psychopathology - definitions of abnormality Flashcards
what is statistical infrequency ?
definition of abnormality a person is abnormal if their behaviour ls are statistically infrequent (rare)
what is deviation from social norms ?
a person is abnormal if they deviate (go against) social norms
what is failure to function adequately ?
definition of abnormality a person is abnormal if they are unable to cope with day to day living
what is deviation from ideal mental health ?
definition by Marie Jahoda (1958)
if you do not meet ALL of the criteria for ideal mental health you are abnormal
what are the criteria for ideal mental health ?
self attitudes (high self-esteem)
personal growth (reach fill potential)
integration (stress without overwhelming)
autonomy (not getting influenced)
perception of reality (accurate reality perception)
environmental mastery (master’s of one environment - successful life)
limitations of ideal mental health theory
• far too optimistic - making majority of population abnormal
• some are difficult if not impossible to have - cannot measure concepts we cannot see (e.g. environmental mastery and personal growth)
• fails to rake culture into account - some features are not important or frowned upon other cultures
what is the strength of ideal mental health ?
• takes a more positive view to defining mental health - listing desirable behaviour and not negative to see if you are abnormal
what are the two types of social norms in concept of deviation from social norms ?
• explicit social norms - norms built into the law
• implicit social norms - accepted standards of behaviour in society (not illegal but frowned upon)
what is a strength of deviation from social norms ?
• distinguishes between desirable and undesirable behaviour
what are the limitations of deviation from social norms ?
• social norms change with time - strange how someone can be mentally ill one year and normal another (major)
• some see this as social control - what is desirable and undesirable by society showing who can be labelled as what
• doesn’t take culture into account- as social norms vary between different cultures, cannot be applied cross culturally
what is a strength of Statistical infrequency of abnormality ?
• quite objective - works out abnormality, meaning value judgement isn’t taken into account
what are the limitations of statistical infrequency from abnormality ?
• doesn’t take culture into account - some behaviours are more/less common in different cultures
• some statistical infrequent behaviour is quite desirable, same as they can be quite undesirable
• someone has to decide where the cut off point is - how rare the behaviour actually is - making this theory subjective
what are the seven features Rosenhan and Selignam (1989) identified to decide if the person is not functioning adequately ?
• personal distress - failing to live their day to day life
• maladaptive behaviour - behaviour that is not adaptive (not helpful to achieve goals)
• unpredictability - behaviour showing you lost control and unpredictable
• irrationality - behaviour can’t be explained in a logical way
• observer discomfort - your behaviour causes everyone else to be uncomfortable
• violation of moral and ideal standards
• unconventional behaviour - when your behaviour differs from what it is expected to be
what is a strength of failure to function adequately ?
• sees things from the point of view of the person suffering with mental illness- instead of judging the person based on the norms of society
what are the limitations of failure to function adequately ?
• approach is very subjective - involves outsiders looking at a person’s behaviour and creating judgement calls
• personal distress is normal - some behaviours are normal
• some people who are mentally ill are actually very high functioning - which to an outsider would not show any abnormalities
