Definitions of Abnormality

Question 1

what is psychopathology?

1

Answer 1

the scientific study of psychological disorders

Question 2

define cultural relativism

1

Answer 2

the view that behaviour cannot be judged properly unless it is viewed in the context of the culture in which it originates

Question 3

what is the DSM?

2

Answer 3

a list of mental disorders that is used to diagnose mental disorders

for each disorder, there is a list of clinical characteristics associated with it and symptoms that should be looked for when diagnosing it

Question 4

what are the 4 definitions of abnormality?

Answer 4

statistical infrequency

deviation from social norms

failure to function adequately

deviation from ideal mental health

Question 5

statistical infrequency

6

Answer 5

defines abnormality as behaviours that are extremely rare

involves being statistically different from everyone else — if a behaviour is found in very few people then it is considered abnormal

statistics help inform us what is typical/normal in the population, if we can define common behaviours then we have an idea of what is abnormal

for example, most people have their first baby in their late 20s or early 30s, meaning that it is abnormal to have your first baby under 20 or over 40

individual human differences and characteristics can be measured and plotted using frequency distribution, any behaviours on either end of the distribution can be considered abnormal

EXAMPLE = 25% of the population has had a mental disorder at one point in their lives, suggests mental disorders are not the norm and therefore abnormal

Question 6

deviation from social norms

7

Answer 6

defines abnormality as a deviation from the unstated rules about how people should behave

social norms are created by society and can be written or unwritten

they outline standards of ‘acceptable’ behaviour and anyone who deviates from these by behaving differently is considered abnormal

many social norms in place for good reasons — e.g. politeness is a social norm and people who behave rudely are seen as abnormal

some norms may be implicit (e.g. not laughing at a funeral) and some may be explicitly defined in law

EXAMPLE = in the past, homosexuality was classified as abnormal and regarded as a mental illness (it was also at one point illegal) because it deviated from what society considered acceptable at the time

nowadays, sexual behaviour like voyeurism is abnormal as it deviates from social norms

Question 7

failure to function adequately

6

Answer 7

defines abnormality as being unable to cope with everyday life and experiencing distress as a result of this

functioning adequately refers to the ability to go about everyday life normally, this includes eating regularly, washing clothes and being able to communicate with others

abnormal people struggle with this, for example they may live in unwashed clothes or have a very irregular job — this causes them distress and suffering but may also distress those around them

distress to others is an important thing to consider as some people with mental disorders are not distressed at all — for example, people with schizophrenia generally lack an awareness that anything in wrong, but their behaviour (e.g. hallucinations and delusions) may be distressing to others

abnormal people do not possess a normal range of physical abilities, emotions and behaviours, which disrupts their ability to work and form relationships

the DSM includes an assessment of ability to function called WHODAS which considers 6 areas such as self care and participation in society

Question 8

deviation from ideal mental health

7

Answer 8

Jahoda defined ideal mental health characteristics, including…

• high self esteem + a strong sense of identity
• personal growth
• coping with stressful situations
• independence
• problem solving
• accurate perceptions of reality

these characteristics fall under 6 main categories; self attitudes, personal growth, integration, autonomy, perception of reality + mastery of environment

they enable us to feel happy and behave competently

abnormality involves deviating from these characteristics — e.g. by having low self esteem, being overly dependent on others or being unable to deal with stress

the absence of such traits indicates abnormality and potential mental disorder, much like how the absence of signs of physical health, such as a normal temperature, indicate illness

in this respect, this definition of abnormality believes that mental health and physical health should be viewed in the same way

Question 9

x3 evaluation points for statistical infrequency

Answer 9

some abnormal behaviour is desirable

cut off point is subjectively determined

cultural relativism

Question 10

statistical infrequency evaluation
SOME ABNORMAL BEHAVIOUR IS DESIRABLE

6

Answer 10

a criticism of this definition of abnormality is that there are many abnormal behaviours that are actually desirable

for example, high IQs are desirable but very few people have an IQ over 150

therefore, suggesting that such desirable behaviour is abnormal may be implying that it is undesirable or strange and we would not want to suggest that having a high IQ is undesirable

equally, there are many ‘normal’ behaviours that are undesirable, such as depression (as it is becoming much more common)

using SI to define abnormality means it is difficult to distinguish between desirable and undesirable behaviours

therefore, SI can not identify which behaviours need treatment as it cannot clearly identify infrequent and undesirable behaviours, meaning it may have limited usefulness in defining abnormality

Question 11

statistical infrequency evaluation
CUT OFF POINT IS SUBJECTIVELY DETERMINED

6

Answer 11

the cut off point is where normality and abnormality is separated, but it is subjectively determined

this means that sometimes symptoms of disorders such a depression are difficult to measure and assign a statistical cut off point to show where help is needed

for example, one symptom of depression is difficulty sleeping but there is disagreement as to what the ‘normal’ amount of sleep is

some say it’s abnormal to sleep less than 80% of the population, but others say it is abnormal to sleep less than 90% of the population

this makes identifying mental disorders difficult as the cut off point, which determines when a behaviour becomes abnormal, is widely disputed

therefore, this definition of abnormality may be limited in its ability to define abnormal behaviour and should be viewed with caution

Question 12

statistical infrequency evaluation
CULTURAL RELATIVISM

6

Answer 12

statistical frequency is a culturally relative definition of abnormality

what is considered abnormal is relative to the groups of people surrounding the individual because social norms are defined by the culture

this means that behaviours that are statistically infrequent and therefore abnormal in one culture may be statistically frequent in another and may not be considered abnormal at all

for example, a symptom of schizophrenia is claiming to hear voices, but in many cultures hearing voices in regarded as a common experience or is even desirable and suggests a person has been blessed

SI clearly does not apply uniformly across every culture as there are no universal standards for labelling a behaviour as abnormal

therefore, statistical frequency as a definition of abnormality may lack usefulness in explaining what is abnormal as it is culturally relative and only relates to a particular culture

Question 13

x3 evaluation points of deviation from social norms

Answer 13

susceptible to abuse

deviance is related to content and degree

strengths of the definition

(can also use the evaluation point about being culturally relative)

Question 14

deviation from social norms evaluation
SUSCEPTIBLE TO ABUSE

5

Answer 14

abnormality varies as times change — what is considered socially acceptable now may not have been acceptable 50 years ago

for example, homosexuality used to be classified as abnormal and many saw it as a mental illness (it was also at one point illegal) because it deviated from what was considered acceptable at the time

it was included in the DSM as a sexual and gender identity disorder, but it is now broadly accepted to be normal

this example demonstrates that deviating from social norms has been used as an excuse for mistreatment and a way to exclude nonconformists from society by labelling them as abnormal

therefore, this definition of abnormality should be viewed with caution and other definitions may be more appropriate to use

Question 15

deviation from social norms evaluation
DEVIANCE RELATES TO CONTEXT AND DEGREE

4

Answer 15

what behaviour is considered abnormal depends on the time, place and culture in which it occurs as well as the degree of extremes it goes to

for example, wearing a bikini on the beach is normal but wearing the same thing in a different setting such as a classroom is abnormal — possibly even an indication of a mental disorder

in many cases, there is not a clear line between what is abnormal deviation and what is simply harmless eccentricity

therefore, social deviance may not offer a complete definition of abnormality because it is inevitably related to both context and degree

Question 17

deviation from social norms evaluation
STRENGTHS

4

Answer 17

distinguishes between desirable and undesirable behaviour — other definitions such as SI do not do this

also takes into account the effect that behaviour has on others, according to this definition abnormal behaviour is often damaging to others as it defies social rules which are in place to help us live together

distinguishing between desirable and undesirable behaviours means that clinical intervention can be offered because abnormality can be clearly identified

therefore, the definition may be increased in its usefulness in defining abnormal behaviours

Question 18

x3 evaluation points for failure to function adequately

Answer 18

subjectively judged

abnormality is not always accompanied with dysfunction

strengths

Question 19

failure to function adequately evaluation
SUBJECTIVELY DETERMINED

4

Answer 19

it’s difficult to decide who should judge what is ‘normal’ everyday functioning and what constitutes failure to function

for example, a person may be experiencing distress at being unable to work or eat regular meals, they themselves might recognise this is undesirable and abnormal

however, another person may be content with their situation or unaware that they are not coping, but others may judge their behaviour as abnormal

therefore, defining abnormality depends on the person making the judgement — what is deemed normal and acceptable to one person may be abnormal to another

Question 20

failure to function adequately evaluation
ABNORMALITY IS NOT ALWAYS ACCOMPANIED BY DYSFUNCTION

4

Answer 20

people can lead normal lives and function adequately yet still have mental disorders

psychopaths in particular can lead seemingly functional lives with family, friends and a regular job yet still be abnormal

for example, Harold Shipman was a serial killer who killed many patients in his care — he had a wife and a large family, alongside a very respectable job as a doctor

despite being a serial killer, under this definition he would not be seen as abnormal because he was functioning adequately

Question 20

failure to function adequately evaluation
STRENGTHS

4

Answer 20

recognises the subjective experience of the patient and allows us to view mental disorders from the perspectives of the people experiencing them

furthermore, the DMS includes an assessment of ability to function called WHODAS which lists behaviours that are functional (eg eating regularly)

functioning is measured quantitatively by giving individuals a score out of 180, allowing failure to function to be judged objectively and easily

this makes identifying when treatment is needed easier too

Question 21

x3 evaluation points for deviation from ideal mental health

Answer 21

unrealistic criteria

cultural relativism

suggests mental health is the same as physical health

Question 22

deviation from ideal mental health evaluation
UNREALISTIC CRITERIA

5

Answer 22

the criteria for ‘ideal mental health’ is highly demanding and generally unrealistic

most people would not be able to reach the standards set out by this definition and would therefore be considered abnormal

it’s hard to judge how much of the criteria needs to be lacking before a person is said to be abnormal

for example, it’s common for a lot of people not to have high self esteem but how low does someone’s self esteem have to be for it to be considered abnormal

the criteria is also hard to measure — its difficult to know how to assess abstract concepts such as personal growth or environmental mastery

Question 23

deviation from ideal mental health evaluation
CULTURAL RELATIVISM

6

Answer 23

this definition is culturally relative

behaviours that are a sign of ‘deviation from ideal mental health’ in one culture may be much more ideal in another culture and may not be considered abnormal at all

for example, a symptom of schizophrenia is claiming to hear voices, but in some cultures hearing voices is seen either as a common experience or as a blessing to the person hearing them

furthermore, independence is seen as abnormal in many collectivist cultures but is seen as a characteristic of ideal mental health in this definition — this explains why lower class, non white people are more likely to be diagnosed as abnormal as they’re more likely to go against what the west considers ‘ideal’

this means that the checklist for ideal mental health cannot be generalised to all cultures as they differ in what they consider signs of ideal mental health

therefore, this definition may lack usefulness as it is culturally relative and only relates to individualist cultures

Question 24

deviation from ideal mental health evaluation
SUGGESTS MENTAL HEALTH IS THE SAME AS PHYSICAL HEALTH

4

Answer 24

suggesting that physical and mental health are the same may be problematic

physical illnesses usually have psychical causes, such as a virus or infection, which makes them relatively easy to detect and diagnose

mental disorders may have physical causes such as a brain injury but many do not and are consequences of life experiences

thus, it’s unlikely that mental abnormality can be diagnosed in the same way that a physical abnormality can