definitions of abnormality

Question 1

definition of psychopathology

Answer 1

term to refer to the study of mental illness/distress/ display of behaviours that may suggest mental illness
seeks to define what makes behaviour abnormal. Normally a disagreement about the causes.

Question 2

what is statistical infrequency?

Answer 2

abnormal behaviours are those that are extremely rare. A mathematical method.
Any human attribution can be reliably measured.
central average, rest of pop falls symmetrically below or above that average.

Question 3

what percentage of the population fall within one standard deviation?

Answer 3

68%

Question 4

what percentage of the population fall within two standard deviations?

Answer 4

95%

Question 5

what percentage of the population fall within three standard deviations?

Answer 5

99.7%

Question 6

what is deviation from social norms?

Answer 6

when a behaviour doesn’t fit with what is socially acceptable

Question 7

what is the definition of societal norms dependant on?

Answer 7

culture. social norms across societies are not the same

Question 8

‘what is normal in one society might be abnormal in another culture’.

Answer 8

deviation from social norms

Question 9

Examples of this definition:- behaving in a impolite way (social deviant).
laughing at a funeral
pedophelia

Answer 9

deviation from social norms

Question 10

define failure to function adequately

Answer 10

abnormal behaviour is when an individual is not able to cope with everyday life.

Question 11

who defined the definition of failure to function adequately

Answer 11

Rosenhan and Seligman

Question 12

failure to function adequately have seven sections

Answer 12

unpredictability, maladaptive behaviour, personal distress, irrationality, observer discomfort, violation of moral standards and unconventionality.

Question 13

a way to measure definitions of abnormality:- failure to function adequatly

Answer 13

the global assessment of functioning scale (GAF)

Question 14

‘schizophrenia is defined as abnormal because schizophrenia behaviours are distressing to others (observer discomfort).’
‘However, if someone with an IQ of 70 but can complete basic needs they may not be seen as abnormal.’

Answer 14

Failure to function adequately

Question 15

what is deviation for ideal mental health?

Answer 15

deviation from an ideal of positive mental health

Question 16

What was deviation from ideal mental health defined in terms of?

Answer 16

Jahoda’s 1958 criteria

Question 17

what does the failure to function adequately criteria mean?

Answer 17

absence of the criteria of positive mental health indicates abnormality and a potential mental disorder

Question 18

Jahoda suggested that there were 6 criteria, if not fulfilled the person will experience difficulties. What are they…

Answer 18

1) positive attitude towards one self
2) self-actualisation
3) autonomy
4) resistance to stress
5) environmental mastery
6) accurate perception of reality

Question 19

what is an explanation of positive attitude towards one self?

Answer 19

linked to individual’s level to self-esteem. positive attitude should be at a good level. ppl should feel happy within themselves.

Question 20

what is an explanation of self- actualisation?

Answer 20

being in a state of contentment. (feeling the best you can be)

Question 21

what is an explanation of autonomy?

Answer 21

having independence and self reliance, functioning as an individual and not depending on other.

Question 22

what is an explanation of resistance to stress?

Answer 22

individuals should handle stressful situations competently.

Question 23

what is an explanation of environmental mastery?

Answer 23

adapt to new situations and be at ease in certain situations in their life.

Question 24

what is an explanation of accurate perception of reality?

Answer 24

how the individual sees the world around them. They should have a perspective that is similar to those around them. eg: people with schizophrenia sometimes have distortions of thinking

Question 25

evaluate statistical infrequency using a strength

Answer 25

P: the statistical infrequency definition of abnormality has real life application.
E: it is used in the diagnosis of intellectual disability disorder where someone is given the label that there iq is 69 or below.
E: statistical infrequency is therefore a useful part of clinical assessment.

Question 26

evaluate statistical infrequency using a weakness

Answer 26

P: statistical infrequency involves labelling people based on their rarity, but not everyone ‘unusual’ benefits from a label. If someone is living a happy and fulfilled life, there is no benefit to them being labelled as abnormal, regardless on how unusual they are.
E: someone with a low IQ may not be distressed and may be capable of working.
A label of ‘intellectual disability disorder’ would not be beneficial to them.
This shows that labelling a person as abnormal using this definition could have a negative effect on their self view.

Question 27

Evaluate deviation from social norms using a strength

Answer 27

P: one strength is that it includes the issue of desirability of behaviour.
E: for example, being a genius is statistically abnormal, but we would not want to include that in a definition of abnormal behaviours. Another example is narcissism, this was once viewed as deviation from social norms. But today, selfies are common place.
E: this means that social norms can be more useful that other definitions such as statistical norms.

Question 28

Evaluate deviation from social norms using a weakness

Answer 28

P: Social norms vary over time
E: For example, homosexuality was considered a mental disorder in DSM. However, homosexuality is now considered to be socially acceptable.
E: This means that deviation from social norms definition is based on prevailing social morals and attitudes about what is deemed to be ‘normal’ and ‘abnormal’
Too much reliance on such definitions could lead to systematic abuse of human rights because of the attitudes people hold.

Question 29

Evaluate the failure to function adequately using a strength

Answer 29

P: failure to function adequately attempts to include the subjective experience of the individual.
E: it acknowledges that the experience of the patient and the people around them is important.
E: in this sense the failure to function adequately definition captures the experience of many of the people who need help.
This suggests that failure to function adequately is useful criterion for assessing abnormality.

Question 30

Evaluate the failure to function adequately using a limitation, two hamburgers

Answer 30

P:One limitation of failure to function adequately definition is that some apparently normal behaviours can be functional.
E: depression may lead to extra attention to an individual. This attention is rewarding and therefore functional, even if a depressed is regarded as abnormal
e:This means that failure to function adequately is an incomplete definition as it fails to distinguish between behaviours that are functional and those that have some function to individuals

P:Another limitation is that personal judgement is involved when deciding whether a patient is distressed or distressing.
E: sometimes people experience personal distress and recognise that their behaviour is undesirable. However, sometimes people re content with their behaviour and it is others who are distressed by it.
E: this means that whether a behaviour is defined as abnormal or not depends on who is making the judgement which may be subjective.

Question 31

Evaluate the deviation from mental health using a strength

Answer 31

P:A strength of the deviation from ideal mental health definition is that it is very comprehensive. It covers a broad range of criteria for mental health.
E: Some would argue that it probably covers most of the reasons someone would seek help from mental health services or be referred for help.
E: the range of sheer factors discussed in relation to jahoda’s ideal mental health definition makes it a good tool for thinking about mental health.

Question 32

Evaluate the deviation from mental health using a weakness

Answer 32

P: Another limitation of the ideal mental health definition is that jahoda’s criteria are unrealistic.
E: few people satisfy all the criteria all the time.
E: Therefore, everyone would be described as abnormal to a certain degree. We need to ask how many of jahodas criteria must be absent before someone is judged as abnormal.