Pyschopathology Flashcards
What is Abornamality ?
- a pyschological or behavioural state leading to impairment of interpersonal functioning
What are statistical norms?
- Any commonly seen behaviour or characteristic amongst the population.
What is a statistical infrequency ?
-Rare occuernces amongst the population . A persons trait ,thinking or behaviour is classified as abnormal if it is rare or seen as statistically unusual.
What is normal distrubtion?
- A symmetrical spread of ,frequency of data that forms a bell shaped pattern. The mean mode
What is a mental disorder ?
What is the DSM ?
- Description of symptoms of mental disorders
What is a benefit of psycho pathology ?
- Psychopathology research can be used to prevent absenteeism.
- More healthier ,more productive , employees .
What approaches can be used to treat mental disorders ?
- Behavioural approach
- Cognitive approach
- Biological approach
What are the definitions of abnormality?
- Deviation from social norms
- Deviation from ideal mental health
- Failure to function adequately
- Statistical infrequency
What are social norms ?
- Unwritten rules of how members of a social group are expected to behave.
- E.g - being polite in public ,wearing clothes in public
What is deviation of social norms
- Deviation from social norms is a definition of abnormality where a behaviour is seen as abnormal if it violates unwritten rules (social norms) about what is acceptable in a particular society.
Strength of Deviation of Social Norms
- Considers how behaviour affects other people
- We can treat people and stop and minimise harm to others
Weaknesses of deviation of social norms
Social norms change over time, meaning our classification of mental health has to be constantly updated
- Therefore this questions the reliability of using social norms to define abnormality.
E.g., homosexuality
Lacks reliability because they are not consistent over time
Weaknesses of deviation of social norms (2)
- Social norms vary depending on culture so what’s considered abnormal varies in different cultures.
People from ethnic minorities might be considered abnormal because they’re being judged by social norms that are different to their own culture.
People from ethnic minorities might be misdiagnosed as having a mental disorder because they are judged by different cultural norms. - For example Black Caribbeans in UK more likely to be diagnosed for schizophrenia then Black Caribbeans at home.
Frankie is a 30 year old lady, living in the United Kingdom. Every morning, she walks to town. She always walks holding a doll, mumbling loudly to herself. She doesn’t shower, so she smells quite bad. Also, if anyone approaches her or walks close by, she screams.
Question 2. Would Frankie’s behaviour be considered abnormal according to the deviation from social norms definition of abnormality? Explain why or why not.
- Frankie would be considered abnormal, according to the deviation from social norms definition of abnormality. This definition says that someone is abnormal if they don’t follow social norms, which are unwritten rules for how members of a social group are expected to behave. Frankie’s behaviour, such as not showering and screaming at strangers, are not in line with social norms, so she would be considered abnormal according to this definition of abnormality.
Explain the example of antisocial personality disorder
- A person with antisocial personality disorder (also known as psychopathy) often acts impulsively, aggressively, and irresponsibly. According to the DSM-5 (a guide used by psychiatrists to diagnose mental disorders), a key symptom is that they lack “prosocial internal standards.” This means they don’t follow the usual ethical or legal rules of society. In simpler terms, we see psychopaths as “abnormal” because they don’t follow the moral standards that most people agree on. This kind of behaviour is considered unusual or wrong in many cultures around the world.
What is another strength of deviation from social norms
- Real-world application
One strength of deviation from social norms is its usefulness.
Deviation from social norms is used in clinical practice. For example, the key defining characteristic of antisocial
personality disorder is the failure to conform to culturally acceptable ethical behaviour i.e. recklessness, aggression,
violating the rights of others and deceitfulness. These signs of the disorder are all deviations from social norms.
Such norms also play a part in the diagnosis of schizoptypal personality disorder, where the term ‘strange’ is
used to characterise the thinking, behaviour and appearance of people with the disorder.
This shows that the deviation from social norms criterion has value in psychiatry.
What is deviation from ideal mental health ?
- Deviation from ideal mental health is a definition of abnormality, which suggests that abnormal behaviour should be defined by the absence of particular (ideal) characteristics. Jahoda proposed six principles of ideal mental health, including having a positive view of yourself and being resistant to stress.
Who proposed criteria for ideal mental health ?
- Jahoda
What are the 6 criteria for ideal mental health ?
- Positive attitude towards the self
- Self-actualisation.
- Autonomy
- Resistance to stress
- Environmental mastery
- Accurate perception of reality
- Jahoda stated that for ideal mental health to be achieved the individual should experience all of these criteria for optimum ideal mental health and that if some are not fulfilled the person will experience difficulties.
What does it mean by positive attitude towards the self ?
- This is linked to the individual’s level of self-esteem. For ideal mental health the positive attitude should be at a good level, so that the individual feels happy with themselves.
What does it mean by self-actualisation ?
- Self-actualisation is being in a state of contentment, feeling that you have become the best you can be.
What does it mean by autonomy ?
- This is having the independence and self-reliance. The ability to function as an individual and not depending on others.
What does it mean by Resistance to stress ?
- This criteria is that an individual should not feel under stress and they should be able to handle stressful situations competently.
What does it mean by environmental mastery ?
- Having environmental mastery means that the person can adapt to new situations and be at ease at all situations in their life.
What does it mean by accurate perception of reality ?
- This criteria is focused on how the individual sees the world around them and to achieve ideal mental health they should have a perspective that is similar to how others see the world. This is focused very much on the distortions of thinking that some people, e.g. people with schizophrenia, may experience.
