What is Normal? Flashcards
What can we use to define abnormality?
Maladaptiveness, violations of the standards of society, statistical deviancy, social discomfort, irrationality and unpredictability, dangerousness, failure to function adequately, and deviation from ideal mental health.
What is the problem of using maladaptiveness to define abnormality?
“Maladaptiveness” is subjective. A psychopath or narcissist display who lacks emotional attachment and acts without remorse, is acting in a way that is adaptive for themselves, but not for society as a whole. Also, people without mental disorders also engage in maladaptive behaviour, such as smoking, or not exercising enough.
What is the problem of using violations of standards of society to define abnormality?
No universal agreement over social norms. They are culturally specific, and can change significantly over time and between ethnic, regional, and socio-economic groups. For example, homosexuality.
Culture-bound illnesses such as Amok (Malaysia) and ghost sickness (Native Americans). These definitions also only work in society, if somebody was to hallucinate benign people and interact with them, there would be no one around to define this as abnormal, and so the definition is not objective.
What is the problem of using statistical deviancy to define abnormality?
Genius and perfect pitch, rare but not “abnormal”. Also, the common cold is “common”, but is certainly an illness. The statistical definition implies that being average is desirable and healthy, and while society functions on the basis of normality and conformity, it also restricts freedom and individualism of people when the bounds are conformity are overextended into aspects of behaviour that while “extreme”, do not harm the self or other.
What is the problem of using irrationality and unpredictability in defining abnormality?
What is this defined as?
What is the problem of using deviation from ideal mental health Maslow (1946)?
A given person very rarely would ever achieve self-actualisation (ideal mental health).
