definition of abnormality cont

Question 1

failure to function adequately definition

Answer 1

occurs when someone is able to cope with ordinary demands of day to day living

Question 2

what signs did rosenhan and seligman 1989 propose to tell someone is coping

Answer 2

• when a person no longer conforms to standard interpersonal rules ie maintaining eye contact
• when a person experiences serve personal distress
• when a person behaviour comes irrational or dangerous to themselves

Question 3

example of failure to function adequately

Answer 3

intellectual disability disorder , a criteria for diagnosis was having a very low iq (a statistical infrequency ) however a diagnosis would not be made on this basis alone , an indvidual must be failing to function adequately aswell

Question 4

f2f
patients perspective

Answer 4

a strength
attempts to include the subjective experience of the individual
may not be entirely satisfactory as an approach bc it is difficult to assess distress
captures experience off patient
useful criteria for assessing abnormality

Question 5

f2f
is it deviation from social norms

Answer 5

a limitation
in practice hard to distinguish if its failure to function adequately or just deviation form social norms
those who practice time extreme sports could be labelled as maladaptive , while those with religious or supernatural beliefs could be labelled as irrational
if we treat these as failure to function adequately we risk limiting personal freedom and discriminating against minority groups

Question 6

f2f
subjective judgements

Answer 6

a limitation
when deciding if someone is failing to function adequately someone has to judge wether the patient is distressed or distressing
some patients may be distressed but be judged as not suffering
checklists for this ie global assessment of functioning scale
however the principle remains someone ie a pyschartrist has the right to make this judgement

Question 7

deviation from ideal mental health definition

Answer 7

occurs when someone does not meet a set of criteria for good mental health

Question 8

jahoda 1958 suggested we are in good mental health if we meet the following criteria

Answer 8

no symptoms of distress
rational and self actualise
cope with stress
realistic view of the world
good self esteem and lack of guilt
independent of other people
successfully work love and enjoy leisure

Question 9

what does jahodas criteria overlap with

Answer 9

deviation from ideal mental health and failure to function adequately

Question 10

dfmh
comprehensive defintion

Answer 10

a strength
very comprehensive , covering a broad range of criteria for mental health
covers some of the reasons omen would seek help from mh services or be referred to help
sheer range of factors discussed by jahoda makes it a good tool to think about mental health

Question 11

dfmh
cultural relativism

Answer 11

a limtiation
some of the ideas in jahodas mental health are specific to western European and North American cultures
ie emphasis on personal achievement in the concept of self actualisation would be considered self indulgent in many parts of the world as the emphasis is on the individual rather the family etc
similarly much of the world would see independence from other people a bad thing. such traits typical of an individualistic culture

Question 12

dfmh
unrealistic

Answer 12

a limitation
very few people are able to attain all jahodas criteria for mh and nor is it possible to achieve them all at once
therefore this approach would label majority of the population as abnormal
POSITIVE makes it clear to people the ways in which they could benefit from seeking treatment ie counselling to improve their mental health
NEGATIVE deviation from ideal mental health is probably of no value in thinking about who might benefit from treatment against their will