Definitions of Abnormality Flashcards
What are the four definitions of abnormality ?
Statistical deviation
Failure to function adequately
Deviation from social norms
Deviation from ideal mental health
What is statistical deviation ?
Any behaviour or characteristic that is statistically rare is considered ‘abnormal’.
What are the strengths of Statistical deviation ?
All assessments with mental disorders includes some comparison to statistical norms.Intellectual disability demonstrates how statistical infrequency can be used .
What are the weaknesses of Statistical deviation ?
- Statistically unusual characteristics can also be positive - a high IQ score is statistically abnormal but regarded as undesirable and requiring treatment.This is a serious limitation and means it should never be used alone to make diagnosis
- Not everyone benefits from a label - a person with a low IQ who is not distressed and not out of work, would not need a diagnosis of intellectual disability.Being labelled as abnormal may have negative consequences on self perceptions.
What is deviation from social norms ?
Abnormality is based on social context.When someone behaves differently from what they are expected to behave.
What are the strengths of deviation from social norms ?
Not complete explanation for abnormality - antisocial personality disorder shows there is a place for deviation from social norms in thinking about is abnormal.However there are other factors to consider
What are the weaknesses of deviation from social norms ?
- Culturally relative - A person from one culture might criticise someone from another culture using their own standards rather than the other persons.
- Human rights abuses - Using this definition alone can lead to a systematic abuse of human rights.For example drapetomania (black slaves trying to escape) was considered a disease and is an example of how diagnosis was used for social control.Restricts people’s right to be different
What is failure to function adequately
Inability to cope with everyday living e.g not being able to hold down a job , maintain relationships or maintain basic standards of hygiene
Rosenhan and Seligman proposed signs of failure to cope:
- They no longer conform to interpersonal rules
- They experience personal distress
- Behave in a way that is irrational or dangerous
What are the strengths of failure to function adequately ?
Recognises the patient’s perspective - however may not be entirely satisfactory approach because it is difficult to assess distress
What are the weaknesses of failure to function adequately ?
- Same as deviation from social norms - hard to say if someone is really failing to function or just deviating from social norms.People who do extreme sports may be seen as behaving maladaptively. If we label them as failures , then would be limiting freedom
- Subjective statement - some patients may say they are distressed but may be judged as not suffering. However there are methods to making judgements as objective (Global Assessment of Functioning Scale )
What is deviation from ideal mental health ?
Does an individual meet the criteria of ideal health.
Marie Jahoda suggest the following criteria :
- Have no symptoms of distress
- Are rational and perceive ourselves accurately
- We self-actualise
- Can cope with stress
- Have a realistic view of the world
- Have good self-esteem and lack guilt
- Are independent of other people
- Can successfully work , love and enjoy leisure
What are the strengths of deviation from ideal mental health ?
Comprehensive - covers a broad range of reasons someone would seek help from mental health services
What are the weaknesses of deviation from ideal mental health ?
- Culturally Relative - some of the criteria is specific to most western countries e.g personal achievement would be considered self indulgent, such traits are typical of individualist cultures
- Unrealistically high standard - very few will tick all the boxes
