Theoretical Models of Abnormal Psychology

a. Briefly examine the origins of abnormal psychology.

b. Provide a brief overview of how abnormal psychology has evolved into a scientific discipline.

c. Briefly analyze the psychosocial, biological/medical, and sociocultural theoretical models related to the development of abnormal psychology.
© BrainMass Inc. brainmass.com March 21, 2019, 7:02 pm ad1c9bdddf
https://brainmass.com/psychology/abnormal-psychology/theoretical-models-of-abnormal-psychology-276859
Solution Preview

A brief description of the origins of abnormal psychology

Abnormal psychology has come a long way. For centuries human beings have been fascinated by other humans’ display of behavior that was outside of the norm. As a result, humans have sought to explain those behaviors by whatever means possible at the time. Signs of abnormalities can be seen from our knowledge about human behaviors dating back from the Stone Age. For example, early Egyptian writings and an examination of early human skulls reveal that certain rituals took place in an attempt to cure abnormal behavior, such as cutting a hole in the person’s forehead. Egyptians believed that individuals were possessed by supernatural forces, more so by demons that controlled their mind and body. As a result, treatments for bringing the person back to normal were by a. trephining-releasing those demons from the person by cutting a hole in the skull with a trephine, b. exorcism-removing the evil spirit from the person through prayer, starvation, or magical means, c. frontal lobotomies-cutting the individual’s frontal lobe, which resulted in extreme behavior change and resulted in …