Psychopathology - Defining Abnormality

Question 1

DSN

Answer 1

Deviation from social norms

Question 2

DSN def

Answer 2

Behaviour that it deemed as unacceptable in society

Question 3

What are behaviours of DSN based on?

Answer 3

Particular group norms (society’s unwritten rules meaning they are legal)

Question 4

What can change over time (DSN)?

Answer 4

Social norms

Question 5

What norms can be different DSN?

Answer 5

Cultural norms

Question 6

Example of DSN

Answer 6

Talking to yourself out loud in public is seen as abnormal as the mental health of person is questioned by witnesses

Question 7

Examples of how social norms change over time

Answer 7

-Until early 20th century unmarried pregnant women locked up in mental institutions
-Until 1960s, in UK homosexual acts were criminal offences
-Until 1973, homosexuality was mental disorder in USA

Question 8

Cultural issues of DSN

Answer 8

Lack of cultural relativism can lead to ethnocentrism, where only perspective of own culture is taken

Question 9

SI

Answer 9

Statistical infrequency

Question 10

SI def

Answer 10

Behaviour is abnormal if it’s statistically unusual. The characteristics of the behaviour are less common

Question 11

What does the def of SI focus on?

Answer 11

Quantity of behaviour rather than quality

Question 12

Negative evaluation of SI in terms of IQ

Answer 12

If your IQ is above average it’s considered to be abnormal although it’s desirable

Question 13

DIMH

Answer 13

Deviation from ideal mental health

Question 14

What did Johada come up with for DIMH?

Answer 14

Criteria of 6 categories that people had to experience at the same time to have positive mental health

Question 15

6 categories by Johada (PRIASE)

Answer 15

Personal growth, reality perception, autonomy, integration, self-attitudes and environmental mastery

Question 16

Personal growth

Answer 16

Self actualisation

Question 17

Reality perception

Answer 17

Knowing what is real

Question 18

Autonomy

Answer 18

Independence

Question 19

Integration

Answer 19

Fitting in with society

Question 20

Self-attitude

Answer 20

Should be positive

Question 21

Environmental mastery

Answer 21

Coping in your own environment
Adapting to change

Question 22

Why is Johada’s criteria too demanding?

Answer 22

Because it stated you must experience all the categories at the same time

Question 23

What may lacking one part of Johada’s criteria not mean?

Answer 23

It may not mean you have poor mental health - for example, it’s hard to have high self-esteem all the time

Question 24

What society is Johada writing from and how does this affect validity of her criteria?

Answer 24

Western society. In collectivism cultures, personal growth doesn’t have importance as value is placed on thriving as part of group

Question 25

FFA

Answer 25

Failure to function adequately

Question 26

FFA def

Answer 26

Inability to deal with demands of everyday life

Question 27

Behaviour of people with FFA

Answer 27

Maladaptive (not adjusting to environment), irrational or dangerous

Question 28

When will someone have abnormality in terms of FFA?

Answer 28

When they’re unable to perform necessary behaviours for everyfsy life

Question 29

Negative evaluation of FFA

Answer 29

Who decides what is meant by ‘failure to function adequately’? (E.g. person with schizophrenia won’t think they have a failure)
Ideas relating to functioning adequately are culturally relative, as the standards of one culture can’t be used to judge the behaviour of one of another culture

Question 30

When may some dysfunctional behaviours be seen as adaptive and functional by the individual?

Answer 30

Example: Someone with eating disorder may continue their behaviours as they like the attention they receive when talking about it

Question 31

Qualities of normal distribution graph

Answer 31

Mean, median and mode align in extract mid-point (peak of curve)
Graph is symmetrical

Question 32

What is negatively skewed distribution graph compared to?

Answer 32

Left foot as big toe (peak of curve) is on the right side

Question 33

What is positively skewed distribution graph compared to?

Answer 33

Right food with big toe (peak of curve) on left side

Question 34

Results of majority of people in negatively skewed distribution graph

Answer 34

Lots of people have high results

Question 35

Results of majority of people in positively skewed distribution graph

Answer 35

Few people have high results

Question 36

Key evaluation for all the definitions of abnormality

Answer 36

Cultural relativism - E.g. are they relevant to collectivist cultures?