Definitions of Abnormality Flashcards
What are the 4 definitions of abnormality?
Failure to function adequately
Deviation from social norms
Deviation from ideal mental health
Statistical infrequency
What is statistical infrequency?
Deviating from the mean average of society, usually 3 standard deviations above or below the mean.
An example of statistical infrequency?
Being in the top or bottom 2.5% for intelligence levels means you are abnormally intelligent or unintelligent
Deviation from ideal mental health means?
The absence of health indicates abnormality. (for example the absence of positive factors indicates something is abnormal)
Give at least 3 examples of the criteria around deviation from ideal mental health
Having a positive view of oneself
Being independent and autonomous
Being resistant to stress
What is failure to function adequately?
Behaviours that stop you from being able to function in everyday life, stop you from having a job or routine.
Give 3 examples of behaviours that are considered to stop you from functioning based on the failure to function adequately criteria
Causes others distress
Unpredictable behaviour
Maladaptive behaviour
How is failure to function adequately measured?
On the GAF scale - Global assessment of functioning scale
What is deviation from social norms
Acting differently to what society expects of behaviour
An example of deviation from social norms?
Having schizophrenia (hallucinations and delusions)
What is a common weakness of failure to function adequately, deviation from social norms and deviation from ideal mental health?
They are all ethnocentric as they differ culture to culture and do not apply to all cultures
A strength of failure to function adequately and statistical infrequency is?
they are more objective than the other explanations as they can be measured quantitatively.
