definitions of abnormality Flashcards
give all the definitions of abnormality
statistical infrequency
deviation from social norms
failure to function adequately
deviation from ideal mental health
explain statistical infrequency
all about numbers. any relatively usual behaviour or characteristic can be thought of as normal, and any behaviour that is unusual is abnormal.
give an example of statistical infrequency
IQ and intellectual disability disorder.
normal distribution explains above or below averages.
The average IQ is 100. In a normal distribution, most people (68%) have a score (in this case) in the range from 85-115. Only 2% of ppl have a score below 70. Those individuals scoring below 70 are very unusual or ‘abnormal’ and are liable to receive a diagnosis of a psychological disorder- intellectual disability disorder (IDD).
Explain what deviation from social norms is
how a person behaves is different from how we expect them to behave.
Norms are specific to the culture we live in
- may be very different depending on each generation so there are very few behaviours that would be considered universally abnormal
- for example homosexuality was considered abnormal in some cultures (e.g in April 2019 Brunei introduced new laws that made sex between men an offence and punishable by death.
give an example of deviation from social norms
antisocial personality disorder (psychopathy)
Is impulsive, aggressive and irresponsible
according to DSM-5 one important symptom of this is an ‘absence of prosocial internal standards associated with failure to conform to lawful and culturally normative ethical behaviour.
Making the assumption they are abnormal because they don’t conform to our moral standards.
This would be considered abnormal in a wide range of cultures
Evaluate statistical infrequency
real world application (strength)
- used in clinical practice, both as part as formal diagnosis and as a way to assess severity of an individuals symptoms. An example of statistical infrequency used in assessment is the Beck depression inventory (BDI). A score of 30+ is widely interpreted as indicating severe depressionl. therfore can be used in the diagnostic process.
Unusual characteristics can be positive (limitation)
- infrequent characteristics can be positive as well as negative.
we would not think of someone as abnormal for having a high IQ. One end of the psychological spectrum does not make that person abnormal. Therefore it is never sufficient as the sole basis for defining abnormality.
Benefit versus problem- should we label unusual people as abnormal? Not all statistically infrequent people would benefit from having a label if they can cope with their everyday life.
Evaluate deviation from social norms
real world application (strength)
- used in clinical practice e.g the key defining characteristics of antisocial personality disorder is the failure to conform to culturally acceptable ethical behaviour i.e recklessness, aggression, violating the rights of others and deceitfulness. these are all deviations from social norms.
cultural and situational relativism (limitation)
- the variability between social norms in different cultures and even different situations.
a person from one cultural group may label someone from another group as abnormal using their standards rather that the person’s standards. e.g hearing voices in some cultures is normal bc its their ancestors but would be seen as an abnormality in most parts of the UK. also, agressive and deceitful behaviour in family context is deemed as normal but in corporate behaviour it isnt.
Therefore it is difficult to judge deviation from social norms across different situations and cultures.
explain failure to function adequately
When someone can no longer cope with the demands of everyday life e.g. can no longer maintain basic standards of nutrition and hygiene. or if they cannot hold down a job or maintain relationships with people around them.
when is someone failing to function adequately?
- David Rosenhan and Martin Seligman (1989) proposed signs that can ne used to determine when someone is not coping:
–when a person no longer conforms to standard interpersonal rules like maintaining eye contact and respecting personal space.
– when a person experiences severe personal stress
– when their behaviour becomes irrational/dangerous to themselves or others.
Give an example of failure to function adequately
Intellectual disability disorder
explain deviation from ideal mental health
looks at what makes someone ‘normal’. Can determine abnormality once we have a picture on what psychologically healthy is.
Marie Jahoda (1958) made a criteria which suggests when we have ideal mental health:
– we have no symptoms/distress
– we are rational and can perceive ourselves accurately
– we can self actualise (strive to re4ach our potential)
– we can cope with stress
– we have a realistic view of the world
– we have good self esteem and lack guilt
– we are independent of other people
– we can successfully work, love and enjoy our pleasure.
evaluate failure to function adequately
represents a threshold for help (strength).
- provides criterion that means treatment and services can be targeted towards those that need it the most.
Discrimination and social control (limitation)
- in practice it can be very hard to say when someone is really failing to function and when they have simply chosen to deviate from social norms - those who live “off-grid” are then labelled as abnormal when it may just be a spiritual or personal choice to live differently to others. Therefore people who make unusual choices are at risk of being labelled as abnormal and their freedom of choice may be restricted.
Failure to function may not be abnormal
- most of us have had times where we have failed to cope for a time e.g. bereavement so is it write to call people ‘abnormal’ when they fail to function following distressing circumstances.
Evaluate deviation from ideal mental health.
A comprehensive definition (strength)
- includes a range of criteria for distinguishing ideal mental health from mental disorder. Therefore an individuals health can be discussed meaningfully.
- provides a checklist
May be culture bound (limitation)
- different elements are not equally applicable across a range of cultures.
- Jahoda’s criteria is firmly located on the basis of US and Europe- self actualisation would probably be dismissed as self-indulgent in the rest of the world. Within Europe there is quite a lot of variation in the value placed on personal independence e.g high in Germany, low in Italy. What defines success in our lives also varies in different cultures. Therefore its difficult to apply this concept to varying cultures.
Extremely high standards
- nobody can live up to all these standards all day every day- it can be disheartening to see such an impossible set of standards.
what is the DSM-5 categories of phobias
specific phobia - phobia of an object, such as an animal/body part/situation such as flying or having an injection.
Social anxiety (social phobia) - phobia of a social situation like public speaking or using a public toilet.
Agoraphobia - phobia of being outside or in a public place.
Explain the behavioural characteristics of phobias.
panic- e.g. crying, screaming, running away or children may respond by freezing, clinging, having a tantrum.
Avoidance- prevents coming into contact with the phobia. E.g. fear of public toilets someone may limit the amount of time they are outside the home which can effect social lives.
Endurance- a person chooses to remain in the presence of the phobic stimulus but keep a weary eye on it. E.G. arachnophobia
Explain the emotional characteristics of phobias
Anxiety- an unpleasant state of high arousal, prevents a person from relaxing and makes it very difficult for them to experience any positive emotion. Anxiety can be long term.
Fear- immediate and extremely unpleasant response. More intense but experience it for a shorter amount of time than anxiety.
Emotional response is unreasonable- disproportionate to any threat imposed. Most people would respond in a less anxious way.
