Psychopathology - Definitions Of Abnormality Flashcards
What are the four definitions - Don’t Fret Stacey Davis
Deviation from social norms
Failure to function adequately
Statistical infrequency
Deviation from ideal mental health
Statistical infrequency
- someone is abnormal if they’re mental behaviour is rare in the population - observed using statistics
- look at average spread - further from the middle values shows unusual behaviour
Evaluate stat infrequency - strength
Strength = evaluation of assessed people is objective - not dependent on clinician (subjective) ie deciding if a client is coping or not is subjective , observers may disagree
Weaknesses of stat. Infrequency
- not all stat. Rare traits are negative - definition includes people who are of higher intelligence and a good definition would not identify people with higher intelligence as those in need of support due to having a psychopathology
- Another criticism is that the psych. community is allowed to decide the cutoff point for what is statistically rare enough to be abnormal; this is subjective with real implications ie they decide 70 or under is an intellectual disability, those with just above 70 will be denied support
Failure to function adequately
- the individual is unable to cope with their daily lives, including they’re ability to interact with the real world and meet challenges
Failure to function outlined by ros and seligman
MOPI(T)U(P)
M - maladaptive behaviour - don’t act in a way that is in their best LT interests ie self harm or damage to relationships
O - Observer discomfort
P - personal anguish - cause themselves anxiety and distress
I- Irrationality - act unpredictably and motives are difficult to understand
U - Unconventionality - behaviour doesn’t match what is typically expected by society
Evaluate FFA
Weakness - not all behaviour that appears maladaptive is an indication of FFA ie people partaking in extreme sport, eating unhealthy etc - not good LT but they wouldn’t be said to have a mental illness
- FFA includes only people who can’t cope, psychopaths can often function in a successful way. Lower empathy - leads to success in business or politics - can cause distress to others while feeling none
STRENGTH- Respects individuals’ personal experience - other definitions don’t as they base definition off what is normal to the rest of the population
Deviation from social norms
An unwritten expectation of behaviour that can vary cross culturally and temporally
People who deviate from these = social deviants
Evaluate deviation from social norms
+ = it doesn’t impose a western view of abnormality on other non west. cultures - argued that diagnosing abnormality according to social norms isn’t ethnocentric; respects cultural differences
- can be difficult to apply when people of one culture move to a new culture where they have different norms - what mayve been = acceptable is seen as deviant ie Afro Caribbean’s = 7 x more likely to be diagnosed w Schizophrenia in uk - talking to angels , hallucinations = religious experience
Weakness - defining someone as abnormal can be seen as punishing them for expressing their individuality and repressing those who don’t conform to repressive norms of their culture
WHO - declassified homo. As a mental illness - social norm acceptance
Deviation from ideal mental health JAHODAAAAA - EARSAP
E - environmental mastery - ability to adapt and thrive in new situations
A- autonomy - acting independently and trust in one’s abilities
R - resistance to stress - able to cope with anxiety caused by daily life
S- self actualisation - ability to reach ones potential through personal growth
A - accurate perception of reality - ability to see the world as it is without distortion of biases
P - Positive attitude towards oneself - self esteem and self respect
Evaluate Jahoda
- = definition is derived from humanistic psychology - may be culturally biased reflecting a western perspective of mental health imposed etic many cultures may not place high value on autonomy as it’s not a norm - collectivist societies - there is less focus on individual success but helping family or groups
- = strictness of the criteria - most people would be defined as abnormal by standard because it is difficult to achieve all the criteria for ideal mental health all at one time
+= more constructive and holistic view. Considers MULTIPLE factors in diagnosis and provides suggestions for personal development - states what’s wrong AND how to overcome it. - respects individual and their experience
