Definitions Of Abnormality Flashcards
Deviation from social norms - definition
Society has unwritten social rules, and when people violate these unwritten rules and deviate from the social norm it could indicate a mental illness. societies and social groups identifies what is acceptable and normal in a certain circumstances.
Example — We consider people with schizophrenia abnormal because they experience symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions.
Deviation from social norms
Limitation — Social norms change over time
Homosexuality was classified as a mental disorder in 1973 version of the DSM-II.
Unmarried women in the UK who fell pregnant in the early 20th Century were often interned at mental institutes.
Deviation from social norms
Limitation — Cultural relativism
Diagnosis and mental disorders are classified in different ways in different cultures.
Cultural relativism — A person from a different social group may label someone as abnormal using their personal standards.
For example, someone who hears voices in Africa is seen as socially accepted as they are talking to the Gods, whereas in the US they would be seen to have schizophrenia. Means that it is likely to miss diagnose someone with an abnormality.
Deviation from social norms
Limitation — Social control and human right abuse
Has been said that the concept of mental illness was simply a way to exclude non-conformists from society.
Can lead to abuse of human rights. E.g. To control womens behaviour.
However, need it to diagnose conditions such as APD (psychopathy)
Overall, may do more harm than good.
Deviation from social norms
Strengths — Situational factors
Situational norms taken into account — For example it is okay to wear a bikini at the beach, but not in a shopping centre.
Deviation from social norms
Strengths — Developmental norms
Developmental norms are taken into account — For young children it is okay to cry and scream in public, but for an adult this could be seen as a disorder.
Statistical infrequency - definition
This is the idea that behaviours that are statistically infrequent are seen as abnormal. It is based on the notion of a normal distribution curve for all behaviour, and those that appear in the extremes, for example, are statistically infrequent and indicate mental illness.
Normally about 5% of the population fall outside the curve (2 standard deviation points away from the mean).
Example — Those individuals scoring below an IQ of 70 are very unusual or abnormal, and are liable to receive a diagnosis of a psychological disorder.
Statistical infrequency definition
Limitation — An unusual characteristic can be positive
If few people have an unusual behaviour, they would be defined as statistically abnormal, even though it may not be negative, meaning they may not need treatment.
Example — People with an IQ over 130 are seen as abnormal but this is seen as a gift rather than something that requires treatment.
Statistical infrequency definition
Weakness — Not everyone benefits from labels
When living a happy life, not everyone benefits from being labelled as abnormal when they have an infrequent behaviour. Pointing out their abnormality may make them feel more upset than not paying attention to it at all.
Example — Someone with a very low IQ may live a happy life and may not benefit at all by being diagnosed with an abnormality, meaning this definition can weaken quality of life rather than improving it.
Failure to function adequately - definiton
This is when an individual cannot cope with everyday life, meaning they are suffering some abnormality.
Example — Even if someone has a low IQ, they would not be given a diagnosis on this basis only, they must also be failing to function adequately.
Failure to function adequately
Rosenhan and Seligman (1969)
Proposed some additional signs that can be used to determine when someone is not coping. These include:
When a person 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 persons behaviour becomes irrational or dangerous to themselves or others.
Failure to function adequately
Weakness — Cannot detect psychopaths
This is an illness but they function well.
For example, Harold Shipman functioned well in society but managed to kill many people simultaneously.
Failure to function adequately
Weakness — Subjective judgement
The person doing the assessment would need to be subjective; it may be the case that different assesses would disagree about whether a particular criterion had been met.
Failure to function adequately
Weakness — Cultural relativism
The criterion is likely to result in different diagnoses when applied to people from different cultures.
Failure to function adequately
Weakness — May not be abnormal
There are some circumstances in which most of us fail to cope for a time (bereavement). It may be unfair to give someone a label that may cause them future problems just because they react to difficult circumstances.
On the other hand the failure to function is no less real just because the cause is clear. Also, some people need professional help to adjust to circumstances like bereavement.
