5.2 Phobias

Question 1

Define failure to function adequately

Answer 1

Occurs when a person struggles to cope with daily tasks

Question 2

Define deviation from ideal mental health

Answer 2

Occurs when a person doesn’t meet the criteria for good mental health

Question 3

Evaluate patients perspective of failure to function adequately

Answer 3

Strength:

• Includes the subjective experience of the patient, so acts as useful criteria for assessing abnormality

Question 4

Evaluate ‘Is it simply deviation from social norms?’ of failure to function adequately.

Answer 4

Weakness
• Can lead to limiting personal freedom and discriminating against minority groups
• E.g. adrenaline junkies or spiritualists (speak to dead)

Question 5

Evaluate subjective judgments of failure to function adequately

Answer 5

Weakness

• Someone has to make the assessment - may be subjective

Question 6

Evaluate comprehensive definition of deviation from ideal mental health

Answer 6

Strength

• Covers a broad criteria for mental health, so good tool for thinking about mental health

Question 7

Evaluate cultural relativism of deviation from ideal mental health

Answer 7

Weakness
• Jahoda’s criteria focused on western individualist culture.
e.g. self-actualisation considered selfish in eastern world due to higher focus on individual than community

Question 8

Evaluate unrealistic mental health standards of ideal mental health

Answer 8

Weakness

• Very few will actually attain all of Jahoda’s criteria for extended periods of time - we are all abnormal?

Question 9

Evaluate labelling of failure to function adequately

Answer 9

Weakness

When we judge someone as failing to cope we may end up giving them a label that only add to their problems