The Origins of Psychopathology

a) Analyze the historical and contemporary views of abnormal behavior and psychopathology, (b) describe the origins of abnormal psychology, (c) provide a brief overview of how abnormal psychology has evolved into a scientific discipline, and (d) assess the theoretical viewpoints and interpretations of the biological, psychosocial, and sociocultural models.
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Abnormal psychology has been written into history for thousands of years but only in the past one hundred been treated as a scientific discipline. It was very easy to lock away those that could not be understood but in the 20th century, therapists began to see the need for better understanding of the biological, social, and cultural influences on abnormal behavior. Thus, a new science emerged in therapeutic models to assist people in living normal lives.

The understanding of behavior outside of the normal has been studied for thousands of years. The three ways this has been approached is by biological, psychological and sociocultural traditions. There are also components of abnormal behavior thought to be influenced by demons or evil spirits or the influence of planetary movement. Abnormal psychology deals with events that is outside of the norm. This could be behavior that is not acceptable for perhaps a particular age group. Most people are considered average and they are very few that are at the end of the spectrum that is truly considered abnormal. Abnormal should never be equated with an expression of good or bad, right or wrong. For instance, a person who has a very high intelligence quotient is considered abnormal but not bad.

For the discussion of abnormal psychology, the interest is the aberrant behavior that is outside of the ordinary actions that causing a disruption in one’s own or other person’s lives. The historical significance of abnormal psychology does not always take a positive timeline. Probably the most significant change in thinking was Hippocrates who in 460 B.C. who decided that abnormal behavior may be an imbalance of four fluids which were blood, phlegm, black bile and yellow bile, which he called the …