Psychopathology- Defining Abnormality Flashcards
What are the four definitions of abnormality?
Deviation from social norms, statistical infrequency, failure to function adequately and deviation from ideal mental health
What are social norms?
Standards of behaviour and attitudes in society
What is a problem with deviation from social norms?
It can be used to justify the removal of ‘unwanted’ people from a society
What is a further limitation of deviation from social norms?
Social norms can change over time and across cultures
How is statistical infrequency shown?
Statistically frequent behaviour is in the middle of the bell curve and statistically infrequent/abnormal behaviours are at the tail ends of the bell curve
What are the problems with statistical infrequency?
- Doesn’t take account of desirability of behaviour, just frequency
- No distinction between rare behaviour that’s slightly odd and rare behaviour that’s psychologically abnormal
- No definite cut-off point where normal behaviour becomes abnormal behaviour
- Some behaviours considered psychologically abnormal are quite common
What is failure to function adequately?
If you can’t cope with the demands of day-to-day life
What criteria can be used to diagnose failure to function adequately?
Dysfunctional behaviour, observer discomfort, unpredictable behaviour, irrational behaviour and personal distress
What is Jahoda’s criteria for deviation from ideal mental health?
Positive self-attitude, self-actualisation, resistance to stress, personal autonomy, accurate perception of reality and adaptation to the environment
What is the problem with Jahoda’s criteria?
It can be hard to meet all the standards of the criteria
How does the idea of ideal mental health vary across time and between cultures?
What’s considered mentally healthy at one time and in one culture wouldn’t be in another
What symptoms are associated with mental illness?
Impairment of intellectual functions, alterations to mood that lead to delusional appraisals of past or future or lack of any appraisal, delusional beliefs and disordered thinking
