definitions of abnormality Flashcards
Statistical infrequency
Individual has a less common characteristic according to statistics
Example of statistical infrequency
IQ - average IQ is set at 100 - only 2% have below 70 - these individuals are unusual or abnormal
Statistical - Real-world application
- Strength
- Used in clinical practice - formal diagnosis and way to access the severity of an individual’s symptoms
- Diagnosis of intellectual disability disorder - requires below 70 IQ
- Statistical infrequency used as assessment tool - Beck depression inventory - score of 30+ seen as severe depression
- Shows value in diagnostic an assessment processes
Statistical - Unusual characteristics can be positive
- Limitation
- Can be positive as well as negative
- People can also have very high IQ - above 130 - do not think of them as abnormal
- Someone with very low BDI score is also abnormal
- Statistical infrequency can form part of assessment and diagnostic procedures - never sufficient as the sole basis for defining abnormality
Statistical - Benefits versus problems
- Some unusual benefit being classed as abnormal
- Very low IQ - diagnosed with intellectual disability can then access support services - similar with high BDI
- Not all statistically unusual benefit from labels - low IQ who can cope with chosen lifestyle - social stigma
Deviation from social norms
When behaviour is different from the accepted standards of behaviour in a community or society
Example of deviation from social norms
Antisocial personality disorder - DSM-5 - one important symptom is absence of prosocial internal standards associated with failure to conform to lawful and culturally normative ethnic behaviour
- We make social judgement as behaviour doesn’t conform to moral standard
Social - Real-world application
- Strength
- Used in clinical practice eg antisocial personality disorder
- Signs of the disorder are all deviations from social norms
- Shows that deviation from social norms criterion has value in psychiatry
Social - Cultural and situational relativism
- Limitation
- Variability between social norms in different cultures and even different situations
- One thing that may be abnormal in one culture is normal in another - experience of hearing voices is the norm in some cultures but sign of abnormality in most parts of the UK
- Aggressive and deceitful behaviour in context of family life is more socially unacceptable than in the context of corporate deal-making
- Difficult to judge deviation from social norms across different situations and cultures
Social - Human rights abuses
- Carries risk of unfair labelling and leaving them open to human rights abuses
- Nymphomania - women’s uncontrollable or excessive sexual desire - control women
- Drapetomania - black slaves running away - control slaves and avoid debate
- However - argued that we need to be able to use deviation from social norms to diagnose conditions such as antisocial personality disorder
Failure to function adequately
When someone is unable to cope with ordinary demands of day-to-day living
When is someone failing to function adequately?
Rosenhan and Seligman
- When someone no longer conforms to standard interpersonal rules, for example maintaining eye contact and respecting personal space
- When a person experiences severe personal distress
- When a person’s behaviour becomes irrational or dangerous to themselves or others
Example of failure to function adequately
Intellectual disability disorder - low IQ and factors meaning they are unable to function adequately
Failure - Represents a threshold for help
- Strength
- Represents a sensible threshold for when people need professional help
- Most of us have mental disorder symptoms but most people press on in the face of fairly severe symptoms
- When we cease to function adequately we seek help
- Criterion means that treatment and services can be targeted to those who need them most
Failure - Discrimination and social control
- Limitation
- Easy to label non-standard living as abnormal
- Hard to say when someone is failing to function eg not having a job?
- Those who favour high-risk leisure activities could be classed as a danger to self
- People who make unusual choices are at risk of being labelled abnormal and their freedom of choice may be restricted
