definitions of abnormality

Question 1

statistical infrequency

Answer 1

abnormality defined as behaviours that are extremely rare

Question 2

deviation from social norms

Answer 2

abnormal behaviour seen as deviation from unstated rules about how one ought to behave

Question 3

deviation from ideal mental health

Answer 3

abnormality defined in terms of mental health, behaviours associated with competence and happiness.
ideal mental health includes positive attitude towards self and resistance to stress

Question 4

failure to function adequately

Answer 4

people judged on ability to go about daily life - inability to do this and express distress then it’s considered abnormal

Question 5

SI evaluation - some abnormal behaviours are desirable

Answer 5

high IQ is desirable and some ‘normal’ behaviours are undesirable like depression - statistical infrequency means we’re unable to distinguish between desirable and undesirable behaviours

Question 6

SI evaluation - cut off point is subjective

Answer 6

need to separate normal from abnormal e.g one symptom of depression is difficulty sleeping - some might think abnormal sleep is less than 6 hours on avg, others might think cut off should be 5 hours - difficult to define abnormality in terms of statistical infrequency

Question 7

DFSN evaluation - deviance is related to context and degree

Answer 7

some behaviour seen as deviant may be acceptable in different context so doesn’t mean abnormality - cannot offer complete definition of abnormality as it’s inevitably related to context and degree

Question 8

FTFA evaluation - behaviour may be functional

Answer 8

some dysfunctional behaviour can be adaptive and functional for individual - EDs or depression may lead to extra attention for individual which is rewarding and so quite functional - failure to distinguish between functional and dysfunctional behaviour means definition is incomplete

Question 9

FTFA evaluation - who judges?

Answer 9

if person is experiencing personal distress, they may recognise behaviour as undesirable and may feel distressed and seek help, on the other hand individual may feel content with situation or unaware they aren’t coping - it is others who judge behaviour as abnormal - judgement depends on who is making the decision - subjective

Question 10

DFIMH evaluation - equates mental and physical health

Answer 10

physical illnesses have physical causes making them relatively easy to diagnose, possible that some mental disorders also have physical causes but many don’t. they’re consequences of life experiences - unlikely that diagnosis of mental abnormality can be done in same way that physical abnormality is diagnosed

Question 11

DFIMH evaluation - unrealistic criteria

Answer 11

jahoda presented them as ideal characteristics but unclear about how many need to be lacking before individual judged as abnormal, criteria is hard to measure - ineffective when identifying abnormality