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Definitions of Abnormality
Statistical infrequency
Evaluation
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Created by
Billy Dudden
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Cards (2)
Real-world application
One strength of statistical infrequency is its
usefulness
:
It is used in both
diagnosis
and to assess
severity
of
symptoms
E.g.
Beck depression index
(BDI). A score of
30
+ is interpreted as
severe depression
Unusual characteristics can be positive
One limitation of statistical infrequency is that infrequent characteristics can be
positive
as well as
negative
:
E.g. someone with an IQ of over
130
is
infrequent
, just as a score of below
70
is. Or someone with a low score on the
BDI.
These examples show that being at one end of the spectrum does not necessarily make someone
abnormal
Therefore, statistical infrequency is not
sufficient
as a sole basis for defining
abnormality