deviation from ideal mental health

• what is deviation from ideal mental health?

  any behaviour which differs from perfect psychology health= abnormal

  judging to the extent to which a persons behaviour differs from 'ideal'
• who proposed what ideal mental health looks like?

  Jahoda (1958)

  suggested that we are in good mental health if we meet the criteria
• what is the criteria for ideal mental health?

  -we have no symptoms or distress

  -we are rational and can perceive ourselves accurately (accurate perception of reality)

  -we self-actualise (personal growth)

  -we can cope with stress

  -we have a realistic view of the world

  -we have good self-esteem and lack guilt (self attitudes)

  -we are independent of other people (autonomy)

  -we can successfully work, love and enjoy our leisure
• what are psychopathology examples of ideal mental health?

  Anorexia

  Eating disorders

  they have an inaccurate view of life
• what are the summary key terms of ideal mental health?

  jahodas criteria
• AO3- Strength- real life practical application

  E- Jahoda's criteria covers most of the reasons why we might seek help with mental health, an individuals mental health can be discussed meaningfully with a range of professionals who might take different theoretical views

  E- Therefore, this suggests that its more applicable to real life and can be used to seek help and improve qol. useful and valuable

  L- ideal mental health provides a checklist against which we can assess ourselves and others and discuss psychological issues with a range of professionals.
• AO3- limitation- culturally limited

  E- Jahoda's criteria can sometimes only be located in the context of the US and Europe. there is a difference in criteria used in collectivist vs individualistic cultures. particularly self-actualisation would be dismissed as too self-indulgent in much of the world. personal independence is high in Germany, low in Italy. What defines success in our working, social and love-lives are very different in cultures

  E/L- Difficult to apply across cultures, lowers validity and cant generalise across the world decreasing ecological validity
• AO3- Limitation- extremely high standards

  E- very few across the world attain the criteria for mental health, most people don't achieve all of these at the same time or keep them up for very long. it can be disheartening to see an impossible set of standards to live up to

  E/L- Therefore this suggests that it undermines its use, could lead to people to doubt their mental health and isn't protecting them from harm. costs outweigh benefits