The psychology community like various other discourse communities is a very broad community consisting of a multitude of different fields, for instance clinical psychology, social psychology, developmental psychology, and in this case we will be discussing the field of abnormal psychology. This particular field in psychology focuses on the study of abnormal behaviors and thoughts in order to identify specific triggers for abnormal behaviors to further create treatments to erect behavior deemed abnormal. Nevertheless, within each distinct branch of psychology there are specific genres that advance the communities aim and also allows for members of the community to interact and critique on another, a criteria that is imperative to a discourse community (Swales, 1990, p.26). In the field of abnormal psychology there are a variety of different genres that take shape in a myriad of different forms, however in this case I will be utilizing the psychological journal a form of genre that serves to assert the psychology community as a science based community such as that of biology and chemistry. which I have consequently become an expert in due to my time majoring in the field of psychology and studying the various branches of psychology and its genres.

Moreover I will be analyzing Robert W. White’s “Review of The psychodynamics of Abnormal Behavior” the genre I have chosen for the abnormal psychology field. Noting the compelling nature of this genre, it is safe to say that the journal serves as a critique from Robert W. White on J. F. Browns book “The Psychodynamics of Abnormal Behavior” a book that takes a psychoanalytic standing on abnormal behaviors. The journal nonetheless, identifies the weaknesses and lack of concrete evidence in Browns book, as White (1941) states it exemplifies “a minimum of description and almost no case material” (p.442). Nevertheless, this form of a journal that critiques a fellow member’s work is widely seen in various social science fields such as psychology under the conditions that one is simply critiquing and requesting or suggesting the use of further evidence, knowledge, and accuracy of a subject. It also serves as a form of peer review that allows weaknesses and strengths to be identified to inform the members of the community of the elements of a work and ultimately whether the work as a whole was effective and strong or overwhelmingly lacked material.

             Furthermore, White in his journal touches on five different subjects in Browns work, and nonetheless critiques them. The first being browns exposition of the organismic viewpoint of abnormal behavior were he states that “Every sample of human behavior, normal or abnormal, presents both a physiological or organic medical and a psychological or psychiatric problem,” (Brown 440) followed by a section on symptomatology that White (1941) states is browns weakest section of the book due to brown utilizing a no longer used method of executing this section of his book and useless knowledge that does not properly serve students (p.140), the third section then presents Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of personality that White (1941) states is not up to date and lacks an effective arrangement of material ( p.141), White then continues by discussing the fourth section in Browns book that illustrates the genotypic variations between the main disease categories he lists that White (1941) states is the best part of the book as he provides diagrams and a table to explain (p.442), ultimately, White (1941) wraps it up by critiquing the final section in Browns Book that pertains to the psychodynamic theory and how it needs to be taken and developed in order to achieve “ greater completeness” (p.442).

Nevertheless, the features of this genre are very precise however does not adhere to The American Psychological Association Formatting and Styling Guide for a review, that follows the title, introduction section followed by the review, and ultimately the reference list. This is due to the time in which the review was written that was far before the time of the styling guide. Nevertheless the format comprises of the cited reference to the book White is reviewing followed by the introduction section and then the review and completed with Whites full name. That is the opposite of the APA review format. Nonetheless this is best described by Dirk as she states that “True, genres often have formulaic features, but these features can change even as the nature of the genre remains” meaning that the genre and format is set however they can change without changing the set formatting requirement (Dirk, 2010, p. 253). Moving forward, the structure is based on presenting the specific section that is going to be reviewed followed by a statement of whether the particular section was strong or weak, followed by an in-depth critique on why this is.

Ultimately, we get to the specific lexis within the journal that strictly adheres to the communities lexis and terms for certain theories and phenomena. As seen with the terms Freudian theory, symptomatology, somatogenic theory, psychoanalysis, organismic…etc. However, to identify a few terms in the journal the term Symptomatology refers to a set of symptoms that is a characteristics that a patient may be displaying or that of a medical condition. On the other hand Somatogenic theory is the theory that state that abnormal behaviors derive from biological disorders or disease. Furthermore, the journal mentions psychoanalysis, a very prominent form of therapy in a multitude of psychology fields with an emphasis in the majority of behavioral fields because it is a form of talk therapy utilized to identify patterns and key events in a patients life that can be the source of a behavior deemed abnormal. The lexis as well as the structure also serves to state that the psychology community is a valid and scientifically based document utilized for expert discourse communication in the field.

 

With the specific lexis, format, and subject matter it is clear that this genre is for and is owned by the abnormal psychology community. It is meant to be a critique and discussion on a piece of work from a fellow member; however, it is ultimately meant to make the statement that psychology is a scientific field based on scientific methods and research. It is a means of written discourse between community members and novices of the community. It is a guide for future task similar to Browns were White provides pointers on what could be done to make the work stronger and more composed and structures opposed to Browns work that although had its strengths lacked in various other areas.

When writing in this particular genre, writers must assume the role of the expert and display their knowledge effectively with examples and comprehensive reasoning and logic. They must construct a strong sequence order for presenting the material efficiently. However they must never assume the role of a novice and present the material in a lacking manner, all material must be presented as matter of fact not as a suggestion or assumption without evidence and studies. A mistake a novice might commit but that an expert should never as it can be detrimental to one’s ethos and position within the psychology community.

Ultimately, this genre serves the interest of those in the abnormal psychology community as they seek to advance their knowledge and aim to better understand abnormal behaviors and their causes in order to create better treatments. It also reinforces their ideology that there are various factors that play into abnormal behaviors and that they can be treated through therapies, medicine, or both; an ideology that continuously manifests itself in both White and Brown’s work that unveils their particular approaches to abnormal behavior. Nevertheless, the purpose of this genre serves to make the statement that psychology, like any other science is indeed a science to be taken with full seriousness just as biology and chemistry is taken with such esteem and respect. A statement that is clearly depicted throughout the entirety of the critique. This statement moreover can be clearly seen in the formality and eloquence of the language, structure that works to establish that mental illnesses and behavioral abnormalities exist and are due to various factors, and  in the expert terminology and comprehension of Brown’s work.

Works Cited 

Brown J.F. “The Psychodynamics of Abnormal Behavior.” New York and London: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1940

Dirk, Kerry. “Navigating Genres.” Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing. Eds. Charles Lowe and Pavel Zemliansky. Parlor Press, 2010. 249-262. Web. http://writingspaces.org/essays.

Swales, John. “The Concept of Discourse Community.” Genre Analysis: English in Academic and Research Settings.  Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1990.

White, R. W. (1941). Review of The Psychodynamics of Abnormal Behavior. The Journal Of Abnormal And Social Psychology, 36(3), 439-442. doi:10.1037/h0052488