Psychopathology - Detinitions Of Abnormalities Flashcards
What are the four definitions?
- Deviation from social norms
- failure to function adequately
- statistical infrequency
- Deviation from ideal mental health
what is deviation from social norms?
social norms are expectation by society of what is acceptable behaviour. so any behavior which deviates from the social norm will be seen as undesirable by society and therefore will be considered as abnormal.
examples of deviation from social norms (1)
- going shopping naked at your supermarket
explain the weakness for deviation of social norms - views can change over time
social norms can change over time and this can determine whether the behaviour is abnormal or not .
for example in america up to 1970s homosexuality was viewed as a disease and classified as a disorder. however over time attitudes toward homosexuality changed and became more accepting and the disorder was then removed. this suggests that defining abnormality in terms of deviation of current social norms is inappropriate as it is not reliable since it is dependent on prevailing social norms and moral values which can change.
explain the weakness for deviation of social norms - cultural relativism
the definition can be culturally specific. e.g if an indvidual experiences hallucinations, some African or Asian cultures may look upon this symptom positively, viewing it as a sign of spirituality or a strong connection with ancestors. Whereas most western cultures would see this as a symptom of schizophrenia.This means we do not have a universal definition as each culture has a different view of what is normal or abnormal behaviour.
explain the strength of deviation from social norms - definition is flexible depending on situation and age.
A strength is that it is flexible dependent on situation and age. A social norm is to wear full clothing whilst out shopping, but a bikini is acceptable on a beach. It is also socially acceptable to drink milk out of a bottle with a teat if you are a baby, but not as an adult.
what is failure to function adequately
Rosenhan and Seligman (1989 suggested that an individuals behaviour would be classified as abnormal if it caused personal distress or inability to cope within day to day tasks for example when an indvidual with depression stays in bed all day or someone with social phobia avoids social situations both of these are examples of maladaptive behaviour and theretofore according to the failure to function adequately criteria the individuals would be classified as abnormal.
explain the weakness of FFA - cultural relativism
FFA is prone to cultural relativism. what is considered as aqeuate functioning in one culture may not be considered in another culture. For example in non western cultures women who remain completelty housebound are consideredd normal or even virtuous. however in western cultures such behaviour would meet some of the charcterstics of FFA such as maladaptive behaviour and irrational behaviour which can indicate mental disorder such as agoraphobia (fear of social places ). this means it is difficult to establish a universal definition as each culture has a different view.
explain the weakness of FFA - selective judgement
a limitation is the subjective interpretation of defining someone as failing function adequately. clinicians may wrongly classify people as abnormal. for example a person who displays personal distress due to bereavement in the family would be having a normal reaction. therefore this raises the question of at what point does the suffering become abnormal personal suffering? the person may see this a part of the process of mourning which may take longer than expected. this shows the whether the person is functioning adequate is difficult to diagnose because they are based on the subjective criteria of clinicians.
strength of FFA - patients perspective
it attempts to include the subjective experience of the indvidual. it acknowledge that the experience of the patient is important. so the final diagnosis will be compromised of the patients (subjective) self reported symptoms and the psychiatrists objective opinion. this may lead to more accurate diagnoses of mental health disorders because such diagnoses are not constrained by statistical limits as is the case with statistical infrequency.
what is statistical infrequency ?
any common behaviour will be classified as normal and unusual behaviour will be considered abnormal.
strength of statistical infrequency - real life application
a strength of statistical infrequency being used to define abnormality is that it is able to determine a clear cut off point between what is normal and abnormal. this makes it useful for clinicians diagnosing some psychological disorders =, e.g intellectual disability ( when an indvidual intelligence is below 70 their intellectual functioning is considered abnormal and is classified a intellectual disability. )
explain the weakness of statistical infrequency - desirability of infrequent behaviors.
the definition fails to account for traits that are statistically rare but are desirable. for example to have a high IQ such as 130+ is rare (and therefor abnormal) however high IQ is not a bad thing but a quality that is desirable for the majority of people and not seen as something that requires treatment. similarly extremely low scores on the trait of anxiety would be desirable yet classified as abnormal. therefore the criticism of classifying anything that differs from the majority as abnormal is that it fails to take into account the desirability of the behaviour and so it is not an effective way of diagnosing abnormality as it is reductionist.
explain the weakness of statistical infrequency that seem abnormal behaviors are not statistically rare .
another limitation of this definition is that some abnormal behavior are not statistically rare. for example it is estimated that 20/30% of people will suffer from depression during their lifetime. statistically, then depression is creatively common but it is not considered normal.
what is deviation from ideal mental health?
Jahoda (1958) defined abnormality as deviation from ideal mental . she identified six criteria that constitute an ideal state of positive mental health. some of the criteria include ( self actualization, personal autonomy and positive self attitude). the more criteria someone fails to meet the more abnormal they are in terms of mental health.
