Defining Abnormality Deviation from ideal mental health Flashcards
What are the FOUR definitions of abnormality?
- Statistical infrequency
- Deviation from social norms
- Failure to function adequately
- Deviation from mental state
What is Jahoda’s criteria for deviation of mental health
- Positive attitudes towards the self
- Self-actualisation of one’s potential
- Resistance to stress
- Personal autonomy
- Accurate perception of reality
- Adapting to the environment
What are positive attitudes towards the self?
- Confidence
- Acceptance
Increases positive attitude as having confidence and acceptive
What is an example of lacking positive attitudes towards the self
Less confidence with weight leads to consequence of eating disorder
What is self actualisationPers of one’s potential
Personal growth and self-actualisation to exert to which the individual develops their full capabilities
What is Jahoda’s criteria show?
Criteria for normal behaviour
What is resistance to stress?
Being able to cope with stress and changes everday
What is an example of someone lacking resistance to stress
Anxiety disorders and unable to deal with small amounts of stress
What is personal autonomy?
Able to cope with demands yourself
e.g self-care by washing or getting dressed, get a job - gain independence
Example of someone lacking personal autonomy
Depression/learning disability
What is accurate perception of reality?
Recognition of your identity and where they are - real world
Example of someone not having an accurate perception of reality
Body dysmorphia
OCD- Complusions
What is adapting to the envirnoment
Able to meet varying demands of day to day situations
An example of someone lacking adapting to the environment
Autism - set routine
can’t deal with change
What is the deviation from ideal mental health?
Rather than defining what is abnormal we define what is normal and anything that deviates from this is regarded as abnormal
Requires us to decide on the characteristics we consider necessary for positive mental health
Explain at least 2 of Jahoda’s criteria and give examples of how a person would be defined as abnormal if they did not have those characteristics
- Positive attitudes towards self, varying from eating or undereating: eating disorder
- Accurate perception of environment: Having vivid illusions, schizophrenia - no environmental mastery
Limitation of deviation from ideal mental health
Most people would be classed as abnormal using this criteria
Proves unrealistic criteria as it provides the majority to be abnormal - some point in their lives will be abnormal
Jahoda presented them to be a really ideal criteria
Ask how much to lack for them to be judged as abnormal
It is difficult to measure - this criteria is not useful
Limitation of deviation from ideal mental health
Ideal mental health is based on Western cultures (American)
- Some ideas of Jahoda’s classification of ideal mental health are specific to Western European and North American cultures - not relating to collectivist cultures
- e.g emphasis on personal achievement (self-actualisation) would be consideried self-indugent in much of the world where the focus is a community rather than oneself
- Such traits are typical of individualist cultures and culturally specific
A strength of deviation from ideal mental health
- Thus offers an alternative persepective on mental disorder by focusing on the positive rather than the negative (debate on desirable vs undesirable)
- Jahoda’s would be taken by mental health professionals to influence a positive psychology movements’
Describe and evaulate TWO defintiions of abnormality (16marks)
