Psychopathology - Definitions of Abnormality Flashcards
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- Statistical Infrequency (Data) – rare, normal distribution, IQ as an example
Occurs when an individual has a less common characteristic, for example being more depressed or less intelligent than most of the population - Failure to function adequately (Psychologist) – failure to complete every day tasks, break interpersonal rules, harm to self or distress, shown through Rosenhan and Seligman’s research
Occurs when someone is unable to cope with ordinary demand of day-to-day living - Deviation from Social Norms (Society) – unwritten rules, society agrees on, varies between culture
Concerns behaviour that is different from the excepted standards of behaviour in a community or society - Deviation from Ideal Mental Health (Rule book/Psychologists) – Jahoda, Defines mental health, ability to self actualise
Occurs when someone does not meet a set of criteria for good mental health
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- A weakness of deviation of ideal mental health is the criteria was written by an Austrian psychologist.
- For example, Marie Jahoda’s was an Austrian social psychologist that developed the theory of “Ideal mental health” using an 8 step criteria.
- This is a weakness as due to her being an Austrian psychologist, her success criteria can be considered extreme as western ideology of mental health that is harsh to mental health making it difficult for people to live up to.
- However, it can be argued that lots of countries appeal to western cultures, methods and ideas making her criteria appealing to countries around the world that want to adapt to western thinking as they see it as a strength.
- Despite that, it makes it hard for people to self-actualise as the criteria makes it almost impossible to achieve.
- Thus reducing the likelihood of people choosing it as a definition.
- One weakness of statistical infrequency is that the data collected is quantitative; this means it is limited to numerical data and doesn’t consist of detail and descriptions.
- An example of this would be asking a sample of people to rank a type of food on a scale of 1-10.
- This is a weakness as researchers will lack personal and detailed opinions to explain why majority of the sample may have a similar judgement and why certain individuals do not align with the average scores, showing the limitations of quantitative data.
- However, other psychologists may argue that quantitative data is useful as collecting it may be more efficient compared to qualitative data benefitting the costs of the research.
- Despite this, statistical infrequency is still a weakness when it comes to considering whether an individual can be defined as abnormal or not as there is no reasoning to suggest why they should be considered abnormal when only numbers and statistics have been provided and due to this, people may be less likely to choose this definition to decide whether someone is abnormal or not.
- A weakness of deviation of social norms is people with learning difficulties will automatically struggle to follow them.
- A common thing people with ASD and ADHD struggle with is behaviour within social situations, meaning they often do not understand the unwritten rules of society or struggle to follow them. Under this definition of abnormality, all people with these disorders would be automatically classed as abnormal, something they cannot help or control.
- This lowers the credibility of this definition, as it automatically classes some people under it for deviating from social norms just by having learning difficulties.
- However, classing people suffering from ADHD and ASD as abnormal would allow them to seek support as they do display abnormal behaviours, meaning the definition is more likely to be used.
- Overall, a weakness of deviation of social norms is people with learning difficulties automatically struggling to follow the unwritten rules of society.
- This decreases the validity of the definition, because it automatically classes a group in society as abnormal, without taking into consideration any other behaviour, meaning psychologists are less likely to choose this as the definition of abnormality.
- A weakness of the failure to function adequately definition of abnormality is that some people choose not to have interpersonal relationships.
- A requirement for being normal by this definition is that a person maintains interpersonal relationships.
- This is a weakness because some people may be able to conform to standard interpersonal rules but choose not to and live alone. This means that they could meet all other requirements of normality but due to their lifestyle choice of living alone and choosing not to have interpersonal relationships, they would be labelled as abnormal despite being able to function in every other way.
- However, some may argue that maintaining interpersonal relationships is a key part of functioning in everyday life, and failure to do is a deviation for social norms and therefore is already considered abnormal by different definition of abnormality.
- Despite this, living without interpersonal relationships may be a lifestyle choice and an individual may be otherwise functioning normally, therefore this definition may be less likely to be chosen
What are the four definitions of abnormality
deviation from social norms
failure to function adequately
statistical infrequency
deviation from ideal mental health
deviation from social norms
behaviour that deviates from the norms and values of society is considered abnormal
all societies have unwritten rules of what is considered to be expected behaviour and any individual who is not behaving in the approved and expected ways of that particular society is considered abnormal.
this is called socially deviant behaviour and can be compared with non-conformity
examples of deviations from social norms
laughing at funerals
drug abuse
inappropriate dress
violent behaviour
most members of society are aware of these social norms and adjust their behaviour accordingly, however, the wild behaviour, manic and strange antics of the schizophrenic fit this definition
strengths of deviation from social norms
this definition can be used to categorise behaviour as being normal and abnormal within the society in which the behaviour is observed. In doing so it avoids being ethnocentric, as the observer should not judge the behaviour from their own cultural perspective, which is the tendency to regard one’s own culture as “normal” and consequently see different culture as “abnormal”
it allows for distinguishing behaviour within different social contexts. For example, wandering around naked in the town centre is not normal, but wandering around on a naturist beach is
limitations of deviations from social norms
some of the characteristics may be eccentric behaviours and are not necessarily abnormal
social norms vary with time. For example, in 1968 homosexuals were classed as sexual deviants; today gay marriage is legal in the UK and although prejudice still exists, homosexuality is no longer associated with mental disorder. so the definition does not provide a universal account of abnormality
cultural relativism, this is what may be seen as normal in one culture may be seen as abnormal in another. social norms are culture bound; a socially accepted way to behave in one culture may differ in another, for example a study by Kim and Motsei (2002) found that may African medical workers thought it was acceptable to beat a wife in order to correct her behaviour. these values are not shared in western cultures
antisocial personality disorder
A person with antisocial personality disorder (psychopathy) is impulsive, aggressive and irresponsible
According to DSM-5 (the manual used by psychiatrics to diagnose mental disorder) one important symptom of antisocial personality disorder is an ‘absence of prosocial internal standards associated with failure to conform to lawful and culturally normative ethical behaviour’
we are making the social judgement that psychopaths are abnormal because they don’t conform to our moral standards. psychopathic behaviour would be considered abnormal in a wide range of cultures
a person with antisocial personality disorder is …
impulsive, aggressive and irresponsible
what is the DSM-5
the manual used by psychiatrists to diagnose mental disorder
one important symptom of antisocial personality disorder is …
an ‘absence of prosocial internal standards associated with failure to conform to lawful and culturally normative ethical behaviour
failure to function adequately
when someone’s behaviour suggests that they cannot cope with every demands e.g. getting up in the morning, getting washed and dressed, and going to work, then they run the risk of being labelled as abnormal by this definition - they are failing to function frequently
behaviour is considered abnormal when it causes …
distress leading to an inability to function properly. it may also be characterised by an inability to experience a normal range of emotions or behaviours
seven features of dysfunction an individual shows the more they are classed as abnormal
personal distress
maladaptive behaviour
unpredictability
irrationality
observer discomfort
violation of moral standards
unconventionality
personal distress
a key feature of abnormality. includes depression and anxiety disorders
