Definitions of abnormality Flashcards
What are the four definitions of abnormality?
1) Statistical infrequency
2) Deviation from social norms
3) Failure to function adequately
4) Deviation from ideal mental health
What is statistical infrequency?
When an individual has a less common characteristic
According to the statistical definition, what is ‘normal’ and ‘abnormal’ behaviour?
Any usual behaviour or characteristic is normal and any different and unusual behaviour is abnormal
Give an example of statistical infrequency
IQ and intellectual disability disorder - only 2% or people have an IQ score below 70 which is abnormal and they are liable to receive a diagnosis of intellectual disability
What is the average IQ?
100 - 68% of people have an IQ between 85 and 115
What is normal distribution?
Where most data clusters around the average and there are very few numbers at the extremes
What is deviation from social norms?
Behaviour that is different from the accepted and expected standards of behaviour in a community or society
Why is deviation from social norms a collective judgement?
Groups of people choose to define behaviour as abnormal on the basis that it offends their sense of what is acceptable and the norm
What is the problem with social norms?
They are specific to the culture we live in - there are very few behaviours that are universally abnormal on the basis that they breach social norms
Give an example of a culture-specific social norm
Homosexuality - continues to be abnormal in some cultures and accepted in others
Give an example of deviation from social norms
Antisocial personality disorder, where a person is impulsive, aggressive, and irresponsible
What is the most important symptom of antisocial personality disorder according to the DSM-5?
An absence of prosocial internal standards associated with failure to conform to lawful or culturally normative ethical behaviour
Why is psycopathic behaviour considered abnormal?
Psychopaths don’t conform to our moral standards
What is a strength of statistical infrequency?
It has a real-life application in the diagnosis of intellectual disability disorder and all assessment of patients with mental disorders includes some kind of measurement of how severe their symptoms are compared to statistical norms - shows that statistical infrequency is a useful part of clinical assessment
What are the two limitations of statistical infrequency?
1) Unusual characteristics can be positive
2) Not everyone unusual benefits from a label
Why are positive unusual characteristics a limitation of statistical infrequency?
It would never be used alone to make a diagnosis as abnormal behaviours don’t always require treatment, e.g. very high IQ is abnormal but wouldn’t need treatment
Why is labelling unusual people a limitation of statistical infrequency?
Being labelled may have a negative effect on the way other view them and the way they view themselves - someone living a happy fulfilled life wouldn’t benefit from being labelled abnormal or having a diagnosis of intellectual disability
What are the three limitations of deviation from social norms?
1) Has real-life application but isn’t a sole explanation
2) Cultural relativism
3) Can lead to human rights abuses
Give an example of real life application of deviation from social norms?
It is used in the diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder
Why isn’t deviation from social norms a sole explanation of abnormality?
There are other factors to consider, such as distress to other people resulting from antisocial personality disorder
Why is cultural relativism a limitation of deviation from social norms?
Social norms vary greatly from one generation to another and from one community to another, meaning that a person from one cultural group may may label someone from another culture as behaving abnormally according to their own standards
This creates problems for people from one culture living within another culture group
Why can deviation from social norms lead to human rights abuses?
Historical diagnoses were made to maintain control over minority ethnic groups and some people believe our modern categories of mental disorder are really abuses of people’s rights to be different
What is failure to function adequately?
When someone is unable to cope with ordinary demands of day-to-day living
How can we decide if someone is not functioning adequately?
If they are unable to maintain basic standards of nutrition and hygiene and struggle to maintain relationships and hold down a job
Who proposed signs of failing to function adequately?
Rosenhan and Seligman (1989)
What are the three signs of failure to function adequately?
1) No longer conforming to standard interpersonal rules
2) Experiencing severe personal distress
3) Irrational or dangerous behaviour to the self or others
Give an example of failure to function adequately
Intellectual disability disorder - diagnosis is given if someone has a very low IQ AND is failing to function adequately
What is deviation from ideal mental health?
When someone doesn’t meet a set of criteria for good mental health
Who created the criteria for ideal mental health?
Jahoda (1958)
What is the criteria for ideal mental health?
1) No symptoms or distress
2) Being rational and perceiving ourselves accurately
3) Self actualising
4) Coping with stress
5) Having a realistic view of the world
6) Good self-esteem and lacking guilt
7) Independence from others
8) Successfully working, loving, and enjoying leisure
What is a strength of the failure to function adequately explanation?
It attempts to include the subjective experience of the individual - it is difficult to assess stress but at least the definition acknowledges that the experience of the patient and others is important and adequately captures the experience of many people who need help - suggests it is a useful criterion for assessing abnormality
What are the two limitations of the failure to function adequately definition?
1) Failure to function could just be a deviation from social norms and could risk discrimination
2) Subjective judgements
Why could failure to function just be a deviation from social norms?
It is hard to say when someone is really failing to function and when they are just deviating from social norms, as some people have alternative lifestyles and choose not to do certain things
Why does the failure to function adequately definition risk discrimination?
Treating different behaviours as ‘failures’ of adequate functioning could risk limiting personal freedom and discriminating againt minority groups
How can subjective judgements be made as objectively as possible?
By following checklists like the Global Assessment of Functioning Scale
Why are subjective judgements a limitation of the failure to function adequately definition?
Someone has the right to make a judgement on whether or not someone is failing to function adequately
What is a strength of deviation from ideal mental health?
It is a comprehensive definition as it covers a broad range of criteria for mental health, which makes it a good toll for thinking about mental health
What are the two limitations of deviation from ideal mental health?
1) Cultural relativism
2) It sets an unrealistically high standard for mental health
Why is cultural relativism a limitation of deviation from mental health?
Some of Jahoda’s ideas are specific to Western European and North American cultures (culture-bound), e.g. some cultures would see independence as a bad thing while it is a typical thing in individualist cultures
Why does deviation from mental health set an unrealistically high standard?
Very few people attain all the criteria for mental health, so the approach would see much of us as abnormal
Positive - makes it clear how people could benefit from seeking treatment
Negative - no value in deciding who might need treatment against their will
