Definitions of Abnormailty Flashcards

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1
Q

How can abnormality be defined?

A
  • Deviation from Social Norms (DSN)
  • Failure to Function Adequately (FFA)
  • Statistical Infrequency (SI)
  • Deviation from Ideal Mental Health (DIMH)
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2
Q

Define DSN as a definition of abnormality

A

• Defines abnormality that deviates the unwritten rules and norms in a given society or community.

  • In any society there are social norms - standards of acceptable behaviour that are set by the social group i.e. walking 🚶🏻 down street naked 🍑.
  • Sometimes these are unwritten but they are generally accepted, therefore anything that goes against these norms would be considered abnormal.

• Definition concerned with behaviour that is antisocial or undersirable.

  • E.g. Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD) - person with APD is impulisve, aggressive and irresonsible.
  • According to Diagnostic & Statistical Manual 5 (manual used by psychiatrists to diagnose mental health disorder), an important symptom of APD is that people with APD are abnormal - don’t conform to our moral standards.
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3
Q

What are the Evaluation points of the DSN definition?

A

1) Supports general ideas of abnormality ✅
2) Social norms change over time ⛔️
3) Cultural relativity ⛔️

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4
Q

Outline 1) Supports general ideas of abnormailty ✅ (DSN)

A

Point:
Strength of DSN definition is that it has face 👩🏻 validity - supports general views that most people have of what abnormality is.

Explain:
Most individuals diagnosed with having mental disorder show behaviours that deviate from social norms.

Example:
E.g. social phobics have great fear of social situations and so avoid social situations - goes against general norms of our society.

Elaborate:
People with major depressive disorder gain little 👌🏼 enjoyment from most activities and often become disengaged from many aspects of everyday life - may ‘cut ⚔️ themselves off’ from seeing other people in which again supports the fact that its DSN.

Re-cap:
Supports general view of what abnormailty is means that its easier for individuals to apply the criteria.

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5
Q

Outline 2) Social norms change over time ⛔️ (DSN)

A

Point:
Difficulty with DSN definition is that norms defined by society are not constant but often relate to moral standards that vary over time 🕓 as social attitudes change.

Explain:
Suggests that this approach to defining abnormaity is era-dependent - behaviours that are considered abnormal now, may not be considered abnormal in the future.

Example:
Homosexuality 🏳️‍🌈 was once considered abnormal behaviour because it broke social norms of the day.

Elaborate:
Attitudes have changed and homosexuality 🏳️‍🌈 is no longer considered as abnormal behaviour - it was removed from DSM5 as a mental disorder in 1️⃣9️⃣7️⃣0️⃣.

Re-cap:
Suggests that caution needs to be taken when using DSN as way of defining abnormal behaviour because social norms change over time 🕓, therefore it challenges validity of this definition.

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6
Q

Outline 3) Cultural relativity ⛔️ (DSN)

A

Point:
limitation of DSN definition is cultural 👳🏼‍♀️👱🏽👱🏿‍♀️validity. Social norms vary tremendously from 1 community to another.

Explain:
Means that a person 🕴🏼 from 1 cultural group may label someone from another culture as behaving abnormally according to their standards of the person behaving that way.

Example:
Hearing 👂🏼 voices 🗣 is socially acceptable in some cultures but would be seen as sign of mental abnormality in UK 🇬🇧 .

Elaborate:
This creates problem for people from 1 culture living within another cultural group.

Re-cap:
Suggests that caution must be taken when defining an individual from a non-dominant culture using DSN definition.

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7
Q

Define FFA as a definition of abnormality

A

• FFA definition sees individuals as abnormal when their behaviour suggests that they cannot cope with the demands of everyday life.

  • Behaviour considered abnormal when causes distress 🤦🏼‍♂️ leading to an inability to function properly i.e. disrupting ability to work 💼 / conduct satisfying relationships 💔.
  • such people often characterised by not being able to experience usual range of emotions/behaviours.
  • Key issue is that abnormal behaviour interferes with day-to-day living.

• Common example would be severe depression 🙇🏻‍♀️, which can lead to lack of interest - meaning that depressed person may fail to get up in morning and hold down a job.

  • FFA definition focuses on individual suffering, thus drawing attention to personal experiences associated with mental disorders.
  • Rosenhan & Seligman suggested characteristics of abnormal behaviour - relates to definition including irrational behaviour and observer discomfort.
  • Clinicians use GLOBAL ASSESSMENT of FUNCTIONING scale (GAF) to assess how well individuals cope with everyday life. GAF rates their level of social, occupational and psychological functioning.
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8
Q

What are the characteristics of abnormal behaviour that Rosenhan & Seligman suggested?

A

> Suffering - patient may suffer as result of their condition (e.g. depression 🙇🏻) or may inflict suffering on others.

> Maladaptiveness - behaviour prevents person reaching desired goal.

> Irrational - Behaviour seems to defy logical sense.

> Observer discomfort - behaviour makes those around feel uncomfortable e.g. swearing 🔣.

> Vividness - others find behaviour odd e.g. tattoos all over body.

> Violation of moral codes - Not behaving in accordance with society’s norms e.g. public nudity 🍑.

> Unpredictability - behaviour unexpected / unpredictable.

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9
Q

What are the Evaluation points of the FFA definition?

A

1) Real life application ✅
2) Subjective judgement - who decides what is adequate ⛔️
3) Abnormality is not always associated with FFA ⛔️

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10
Q

Outline 1) Real life application ✅ (FFA)

A

Point:
Strength of FFA seems to apply the diagnosis of many disorders and an important criteria with respect to many mental disorders.

Example:
when looking at depression 🙇🏻‍♀️ and anxiety 😖, millions of people experience severe depression/anxiety some of the time 🕓.

Explain:
However key difference between those diagnosed with depression/anxiety as a mental disorder and the rest of population, is that those who are diagnosed, find their depression/anxiety is seriously interfering with their everyday lives, e.g. holding down a job 💼/relationship💔.

Re-cap:
This suggests that FFA definition seems to apply to people’s common sense view of what abnormality is and is therefore a useful criterion for assessing abnormality.

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11
Q

Outline 2) Subjective judgement - who decides what is adequate ⛔️(FFA)

A

Point:
Limitation of FFA definition is that in order to determine FFA, someone needs to decide what is ‘adequate’.

Explain:
Some individuals may be quite content with the situation and might be unaware that they are not coping. - It is other who are uncomfortable and judge the behaviour is abnormal.

Example:
If you take Rosenhan & Seligman’s criteria of observer discomfort, many people with schizophrenia feel they can function adequately and don’t feel as if they have a problem.

Elaborate:
However, if they demonstrate erratic behaviour this might be uncomfortable and distressing for people around them who may think that the individual is FFA.

Re-cap:
Suggests that FFA definition is subjective because it’s influenced by people’s own personal feelings of what is abnormal.

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12
Q

Outline 3) Abnormality 👽 is not always associated with FFA ⛔️ (FFA)

A

Point:
Limitation of FFA definition of abnormality is that many individuals with mental health issues can appear to lead perfectly normal lives most of the time.

Example:
E.g. Harold Shipman was a doctor 👨🏼‍⚕️ who was responsible for death 💀 of over 2️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ of his patients over 2️⃣3️⃣ year period.

Explain:
In spite of his appalling crimes 💉, Shipman functioned adequately and was seen to be respectable 👍🏼 doctor 👨🏼‍⚕️ .

Elaborate:
He was clearly abnormal, but did not display features of dysfunction and was able to escape detection for many years.

Re-cap:
Suggests that using FFA as single way of defining abnormality is inadequate.

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13
Q

Define SI as a definition of abnormality 👽

A

• Idea behind definition is that abnormal 👽 behaviour is behaviour that is rare (uncommon).

  • Very few people show the behaviour / thinking 💭 , it is described as abnormal.
  • Any behaviour that strays FAR from average would be seen as abnormal 👽, e.g. schizophrenia is suffered by 1 in 100 people - so its statistically infrequent.

• People 🕴🏼who use this definition, measure 📐 specific characteristics and assess how these characteristics are distributed in the general population.

  • 1 way of doing this is by means of a normal distribution curve, which is bell 🔔 shaped and tells us for instance that for a given characteristic most people score around the middle (mean).
  • Any individuals who fall outside the ‘normal distribution’, usually about 5% of the population are perceived as abnormal 👽

So if somebody is demonstrating behaviour at 1 extreme or the other, they would be viewed as abnormal 👽, e.g, very high/very low IQ.

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14
Q

What are the Evaluation points of the SI definition?

A

1) SI definition is objective and sometimes appropriate. ✅
2) Focuses on FREQUENCY of behaviour, NOT its desirability. ⛔️
3) Behaviours that are statistically infrequent in 1 culture may be statistically frequent in another. ⛔️

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15
Q

Outline 1) SI definition is objective and sometimes appropriate ✅ (SI)

A

Point:
Strength of SI definition is that once way of collecting data 📊 about behaviour and a ‘cut off point’ has been agreed, it becomes objective way of deciding who is abnormal 👽 & can then be used in diagnosis of disorders.

Example:
E.g. can be used to define & diagnose somebody suffering from Intellectual Disability Disorder (IDD).

Explain:
People who have an IQ in range from 85-115 are viewed as normal 🙂, only 2% have IQ below 70. Individuals scoring below ⬇️ 70 are rare and therefore labelled as having IDD.

Elaborate:
All assessment of patients with mental disorders includes some kind of measurement of how severe their symptoms are compared to statistical norms (as distinct from social norms).

Re-cap:
Therefore, suggests that the SI definition is useful part of clinical 🔬 assessment.

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16
Q

Outline 2) Focuses on FREQUENCY of behaviour, NOT its desirability. ⛔️ (SI)

A

Point:
Limitation of SI definition is that there are many abnormal 👽behaviours that are actually infrequent but desirable.

Example:
Very low IQ is statistically just as abnormal 👽as very high IQ, but its desirable to have very high IQ; very few people have an IQ over 150, yet we wouldn’t say that having a high IQ is undesirable.

Explain:
Equally, there are some normal 🙂 behaviours that are infrequent but desirable. E.g. experiencing depression 🙇🏻‍♀️ is relatively common, yet its undesirable.

Elaborate:
Therefore using SI to define abnormality means that we are unable to distinguish between desirable and undesirable behaviours.

Re-cap:
In order to identify behaviours that need treatment, there needs to be a means of identifying infrequent and undesirable behaviour.

17
Q

Outline 3) Behaviours that are statistically infrequent in 1 culture may be statistically frequent in another. ⛔️ (SI)

A

Point:
Limitation is that psychological disorders appear to be infrequent in some ethnic groups, but this may simply reflect a reluctance to seek professional 🕵🏻 help, owning to cultural beliefs.

Example:
Depression 🙇🏻‍♀️, a frequently diagnosed disorder in Western 🤠 Culture, appears to be absent in Asian 🎎 cultures.

Explain:
A general explanation for this has been that Asian 🎎 people tend to live within extended families with ready access to social support.

Elaborate:
However, Rack 1982 claims that depression 🙇🏻‍♀️ is equally common among the Asian 🎎population, but they tend to consult the doctor 👨🏼‍⚕️ for physical problems and rarely with ‘emotional distress’ they do not see this as a responsibility of the doctor 👨🏼‍⚕️ instead sort it out within the family 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦.

Re-cap:
Therefore SI merely reflects the statistical likelihood of seeking professional help, rather than an indication of whether a disorder is present or absent in a particular culture.

18
Q

Define DIMH as a definition of abnormality.

A

• Definition starts from what is normal/mentally health and works backwards from that.

Jahoda suggested that NORMAL 🙂 mental health includes:

  • Positive 🤗 attitudes towards the self - having self respect & positive self concept.
  • Self actualisation and personal growth 🌱 - having motivation to achieve or full potential.
  • Being resistant to stress - being able to cope with stressful situations and cope with anxiety.
  • Personal autonomy - being independent 💁🏻, self-reliant, and able to make personal decisions.
  • Accurate perception of reality - perceiving the world in a non-distorted fashion. Having objective and realistic view of the world (psychosis - hallucinations).
  • Environmental mastery - being competent in all aspects of life and able to meet the demands of any situation. Having flexibility to adapt to changing life circumstances.

Abnormality 👽 would therefore be an absence of these criteria’s. Jahoda argued that if a person deviated from 1 or more of her 6 criteria’s they would be VULNERABLE to a psychological disorder.

19
Q

What are the Evaluation points of the DIMH definition?

A

1) Its a positive approach to viewing abnormality ✅

2) Sets an unrealistically high standard for mental health, who CAN achieve these criteria’s? ⛔️

3) Cultural relativism ⛔️

20
Q

Outline 1) Its a positive approach to viewing abnormality ✅ (DIMH)

A

Point:
Strength of DIMH definition is that it offers an alternative view on mental disorders by focusing on positives ➕ rather than negatives ➖ . Also focuses 🔍 on what is desirable rather than what is undesirable.

Explain:
Even though Johoda’s ideas were never taken up by mental health professionals, the ideas have had some influence and are in accord with the positive ➕ movement from the humanistic approach in Psychology.

Elaborate:
Additionally, DIMH definition covers broad range of criteria’s for mental health.

Example:
It in fact probably covers most of reasons someone would seek help from services or be referred for help.

Re-cap:
The sheer range of factors discussed in relation to Johada’s DIMH make it a good tool for thinking about mental health.

21
Q

Outline 2) Sets an unrealistically high standard for mental health, who CAN achieve these criteria’s? ⛔️ (DIMH)

A

Point:
Limitation of DIMH is that according to these criteria’s most of us are abnormal 👽.

Explain:
Jahoda presented them as ideal criteria and they certainly are. Also how many need to be lacking before a person would be judged as abnormal.

Example:
How easy is it to assess capacity for personal growth or environmental mastery.

Re-cap:
Suggests that this approach may be an interesting concept but not really useable when it comes to identifying abnormality.

22
Q

Outline 3) Cultural relativism ⛔️ (DIMH)

A

Point:
Limitation of DIMH is that the characteristics listed by Jahoda are rooted in Western 🤠 societies and a Western 🤠 view of personal growth and achievement.

Explain: :
Self actualisation may be seen as key goal in life within some cultures (e.g. Individualistic 💁🏻Western 🤠 cultures) but not other cultures (collectivist 👯 Non- Western cultures).

Example:
In collectivist 👯 cultures, elders 👵🏼 in family 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 may plan young 👦🏼 persons future e.g. career paths and arranged marriages.

Elaborate:
It may therefore be regarded as abnormal 👽 to go after your own goals if they conflict with those of your own culture.

Re-cap:
Suggests that cultural relativity severely limits validity of DIMH definition when looking at abnormality just from Western 🤠 society point of view. Lacks external validity as you cant generalise the criteria’s across all cultures.