4.1.4 - Definitions Of Abnormality

Question 1

What are the 4 definitions of abnormality

Answer 1

• statistical infrequency
• deviation from social norms
• failure to function adequately
• deviation from ideal mental health

Question 2

What is statistical infrequency

Answer 2

• statistically RARE behaviour should be seen as abnormal
• ‘statistically rare’ depends on normal distribution
• the two extremities ( low/ high)

Question 3

What is deviation from social norms

Answer 3

• society has unwritten rules
• variation from these norms is considered abnormal
• there is a distinction between desirable and undesirable behaviour, so those demonstrating undesirable social deviants are “abnormal”
• it interferes with their everyday life

Question 4

What is failure to function adequately

Answer 4

• when individuals cannot COPE with everyday life ( basic hygiene, eating, getting up every morning)
• causes stress and inability to function properly which can disrupt their everyday life ( relationships, work etc)

Question 5

What are features of someone failing to function adequately

Answer 5

• unpredictability
• personal distress
• irrationality
• maladaptive behaviour
• observer discomfort
• violation of moral standards

Question 6

What is deviation from ideal mental health

Answer 6

• similar to a physical diagnosis as looks for absence of wellbeing
• Jahoda(1958) researched behaviours that should be looked for that indicate ‘normality’

Question 7

What are the 6 characteristics that jahoda listed

Answer 7

Self actualisation for ones potential
Personal autonomy (independence)
Positive attitudes towards self
Environmental mastery
Accurate perceprion of reality
Resistance to stress

Question 8

Limitation of statistical infrequency

Answer 8

Imply that abnormalities are undesirable characteristics
- there are positive abnormalities that are falsely presented as negative (high IQ)
- statistical infrequency cannot be used alone to make diagnosis’

Question 9

Strength of statistical infrequency

Answer 9

Has real life application in diagnosis of intellectual disability disorders
- almost all assessment of mental disorders involves some kind of measurement of the severity of their symptoms
- severity is compared to the ‘normal statistics’
- so is therefore useful for some clinical diagnosis’

Question 10

Strength of deviation from ideal mental health

Answer 10

• the idea is very comprehensive and covers a broad range of criteria for mental health
• it covers almost all reasons that someone would seek help or be referred to help
• it can therefore be used in multiple situations and so is generalisable to many people in many different circumstances

Question 11

Limitation of ideal mental health

Answer 11

• sets unrealistically high standards for mental health
• it is extremely difficult to achieve all goals at the same time and also maintain them
• so in theory all humans would be classified as abnormal in some way
• this is a limitation as it makes normality almost impossible

Question 12

Limitation of deviation of social norms

Answer 12

• social norms change over time and at different rates in different countries
• actions that were considered normal in the past are no longer considered as normal now (vice versa) eg: homosexuality is normalised in todays society
• lacks temporal validity
• social norms across countries vary so abnormality is treated differently between cultures
• eg: hearing voices in some religions is holy however in other cultures it is seen as abnormal (schizophrenia)
• therefore its culturally bound

Question 13

Strength of deviation from social norms

Answer 13

• has real life application
• the diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder uses deviation from social norms to base the diagnosis
• means that it is very useful in the identification process as it is often easy to identify
• therefore has ecological validity

Question 14

Strength of failure to function adequately

Answer 14

• the subjective experiences of the individual are included
• so acknowledges that the experience of the patient is important so can use specific understanding of the patient to identify their abnormalities

Question 15

Limitation of deviation from social norms ( subjective)

Answer 15

• subjective decisions must be made
• the psychologist must make a judgement whether the patient is distressed or distressing
• some patients may claim to be distressed but are not actually suffering
• this judgement it’s critical when making diagnosis’ however risks being incorrect