IB Psychology/Options/Abnormal psychology


Abnormal psychology focuses on the diagnosis, analysis, and treatment of various diseases relating to psychological disorders. This option concentrates on three main groups of disorders: anxiety, affective, and eating. Furthermore, there are three main groups for the therapeutic approaches to treating disorders: therapies, individual psychological therapies, and group psychological therapies. There are 4 overarching headings in developmental psychology, which together contain 12 learning outcomes.

Abnormal Psychology edit

General Frameworks
GF1: To what extent do biological, cognitive and sociocultural factors influence abnormal behaviour?
GF2: Evaluate psychological research (that is, theories and/or studies) relevant to the study of abnormal behaviour.
Concepts and Diagnosis
CD1: Examine the concepts of normality and abnormality.
CD2: Discuss validity and reliability of diagnosis.
CD3: Discuss cultural and ethical considerations in diagnosis.
Psychological Disorders
PD1: Describe symptoms and prevalence of one disorder from two of the following groups: – anxiety disorders – affective disorders – eating disorders.
PD2: Analyse etiologies (in terms of biological, cognitive and/or sociocultural factors) of one disorder from two of the following groups: – anxiety disorders – affective disorders – eating disorders.
PD3: Discuss cultural and gender variations in prevalence of disorders.
Implementing Treatment
IT1: Examine biomedical, individual and group approaches to treatment.
IT2: Evaluate the use of biomedical, individual and group approaches to the treatment of one disorder.
IT3: Discuss the use of eclectic approaches to treatment.
IT4: Discuss the relationship between etiology and therapeutic approach in relation to one disorder.