Defining abnormality Flashcards
Define statistical deviation?
Occurs when an individual has a less common characteristic, e.g. be more depressed or less intelligent than most of the population,
Define deviation from social norms?
Concerns behaviour that is different from the accepted standards of behaviour in a community society
What is meant by statistical deviation?
Refers to the number of times we observe it - According to statistical deviation any relatively unusual behaviour or characteristic could be thought of as normal and any behaviour that is different to it is abnormal.
What is an example of statistical deviation?
IQ (it’s easy to use statistical approach when dealing with things that can be reliably measured such as intelligence). The average IQ is 100 and most people are in the region of 85-115 and those individuals below 70 are very unusual or abnormal and will likely receive a diagnosis of a psychological disorder ( intellectual disability order)
What is meant by deviation from social norms?
Most of us notice people whose behaviour deviates from social norms. Groups of people choose to define behaviour as abnormal based on their idea of what Is acceptable or the norm
How may social norms differ?
They may be different for every generation or in every culture so there are very few behaviours that would be considered universally abnormal on the basis of social norms e.g. homosexuality continues to be viewed as abnormal in some cultures and was considered abnormal in our society in the past
Why is antisocial personality disorder considered abnormal according to social norms?
They are impulsive, aggressive and irresponsible and according to the DSM -5 one of the important symptoms is an absence of morals so social internal standards associated with failure to conform to lawful or country normative ethical behaviour are apparent.
Why is a psychopath abnormal?
A psychopath is abnormal because they don’t conform to our moral standards - psychopathic behaviour would be considered abnormal in a very wide range of cultures.
Why is real life application a strength of statistical deviation?
It had an application in the diagnosis of intellectual disability disorder. All assessment of patients with mental disorders include measurement of how severe the symptoms are compared to social norms so it is a useful part of clinical assessment
What is a key weakness of statistical deviation?
Unusual characteristics can be positive - IQ scores over 130 are just as abnormal as those under 70 but we wouldn’t view super intelligence as a condition that needs treatment. Just because few people display certain behaviours is doesn’t mean it requires treatment to return to normal - for this reason SD would never be used alone to make a diagnosis
What is another problem with statistical deviation?
Not everyone benefits from a label - if someone is living a happy and fulfilled life there is no benefit in labelling them abnormal. They may not necessarily need a diagnosis and calling them abnormal may affect the way others view them and the way they view their selves.
What is a strength of deviation from social norms?
It has a real life application in the diagnosis of personality disorder so there is a place for deviation from social norms and what is normal/abnormal
Why can’t deviation from social norms ever be the sole way of defining abnormality?
There are other factors to consider e.g. the distress to other people resulting from personality disorder
Why is cultural relativism a weakness of deviation from social norms?
Social norms vary massively from one generation to the next and from one community to another so what one cultural groups view of abnormal is based on their standards rather than the standards of the person behaving in that way - this creates problems for people from one culture living within another culture group
How can deviation from social norms lead to human rights abuses?
Most psychologists suggest that some of our modern day categories of a mental disorder are really abuses of people’s right to be different. e.g. nymphomania
In what way is social norms more useful than statistical deviation?
It includes the issue of desirability of behaviour whereas statistical doesn’t take this into account e.g. genius is statistically abnormal but we wouldn’t want to include it in our definition of abnormal.
What is failure to function adequately?
A person may cross the line between normal and abnormal and they fail to function adequately. We may say that someone is not functioning adequately when they aren’t able to maintain basic standards of nutrition and hygiene.
What signs did Han and Seligmann (1989) propose that could be used to determine when someone is not coping?
When a person doesn’t conform to standard personal rules
When a person experiences severe personal distress
When a persons behaviour becomes irrational or dangerous to themselves and others
What is deviation from ideal mental health?
A different way to look at normality and abnormality is to ignore the issue of what makes someone abnormal and instead think about what makes them normal - aka we consider deviation from ideal mental health
What does ideal mental health look like according to Jahoda (1958)?
We have no symptoms of distress
We are rational and can perceive ourselves accurately
We self actualise
We can cope with stress
We have a realistic view of the world
We have good self-esteem and lack guilt
We are independent of other people
We can successfully work, love and enjoy our leisure
(Inevitably there is some overlap with failure to function adequately)
What has changed over time regarding paraphilia’s?
Psychologists have become less inclined to classify people as normal on the basis of one definition e.g. used to define paraphilias due to basis it was the deviation from social norms so when homosexuality was less accepted it was classified as a paraphilia and this would not happen now
Why would this not happen now?
In the DMS -5 system paraphilia is only classified as a mental disorder if they involve harm or distress to the person themselves or others, so exhibitionism, paedophilia are still considered abnormal
Why is the patients perspective a strength of failure to function adequately?
It does not attempt to include the subjective experience of the individual but it captures the experience of many who need help making it a useful criterion for abnormality
What is it difficult to assess in failure to function?
Distress
Is failure to function the same as deviation?
It can be hard to see the difference e.g. not having a job may be seen as a sign of failing to function adequately but this isn’t the case for people with alternative lifestyles
Why are subjective judgements a problem for failure to function?
To assess this someone has to gauge whether a patient is distressed or distressing - some patients may be under stress but not seen as suffering - however there are methods for making these judgements as objective as possible.
What is a key strength of deviation from ideal mental health?
It is very comprehensive so covers a broad range of criteria for mental health
Why is cultural relativism a weakness of deviation from ideal mental health?
Some of the ideas in Johoda’s classification of ideal mental health are specific to Western European and north American cultures so couldn’t be generalised to other places e.g. the emphasis on personal achievement
In what way does Jahoda’s criteria set an unrealistically high standard for mental health?
Few of us attain his criteria and none of us achieve all of them at the same time however it does make it clear to people in which areas they would benefit seeking treatment from
What is the final weakness to deviation from ideal mental health?
Judging someone’s feelings and resultantly giving them a label may add to their problems e.g. its very normal to get depressed after the loss of a job etc and the person may benefit from seeking psychological help but labels may then be attached.
