Definitions of abnormality (1) Flashcards
define statistical infrequency
occurs when an individual has a less common characteristic , for example being 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 or society
example of statistical infrequency - intellectual disability disorder
the average IQ is set at 100 - which is the normal distribution
in normal distribution, most people (68%) have a score - in this case IQ in the range from 85 to 115
only 2% have a score below 70 - these individuals scoring below 70 are very unusual/ abnormal - they are liable to receive a diagnosis of intellectual disability disorder
what is normal distribution?
the statistical approach comes in when we are dealing with characteristics that can be reliably measured
we know that the the majority of peoples scores will cluster around the average
Norms specific to the culture we live in
due to there being different social norms for different cultures and generations, there are few behaviours considered universally abnormal - breaching social norms
- example: homosexuality was considered abnormal in our culture / illegal in some cultures
deviation from social norms - example:
a person with an antisocial personality disorder (psychopathy) = impulsive, aggressive and irresponsible
according to the DSM-5 an important symptom of antisocial personality disorder is an ‘absence of prosocial internal standards associated with failure to conform lawful and culturally normative ethical behaviour’
- we are making social judgement that psychopaths are abnormal because they do not conform to our moral standards - this behaviour would be considered abnormal in many cultures
Strength of statistical infrequency
A strength of statistical infrequency is its usefulness
SI is used in clinical practice - both as a form of diagnosis and to assess the severity of an individual’s symptoms
e.g. diagnosis of intellectual disability disorder requires and IQ below 70
e.g. example of statistical infrequency used in an assessment tool is the Beck depression inventory - score of 30+ is widely interpreted as indicating severe depression
this shows that the value of the SI criterion is useful in diagnostic and assessment process
Limitation of statistical infrequency
a limitation of SI is that infrequent characteristics can be positive as well as negative.
For every person with an IQ below 70, there is another above 130, but we would not think someone is abnormal for having aa high IQ
similar - we do not think as someone who scores very low of the depression BDI score is abnormal
these examples show that being unusual or at one end of a psychological spectrum does not necessarily make someone abnormal
therefore, this means that although statistical infrequency can form part of assessment and diagnostic procedures, it is never sufficient as the sole basis for defining abnormality
evaluation extra - unusual people benefit from being classed as normal?
For example, someone who has a very low IQ and diagnosed with intellectual disability can access support services
someone with very high BDI can benefit from therapy
BUT not all statistically unusual people benefit from labels, someone with a low IQ who can cope in their chosen lifestyle would not benefit form a label
- there is a social stigma attached to such labels
Strength of deviation from social norms
a strength of deviation from social norms it its usefulness
Deviation from social norms is used in clinical practice.
For example, the key defining characteristic of antisocial personality disorder is the failure to conform to culturally acceptable ethical behaviour (recklessness, aggression, violating rights of others)
these signs of the disorder are all deviations from social norms
such norms also play a part in the diagnosis of schizotypal personality disorder - the term ‘strange’ is used to characterise the thinking, behaviour and appearance of people with the disorder
this shows that the deviation from social norms criterion has value in psychiatry
Limitation of deviation from social norms
A limitation of deviation from social norms is variability between social norms in different cultures and different situations
A person from one cultural group labels someone from another group as abnormal - using their standards rather than the person’s standards
E.g. experience of hearing voices is the norm in some cultures but would be seen as abnormal in most parts of UK
Aggressive behaviour in the context of family life is more socially unacceptable that in context of corporate deal-making
This means that it is difficult to judge deviation from social norms across different situations and cultures
