samantha opened up to Dan about the way she has been feeling; she knows she needs help but fears she would be wrongly assessed due to her ethnicity.  They talked for hours, well into the night. This morning Dan made an appointment to see Dr. Harrison, a psychologist with a private practice based in Harley Street.  Samantha’s first session is next Tuesday and Dan is taking the day off to attend with her.

ANSWER 1

Psychology is the study of human behavior, thoughts, and feelings. Abnormal psychology can be defined as abnormal thoughts, feelings and behavior that might or might not present a mental illness. Although the number of behaviors can be classified as abnormal, this branch of psychology suggests studying abnormality in the clinical context. Although, there has been a long tradition of research and debate to understand psychology yet due to cultural variations and approach it is yet to be defined in a most acceptable manner. There might be different conditions or multiple causes that lead to abnormal psychology. However, the debate is still on to describe what is abnormal. There has been a long history of fights between the biological school of thought and philosophical school of thought regarding abnormal psychology that gives rise to dualism in mind and body issues. There have been different approaches to classify this disorder and in an abnormal category, there can be subnormal, supernormal, or paranormal.  Abnormal psychology as described previously deals with abnormal behavior based on this there can be two types of behaviors. While one is maladaptive another is adaptive. Behaviors are maladaptive when it is evident that the individual has some problem with the behavior and he/she is stress as well as lacks the strength to cope with the environment. Abnormal psychology mostly studied under clinical psychology that tries to understand this abnormality and treat psychological conditions. Although abnormal psychology can be studied under clinical psychology, contemporary practice models avoid such usage of words like an abnormality. Psychopathology is another term that is similar to abnormal psychology but it is related to psychiatry where the pathology or the disease process is studied from a biological perspective. Thus one definition of abnormal psychology is an abnormality in behavior that is not socially acceptable at different layers of the environment surrounding an individual.

ANSWER 2

There are different approaches by which the psychological changes of a human being can be studied. As defined by the world health organization, health is defined as the health status of an individual based on physical, social, and mental it implicates the psychological abnormality can have a minimum of three perspectives to be studied. Physical perspective is known as the medical model or biological model of health. From the lens of the biological model of health abnormal brain functions leads to abnormality in the release of neurotransmitters and hormones that compel the clients to behave abnormally. Neurotransmitters help in communication between the neurons through synapses. Research has shown serotonin low level can cause anxiety and depression as well as obsessive compressive disorder. Similarly, addiction can lead to an imbalance in dopamine production that can also cause abnormal behavior. These two hormones can play a crucial role in brain function and abnormal psychology as shown by Samantha. Therefore, a brain analysis, as well as biochemical tests to know the concentration of these hormones, can lead to the identification of such depressions. Secondly, hormonal disturbances such as high/low estrogen and progesterone can cause depression and anxiety too.

REFERENCES

Butcher, J. N., Mineka, S., & Hooley, J. M. (2017). Abnormal psychology. Pearson Education India.

Gregory, A. M., & Sadeh, A. (2016). Annual research review: sleep problems in childhood psychiatric disorders–a review of the latest science. Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, 57(3), 296-317.

Nolen-Hoeksema, S., & Rector, N. A. (2015). Abnormal psychology. Boston: McGraw-Hill.

Sue, D., Sue, D. W., Sue, S., & Sue, D. M. (2015). Understanding abnormal behavior. Cengage Learning.
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