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PSY 215 Module One Milestone
Abnormal Psychology (Psy-215)
Southern New Hampshire University
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PSY 215 Module One Milestone Template
Using this template, respond to the below prompts, which focus on deconstructing the stigma associated with abnormal behavior. Support your position with a minimum of 3 to 5 sentences per bullet, using credible sources. Complete this template by replacing the bracketed text with the relevant information. Often a person describes an abnormal behavior as weird—a term that can elicit a range of emotional responses (e., fear, anger, guilt, curiosity, withdrawal, compassion). Describe a common psychological reaction that a person might have after hearing this description of the behavior of another person. As the mother of a special needs child, I have, unfortunately, had many experiences with this. My son is often described as “weird” due to his autism. The first emotion that comes to me when this happens is anger. Why would anyone think this sweet child is weird? Then that usually leads to fear for his feelings. I hate to think what life will be like for him moving forward. Describe why witnessing an abnormal behavior may cause a person to experience psychological discomfort. When encountering someone with an abnormal behavior, their erratic actions may cause fear for some people. For example, when I was working in downtown Houston and was going to lunch, a man was walking behind me that I’m pretty sure had schizophrenia. He was screaming at me and followed me for several blocks. He finally left me alone when I went into the restaurant. In that moment, I was afraid for my safety or what his illness would cause him to do. Thankfully everything worked out in the end, but I will never forget how scared I was walking down the street. Needless to say, I never went anywhere alone after that. Describe the feelings a person may experience when witnessing a behavior that deviates from the norm. One example that comes to mind is when a “goth” comes into a place of business. Most often they are met with fear and apprehension. They aren’t doing anything abnormal or illegal, but they are treated differently because their dress choice deviates from societal norms. I have also seen where the same person is dressed according to what is socially acceptable and treated completely differently. Ironically, it is normal to perceive abnormal behavior as atypical, uncomfortable, or strange. However, the labels that we use to describe abnormal behavior could contribute to its stigma. In your own words, describe how abnormalities in the mind are not really different from other physical or biological abnormalities. Abnormal behavior is not something that a person can control, much is the same for physical illness. A person cannot control if they are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at birth. The stigma that I have noticed quite often in modern society is the mental illness can be “shut off” by 1
person, but that simply is not the case. When a person is diagnosed with a mental illness, it can have adverse effects on their physical state. The same can be said for a diagnosis of a physical illness, such illness can have adverse mental effects on the patient. 2
PSY 215 Module One Milestone
Course: Abnormal Psychology (Psy-215)
University: Southern New Hampshire University
