Deviation from social norms

Question 1

deviation from social norms

Answer 1

• any behaviour that doesn’t follow accepted social patterns or rules in society/ culture
• violation of these rules = abnormal + undesirable behaviour
• looks at the impact of an individuals’ behaviour upon other people
• rules either explicit (e.g. breaking the law) or ‘codes of conduct’
• social norms/ rules vary from culture to culture
• help identify a person who might be suffering a mental disorder

Question 2

ad of deviation from social norms

Answer 2

• distinguishes a difference between desirable + non-desirable behaviour
• model aims to protect members of the public from the effects of abnormal behaviour + its damaging consequences
• e.g. abnormal for someone to wear no clothes in the street = would be disturbing + damaging
• highlighting this behaviour as abnormal, aim to minimise this behaviour + protect public from its effets

Question 3

disads of deviation from social norms

Answer 3

• suffragettes
• change over time
• eccentric
• context

Question 4

eccentric - disads of deviation from social norms

Answer 4

• definition doesn’t always indicate that a person has a psychological abnormality
• psychs must be cautious when making judgements about whether deviation from social norms implies that they’re abnormal OR just odd/ eccentric
• e.g. people who streak = odd + behaviour deviates from social norms
  = doesn’t mean they’re mentally disturbed
  = cautious when making judgements

Question 5

context - disads of deviation from social norms

Answer 5

• context must be taken into account
• e.g. wearing no clothes in the high street would be viewed as off + deviating from social norms
• HOWEVER wearing no clothes is acceptable in a different context e.g. a nudist beach
  = context must be considered when judging if behaviour is deviant or not

Question 6

suffragettes - limitations of deviation from social norms

Answer 6

in some instances it can be beneficial to break social norms
e.g. suffragettes broke many social norms but this led to women gaining the right to vote

Question 7

change over time - disads of deviation from social norms

Answer 7

social norms of society change over time
e.g. homosexuality was classed as a mental illness in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) until 1990
= no longer considered an abnormality