Abnormal Psychology

Abnormal Psychology
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Abnormal Psychology
Abnormal behavior can be referred to as behavior that is maladaptive, distressing and socially disturbing. People are usually said to exhibit abnormal behavior based on three aspects: the failure to function adequately, deviation from social norms, and deviation from the ideal mental health. Under the failure to function properly, an abnormality is usually concluded when an individual fails to cope with the demands of life. For example, one may find it hard to interact with others and maintain a job to sustain him. Under the violation of social norms, an individual’s behavior or thinking is regarded as abnormal if it goes against the set rules or codes of conduct seen as acceptable in the community. Under the deviation from an ideal mental health viewpoint, anything that deviates from what is regarded as ideal or normal for mental health is what is considered abnormal. One has, therefore, to know what is considered mentally healthy behavior so as to identify abnormal behavior. There are six criteria through which mental health is determined. These include; autonomy and independence, positive view of self, accurate perception of reality, capability for development, and environmental mastery (Jahoda, 1958).
In “American Psycho,” there is a widespread depiction of abnormal behavior. This is mostly seen through the character of Patrick Bateman. Bateman is seen as extremely aggressive; both verbal and physical.

He also has insecure attachments and cannot sustain a relationship. His relationship with Evelyn was always on the rocks and was doomed to fail from the start. He is also highly manipulative and lies at almost any moment; this makes people fail to see his wickedness. Bateman also had rapid emotional changes as evidenced by his outbursts at perceived insults and lack of respect. His need for constant emulation and feeling of extreme importance makes him neglect his social expectations and duties. He started seeing other people as useless and only highly regarded his lawyer. He also had a poor impulse control that resulted in the murder of most of his colleagues and women with whom he interacted. Bateman also had an extremely high attention to detail that seemed abnormal. He was also very sensitive to criticism and praise as noted in the various business card scenarios with his colleagues. When he saw a co-worker’s business cards as better than his, he decided to kill the co-worker; this resulted in the murder of Paul and the attempted murder of Luis. Bateman also kills many people in the movie but lacks the slightest remorse for his actions.
To treat abnormal behavior, you have to identify the causes of the behavior; This can only be possible if one understands the five perspectives of abnormal psychology. These include the cognitive, medical, behavioral, psychodynamic, and the socio-cultural perspective. The cognitive perspective holds that a person’s thoughts are solely responsible for their behavior. How information is processed in the brain is what leads to certain observable behaviors. What this implies is that a strange person anticipates, perceives and evaluates things differently than normal people. The process is usually automatic, and one has no control over it. People with psychological problems tend to have inaccurate cognitions that distort how they see things. The assumption of this perspective is that the way one thinks is the problem and not the problem itself that causes the disorder and that people with this problem can overcome the disorder through the use of more appropriate cognitions (Jarvis, 2000). Treatment, therefore, involves ensuring the person with abnormal behavior develops new and useful thought processes and unlearning the maladaptive habits. For example, Bateman would be made to see the usefulness of human life and the need to see other people as equally important.
The medical perspective, on the other hand, holds that biological factors are solely responsible for the abnormal behavior observed. It argues that the functioning of the brain as well as its physical structure is majorly responsible for abnormal behavior. For example, it is alleged that enlarged ventricles in the brain, as well as differences in the pre-frontal and frontal cortex, are mostly found in people with mental disorders. The condition is therefore treated as a disease or illness according to this perspective, and it’s identified through symptoms and cured through drug use just like any other illness. This perspective would better describe Bateman as he seems to have mental problems. In this case, doctors would diagnose his condition and find its causes then give him the necessary medicine.
The behavioral perspective argues that ineffective and faulty experiences are greatly responsible for the abnormal behavior observed in an individual. Abnormal behavior is acquired either through social learning, classical conditioning, and operant conditioning. Classical conditioning is mainly responsible for the development of extreme phobias in these individuals. In social learning, the behavior is acquired from social-cultural beliefs of the community which are supposed to be adhered to and observed. Operant conditioning, on the other hand, is where the consequences of a past behavior lead to the adoption of the behavior in future (Jarvis, 2000). For example, if a child beats another beats another child and the parent seemed to encourage this action, the child may in future continue bullying and assaulting others without the slightest guilt. Treatment, in this case, would involve using traditional learning procedures to teach more appropriate responses. For example, Bateman would be advised not to treat other people’s success as a threat as maybe his parents might have taught him always to be ahead of others.
The psychodynamic perspective suggests that abnormality occurs due to unresolved conflicts between the Ego, Id, and the Superego. Unchecked Id impulses may lead to conduct disorders as well as dangerously abnormal behavior such as the extreme desire to kill witnessed as witnessed in Bate. A too dominant superego leads to the complete restriction of the Id such that one gets totally detached from social pleasures. This condition leads to anxiety disorders and unwanted desires such as killing witnessed in the movie. A weak ego may result in a feeling of guiltlessness even on doing actions that significantly harm others. For example, Bateman kills one person after another in Paul’s residence but is not remorseful. Here, treatment would involve reconciling the conflicts between the three parts of the human in Bateman.
Lastly, the social-cultural perspective holds that abnormal behavior originates from a social context such as community, family or culture. Some cultural traditions might lead to the adoption of very weird beliefs and behavior. For example in a community that sees women as useless, an individual might in the process of solidifying this belief start killing women randomly. Treatment, in this case, would involve the unlearning of the undesired traditions and their replacement with acceptable traditions and beliefs e.g. by teaching the individual the importance of women in the society.
The five perspectives all have their weaknesses. For example, the view that all behavior is learned according to the behavioral perspective may not be correct. Internal factors are also crucial in the learning process. For example, if one believes that he can succeed in a particular task, he is likely to imitate or learn from somebody whose character he admires. This means that in as much as the environment influences our behavior, we also control the environment. It also implies that behavior can be conditioned. For example, Cook and Mineka discovered that monkeys’ Fear response to snakes was much faster as compared to the fear response towards rabbits (Cook & Mineka, 1989).
The psychodynamic perspective, on the other hand, failed to explain how behavior was determined clearly. Freud claimed that some childhood experiences determine mental disorders. The perspective fails to explain how events that occurred over twenty or thirty years ago influence our actions today. Critics have also argued that it is not possible to prove by use of experimentation that an individual’s mind is composed of the Ego, Id, and Superego. Those that are testable have proved to be wrong. For example, Freud argued that fear played a crucial role in identification in boys. According to him, boys who have hostile fathers would show more identification as compared to boys with supportive fathers. According to Mussen and Rutherford, what happens is the opposite of this view (Mussen & Rutherford, 1963). Cognitive psychologists, on the other hand, ignore the effects of genetics on behavior. The impact of motivational and emotional factors is also not taken into consideration in the cognitive perspective. This means that the perspective is usually limited and lacks external validity. The biological perspective has managed to prove that genetic factors have a significant role in intelligence differences in individuals (Hamilton, 1964). This therefore clearly explains why some people will quickly develop certain mental disorders as compared to the rest. This perspective would, therefore, be preferable than the rest in explaining abnormal behavior.
References
Cook, M. & Mineka, S. (1989). Observational conditioning of fear to fear-relevant versus fear-irrelevant stimuli in rhesus monkeys. Journal Of Abnormal Psychology, 98(4), 448-459. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037//0021-843x.98.4.448
Hamilton, W. (1964). The genetical evolution of social behaviour. I. Journal Of Theoretical Biology, 7(1), 1-16. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0022-5193(64)90038-4
Jahoda, G. (1958). Child Animism: I. A Critical Survey of Cross-Cultural Research. The Journal Of Social Psychology, 47(2), 197-212. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00224545.1958.9919239
Jarvis, M. (2000). Theoretical approaches in psychology (1st ed.). London: Routledge.
Mussen, P. & Rutherford, E. (1963). Parent-Child Relations and Parental Personality in Relation to Young Children’s Sex-Role Preferences. Child Development, 34(3), 589. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1126754