PP- Failure to function adequately Flashcards
What is a definition of abnormality?
Failure to function adequately
What does failure to function adequately mean?
Failure to function adequately is a definition of abnormality where a person is considered abnormal if they are unable to cope with the demands of everyday life such as having a job, or interacting well with others because they are experiencing psychological distress and discomfort.
- This will impact their personal, social and occupational life.
How many criteria help define mental abnormality in the failure to function adequately model?
7
The higher the number of criteria, the more ______ the person is.
Abnormal
Who proposed the 7 criteria and the failure to function adequately model?
Rosenhan and Seligman
What is a helpful acronym to help remember the 7 criteria?
SUMOVIV
What are the 7 criteria?
1) SUFFERING- A person might be psychologically or physically suffering because they have a psychological abnormality that is having a negative effect on them.
2) UNPREDICTABILITY &LOSS OF CONTROL- Abnormal individuals’ behaviour is often very variable and uncontrolled, and is also inappropriate.
3) MALADAPTIVENESS- Maladaptive behaviour patterns prevents an individual from achieving major life goals such as enjoying good relationships with other people or working effectively.
4) OBSERVER DISCOMFORT- Those who see the unspoken social rules of social behaviour being broken often experience some discomfort.
5) VIVIDNESS & UNCONVENTIONALITY- The ways in which abnormal individuals behave in various situations differ substantially from how most people behave. E.g someone with anorexia nervosa might refuse to eat despite being extremely thin.
6) IRRATIONALITY & INCOMPREHENSIBILITY- A common feature of abnormal behaviour is that it isn’t clear why anyone would choose to behave in that way. However we simply may not know the reasons for it.
7) VIOLATION OF MORAL AND IDEAL STANDARDS- Behaviour may be judged to be abnormal when it violates established moral standards.
What are the advantages of ‘Failing to function adequately’ as a definition of abnormality?
1) An advantage of this model is that using the GAF scale (Global assessment of functioning scale) means that psychologists can accurately assess the degree of abnormality and how well the patient is/isn’t coping with their daily life. E.g if a patient appears to be not coping very well in their social/occupational life then it could be concluded that the person is not functioning adequately and therefore is abnormal.
What are the disadvantages of ‘Failing to function adequately’ as a definition of abnormality?
1) Using ‘Failure to function adequately’ as a definition of abnormality can be seen as inaccurate because abnormality is not always accompanied by dysfunction.
- Some people do have a psychological abnormality, but they still appear to lead a normal life and do not possess any of the 7 criteria proposed by Rosenhan and Seligman.
E.g Harold Shipman committed many murders, but still appeared to function adequately and ‘normally’ in everyday life.
- On the other hand, some people might appear to be not functioning adequately but might actually be normal and just having a bad day.
- Therefore failure to function adequately might be an inaccurate definition of abnormality.
2) The 7 criteria used in this definition can be very problematic as they are very difficult to measure and analyse.
- The model is very subjective and lacks being scientific and objective which means that psychologists need to be cautious when using the model to define abnormality.
- There may also be instances when some of the criteria should be adhered to because it would be normal to do so.
- E.g when a close relative passes away, then it would be acceptable for people to show signs of suffering rather than not.
