Definitions of Abnormality Flashcards
What are the 4 definitions of abnormality?
Statistical infrequency
Deviation from social norms
Failure to function adequately
Deviation from ideal mental health
what is statistical infrequency?
Statistical infrequency is used to define an occurrence when an individual has a less common characteristic within a given population.
According to this definition any relatively usual behaviour or characteristic can be thought of as ‘normal’, and any behaviour that is different to this is ‘abnormal’.
IQ and intellectual disability disorder example for statistical infrequency?
The average IQ is 100. Most people (68%) have an IQ ranging from 85-115. Only 2% of people have an IQ below 70, and therefore may be rendered ‘unusual’ or receive a diagnosis of intellectual disability disorder.
What is a limitation for statistical infrequency?
One limitation of statistical infrequency is that characteristics that would be classed as abnormal are actually positive.
According to this definition, individuals with an IQ above 130 would be deemed as abnormal even though having a high IQ is a desirable characteristic.
This means that, although statistical infrequency can form part of assessment and diagnostic procedures, it is never sufficient as the sole basis for defining abnormality.
What is a strength for statistical infrequency?
One strength of statistical infrequency is that it has real-world applications.
Statistical infrequency is used in clinical practice, both as part of formal diagnosis and as a way to assess the severity of an individual’s symptoms. An example is the Beck Depression Inventory, where a score of 30+ indicates severe depression.
This shows that the value of the statistical infrequency criterion is useful in diagnostic and assessment processes.
What are social norms?
Social norms are the unwritten rules of beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours that are considered acceptable in a particular social group or culture.
What is deviation from social norms?
Deviation from social norms is used to define occurrences that are different from the accepted standards of behaviour in a community or society.
Groups of people choose to define abnormality based on whether or not it offends their sense of what is the ‘norm’.
What are the 4 important things to consider when applying deviation from social norms?
Time
Cultural Relativism
Context
Degree
Deviation from social norms: time?
Social norms change over time.
There are instances where social norms that were acceptable in the past are no longer deemed as acceptable in modern society, such as drunk driving and smoking.
There are also instances where social norms that were previously unacceptable are now considered ‘normal’ in modern society, such as homosexuality and having children out of wedlock.
Deviation from social norms: cultural relativism?
Behaviour only makes sense when viewed within the originating culture.
Abnormality cannot be judged without reference to the standards of culture where the behaviour arose.
A diagnosis of mental illness may be different for the same person in two different cultures.
For example, hearing voices is socially acceptable in some cultures but would be seen as a sign of mental abnormality in the UK (schizophrenia).
What is an example for cultural relativism?
The Kayan people live on the mountain border between Burma and Thailand.
From the age of 5, women wear a brass coil that increases in size as they age. Over the years, this coil presses on the clavicle resulting in the appearance of a long neck, a sign held in great esteem by the tribe.
Deviation from social norms: context?
The context of the behaviour has to be considered.
For example, wearing a bathing suit on a beach would be considered normal. However, wearing a bathing suit to do your weekly shopping in Tesco would be considered abnormal.
Deviation from social norms: degree?
An important consideration is the degree to which a social norm is deviated from and how important society sees that norm as being.
For example, being very rude to someone else would be considered deviant. But, how rude does someone have to be before such behaviour is considered pathological?
What is a strength for deviation of social norms?
One strength of deviation from social norms is that it has real-world applications.
Deviation from social norms is used in clinical practice. For example, social norms play a part in the diagnosis of schizotypal personality disorder, where the term ‘strange’ is used to characterise the thinking, behaviour and appearance of people with the disorder.
This is a strength as it shows that the deviation from social norms criterion has value in psychiatry.
What is a limitation for deviation from social norms?
One limitation of deviation from social norms is that too much reliance on this definition can lead to systematic abuse of human rights.
For example, Drapetomania was a supposed mental illness that, in 1851, physicians thought was the cause of enslaved Africans fleeing captivity. This was centred around the belief that slavery was such an improvement upon the lives of slaves that only those suffering from some form of mental illness would wish to escape.
This is a limitation as historical examples of deviation from social norms such as this show how these mental health diagnoses were really there to maintain control over minority groups.
