Abnormality Flashcards
What is deviation from social norms?
Abnormal behaviour is that which goes against or contravenes unwritten rules or expectations in a given society or culture.
What are the limitations of deviation from social norms?
- In some instances, it can be beneficial to break social norms, e.g., the suffragettes who broke many social norms for women’s rights.
- Social norms of a society change over time, e.g., homosexuality was classed as a mental illness in the International Classification of Diseases until 1990.
- Deviation from social norms doesn’t always have mental health consequences; they could just be eccentric, not abnormal.
What is failure to function adequately?
Abnormal behaviour is that which causes personal distress or an inability to cope with everyday life.
How many features does failure to function adequately have?
7
Who suggested failure to function adequately has 7 features?
Rosenhan and Seligman (1989)
What are the features of failure to function adequately?
- Personal distress
- Maladaptive behaviours (behaviour stopping individuals from attaining life goals)
- Unpredictability
- Irrationality
- Observer discomfort
- Violation of moral standards
- Unconventionality
What are the strengths of failure to function adequately?
+ Can apply to other cultures (unlike social norms).
+ It includes the subjective experience of the patient, acknowledging that the patient’s feelings are important and need to be considered.
What are the limitations of failure to function adequately?
- Abnormality does not always come accompanied with failure to function, e.g., serial killers can function normally, e.g., Harold Shipman murdered 215 patients over 23 years yet he led a normal life.
- It is normal to suffer from personal distress, e.g., when grieving.
- Behaviour could cause distress to other people and be regarded as abnormal when the party involved themselves feel no discomfort or distress, e.g., Stephen Bough who has been imprisoned for breaching peace as he hiked naked.
What is deviation from ideal mental health?
Behaviour is abnormal if it fails to meet prescribed criteria for psychological normality.
Who devised the concept of ideal mental health?
Jahoda (1958)
How many characteristics did Jahoda devise?
6
What are Jahoda’s criteria for ideal mental health?
- Positive Attitude Towards Oneself
- Self-Actualisation
- Autonomy
- Resisting Stress
- Accurate Perception of Reality
- Environmental Mastery
What are the strengths of deviation from ideal mental health?
- A positive holistic approach to diagnosis.
- A comprehensive criteria for mental health based on similar models for physical health.
What are the limitations of deviation from ideal mental health?
- Over-demanding criteria; most people don’t meet all 6 (self-actualisation).
- Many are subjective, vague, and difficult to measure.
- Culturally relative criteria, introducing cultural bias; could be different in areas with collectivist cultures compared to individualistic cultures.
What is statistical infrequency?
Abnormality is defined as those behaviours that are statistically rare.
What are the limitations of statistical infrequency?
- Fails to account for behaviour that is rare but desirable, such as an IQ above the average.
- Some abnormal disorders aren’t rare, such as depression.
- Many rare behaviours or characteristics have no relation to abnormality, such as left-handedness.
What are the four definitions of abnormality?
- Deviation from social norms
- Failure to function adequately
- Deviation from ideal mental health
- Statistical infrequency
