Definitions Of Abnormality

Question 1

Statistical infrequency

Answer 1

When an individual has a less common characteristic (rare)
Example = having a really low IQ

Question 2

Statistical infrequency - Evaluation

Answer 2

Strength - Usefulness - used in clinical practice as part of a formal diagnosis and a way to assess the individuals symptoms - e.g diagnosis of intellectual disability disorder requires an IQ of below 70

Limitation - infrequent characteristics can be positive as well as negative but they aren’t classed as abnormal - e.g having an extremely high IQ

Question 3

Deviation from social norms

Answer 3

Concerns behaviour that is different from the accepted standards of behaviour in a community or society
Example = making a social judgment that psychopaths are abnormal because they don’t conform to moral standards

Question 4

Deviation from social norms - Evaluation

Answer 4

Strength - Usefulness - used in clinical practice - e.g the key characteristic of antisocial personality disorder is failure to conform to culturally normal ethical behaviour - shows that the deviation from social norms criterion has value in psychiatry

Limitation - variability between social norms in different cultures and even different situations - person from one culture may label something from another culture as abnormal using their standards rather than the other persons standards

Question 5

Failure to function adequately

Answer 5

Occurs when someone is unable to cope with ordinary demands of day-to-day living
Example = Intellectual disability disorder - one of the criterion to be diagnosed is very low IQ but it is also mandatory to be failing to function adequately

Question 6

Failure to function adequately - Evaluation

Answer 6

Strength - Represents a sensible threshold for when people need professional help - it tends to be at the point that we cease to function adequately that people seek professional help or are noticed and referred for help by others - criterion means that treatment and services can be targeted to those who need them most

Limitation - easy to label non-standard lifestyle choices as abornormal - it can be easy to say that someone fails to function adequately when they deviate from social norms - e.g not having a job may seem like failing to function to some people, but to other people it is a lifestyle choice - means people who make unusual choices are at risk of being labelled abnormal and their freedom of choice may be restricted

Question 7

Deviation from ideal mental health

Answer 7

Occurs when someone does not meet a set of criteria for good mental health
Jahoda’s Criteria:
- No symptoms of distress
- Rational thinking
- Self-actualisation
- Can cope with stress
- Realistic view of the world
- Good self esteem
- Independant
- Can successfully work, love and enjoy our leisure

Question 8

Deviation from ideal mental health - Evaluation

Answer 8

Strength - highly comprehensive - concept of ideal mental health has a wide range of criteria that covers most of the reasons why we might seek help with mental health - means that ideal mental health provides a checklist against which we can assess ourselves and others and discuss psychological issues with a range of professionals

Limitation - different elements are not equally applicable across a range of cultures - some of the criteria are firmly located in the context of USA and western europe and not other countries - means it is difficult to apply the concept of ideal mental health from one culture to another