Normality

Question 1

What are the types of normality? (6)

Answer 1

• socio-cultural
• functional
• historical
• situational
• medical
• statistical

Question 2

what is cohort normality?

Answer 2

what is normal for people who share similar life experiences (e.g. missing lectures supposedly counted as abnormal)

Question 3

name two circumstances when social norms may vary.

Answer 3

• between different societies - some things considered normal in some societies and not in others e.g. eating meat (of a particular animal)
• something may be considered normal in society as a whole but not for an individual e.g. crime is normal in society but not for an individual committing crime

Question 4

what is cultural relativism?

Answer 4

beliefs, values and morals exist in relation to a particular culture from which they originate and are not absolute.

Question 5

give examples of cultural relativism. (6)

Answer 5

• child-rearing
• diet and nutrition
• living with chronic illness and disability
• caring
• reactions to adverse events e.g. funerals
• consulting behaviour

Question 6

what is functional normality?

Answer 6

how well an individual functions in the roles that have been made for them by their circumstances e.g. occupation, parenthood

Question 7

give an example of historical normality.

Answer 7

• smoking
• urine being used as toothpaste
• hysteria being linked to a ‘wandering uterus’ and not diagnosed as anxiety/depression

Question 8

what is situational normality?

Answer 8

normal behaviours constructed for an individual according to the environment they are in e.g. nakedness may be valued in a Finnish sauna but you would get arrested in a GP waiting room

Question 9

describe medical normality.

Answer 9

medical normality is an expected state for individuals (health-wise).
there are ranges for what is considered normal
abnormality is crucial for establishing the sick role

note that medical normality is not only assigned to conditions, systems and processes but also to beliefs and attributions
abnormal behaviours result in diagnosis of mental illnesses

Question 10

what is statistical normality?

Answer 10

normality as an expression of central tendency (mode, median, mean).
can be displayed as a normal (bell-curve) distribution - up to 3 standard deviations = normal

examples of use of the normal distribution in medical practice include: birth weight, sperm count, blood pressure, serum cholesterol, growing and adult heights

Question 11

can deviation from the ‘norm’ ever be positive?

Answer 11

yes, for example:

• flexibility in ideas and values allows progress
• and leads to new patterns of thinking
• driving evolutionary changes

Question 12

how does Crutchfield (1954) define conformity?

Answer 12

yielding to group pressure (the pressure can be real or imagined)

Question 13

how does Myers (1999) define conformity?

Answer 13

a change in behaviour as a result of real or imagined group pressure

Question 14

how does Zimbardo et al. define conformity?

Answer 14

a tendency for people to adopt the behaviour, attitudes and values of a reference group.

Question 15

maladaptation is a trait that is more harmful than helpful. what is the difference between self maladaptation and social maladaptation?

Answer 15

self:

• internal process
• feel society is not adapting to them
• can’t reconcile who you are

social:

• external process
• society considers you as a maladapting individual e.g. medschool kicking you out