Definitions of Abnormality Flashcards
1) Deviation from social norms
Every society sets standards according to which it expects its members to behave. These standards, called social norms, are the explicit and implicit rules for appropriate conduct.
A social norm is a rule about what is acceptable within a particular society.
Abnormality is when a behaviour does not fit within what is socially acceptable.
When is someone abnormal?
Anyone who breaks a social norm and violates any conventional rules of conduct within a particular society are considered abnormal.
For example, if you were to see someone walking around the streets of London practically naked, you would probably think they were abnormal. However, this same behaviour in a remote African tribe would be considered perfectly normal as part of their culture.
Weakness
The issue with the deviation from social norms definition of abnormality is the idea of cultural relativism. Social norms differ between cultures and what is considered normal in one culture may be abnormal in another. For example, in approximately 75 countries in the world, homosexuality is still illegal, and therefore considered abnormal. However, in the rest of the world, homosexuality is considered normal. The result of this is that there is no global standard for defining behaviour as abnormal and therefore abnormality is not standardised.
Weakness
Furthermore, social norms change over time which raises an issue known as hindsight bias. For example, homosexuality was regarded as a mental illness in the UK until 1973, often resulting in institutionalisation (being hospitalised), but is now simply considered a variation of normal behaviour. This means that, historically, reliance on the deviation from social norm definition of abnormality may have resulted in violation of human rights where people, by today’s standards, are deemed ‘abnormal’. It could be argued that diagnoses upon these grounds may have been given as a form of social control over minority groups, as a means to exclude those who do not conform from society (Szasz, 1974).
Weakness
How far an individual deviates from a social norm is mediated by the degree of severity and the context. For example, when someone breaks a social norm once this may not be deviant behaviour, but the persistent repetition of such behaviour could be evidence of psychological disturbance. Likewise, someone walking topless on a beach would be considered normal but, on the other hand, adopting the same attire for the office would be viewed as abnormal and possibly an indication of an underlying mental health problem. As a consequence, this definition fails to offer a complete explanation in its own right since it is related to degree and context.
2) Failure to function adequately
According to the Failure to Function Adequately (FFA) definition, a person is considered abnormal if they are unable to cope with the demands of everyday life and live independently in society. Furthermore, to be classified as abnormal, a person’s behaviour should cause personal suffering and distress because of their failure to cope. However, they may also cause distress or discomfort to other people who observe their behaviour.
For example, someone who is suffering from depression may struggle to get out of bed in the morning and go to work, or they may find it difficult to communicate with their family and friends. Consequently, they would be considered abnormal as their depression is causing an inability to cope with the demands of everyday life (going to work), while their behaviour is also causing distress and discomfort to family members and friends.
Rosenhan and Seligman (1989)
Rosenhan and Seligman (1989) suggest that such behaviour can be judged on the basis of seven criteria, any combination of which may indicate the presence of a psychological disorder - i.e. you are abnormal. The criteria are as follows:
1) Personal distress - excessive emotional responses.
2) Maladaptiveness - going against accepted standards.
3) Irrationality - unreasonable thinking and behaviour.
4) Unpredictability - impulsive, controlling.
5) Unconventionality
6) Observer discomfort - causing others to feel uncomfortable.
7) Violation of moral and ideal standards
When is someone abnormal?
If a person cannot cope with the demands of everyday life i.e. they are showing a combination of the criteria proposed by Rosenhan and Seligman.
Strength
One strength of the failure to function adequately definition is that it considers the subjective personal experiences of the patient. This definition considers the thoughts and feelings of the person experiencing the issue and does not simply make a judgement without taking the personal viewpoint of the sufferer into consideration. This definition is focused on the individual and how they are managing in everyday life from their perspective, so if someone feels as though they are struggling they will be deemed abnormal and get help. This suggests that the failure to function definition is a useful model for assessing psychopathological behaviour.
Weakness
One weakness of the failure to function adequately definition stems from individual differences. For example, one person with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) may exhibit excessive rituals that prevent them from functioning adequately, as they constantly miss work; whereas, another person may suffer from the same excessive rituals, but find time to complete their rituals and always attend work on time. Therefore, despite the same psychological and behavioural symptoms, each person would be diagnosed differently according to this definition, thus questioning the validity of this definition.
Weakness
Some of the criteria depend on subjective judgements of other people. Observer discomfort may vary depending on the particular person doing the observing. Violation of moral standards also involves subjectivity in judgement because we don’t know whose morals we are using as a standard. Again, one individual may consider it a violation of moral standards for a person to be promiscuous, another may consider this behaviour totally acceptable.
3) Statistical infrequency
According to the Statistical infrequency definition, a behaviour is seen as abnormal if it is statistically uncommon or not seen very often in a particular society i.e. it is rare. Therefore, abnormality is determined by looking at the distribution of a particular behaviour within society. This definition takes a mathematical approach to abnormality.
For example, the average IQ is approximately 100 and 65% of the population have an IQ in the region of 85-115. Furthermore, 95% of the population have an IQ in the region of 70 to 130. However, a small percentage of the population (approximately 5%) have an IQ below 70 or above 130 and these people are statistically uncommon and consequently, they would be classified as abnormal, according to this definition.
A normal distribution curve can be used to represent the proportions of the population who share a particular characteristics. The proportion at the extreme ends of the curve are statistically infrequent and therefore classed as being abnormal.
When is someone abnormal?
A behaviour is seen as abnormal if it is statistically uncommon or not seen very often in a particular society. It is determined by looking at the distribution of a particular behaviour within society. Abnormality would be defined as being 2 standard deviations away from the mean.
Weakness
Some statistically infrequent behaviours labelled as abnormal could, in fact, be desirable traits. For example, having a very high IQ is very unusual, yet this characteristic could be hugely celebrated. Conversely, depression is known to be experienced by many people at some point in their lives and as such is considered common, but not desirable. Statistical infrequency as a definition of abnormality therefore needs to identify those behaviours which are both infrequent and undesirable to avoid this pitfall.
Weakness
One problem with the statistical infrequency definition of abnormality is the issue of misdiagnosis. certain behaviours are statistically common; for example, approximately 10% of the population will experience depression at some point, making this behaviour ‘normal’, technically. On the other hand, certain behaviours - for example, high IQ are statistically uncommon and therefore considered abnormal despite their desirable nature. This is therefore a serious drawback of adopting the statistical infrequency definition in explaining abnormality and perhaps should not be used in isolation when making a diagnosis.
