Definitions of Abnormality

• Deviation from social norms

  • behviour that's different from the expected standards of behaivour in a community/society
  • a person whose behaviour or thinking violates the 'unwritten rules' of what is acceptable e.g when a person acts different from how we expect them to
  • if someone repeatedly breaks 'unwritten rules of society' this may indicate an underlying mental health condition
• Failure to Function Adequately

  • occurs when someone is unable to cope with ordinary demands of day to day living - someone is abnormal if they fit this and live independently
  • someone may be between normal and abnormal if they can't maintain: basic standards of hygiene, nutrition or hold down a job/maintain a relationship
  • a person's behaviour can cause personal suffering and distress due to failure to cope + they may also cause distress/discomfort to others
• FFA evidence

  • Rosehan and Seligman (1989) proposed signs to determine someone isn't coping:
  • when a person no longer conforms to standard interpersonal rules e.g maintaining eye contact
  • when a person experiences severe distress
  • when a person's behaviour becomes irrational/dangerous to themselves/others
• Statistical Infrequency

  • when an individual has less common characteristics e.g being more depressed/less intelligent than most of the population
  • according to the definition, a behaviour is seen as abnormal if it's statistically uncommon/not seen very often
  • abnormality is determined by looking at the distribution of a particular behaviour
  • normal distribution curve - used to represent proportions of population who share a particular characteristic
• Statistical Infrequency - evidence

  • average IQ is 100 - 65% of population have IQ between 85-115. 95% of population has IQ between 70-130. Small percentage of population have IQ below 70 (intellectual disability disorder) or above 130 - these people are statistically uncommon and would be classified as abnormal
• Deviation from Ideal Mental Health

  • Jahoda's Criteria - occurs when someone doesn't meet a set of criteria for good mental health
  • thinks about what makes someone 'normal'
  • Jahoda (1958) suggested abnormal behaviour should be defined by the absence of particular (ideal) characteristics - behaviours that deviate from ideal mental health
  • If an individual doesn't demonstrate one of these criteria, they'd be classified as abnormal
• Jahoda's Criteria

  • having a positive view of yourself (high self-esteem) with strong sense of identity
  • being capable of personal growth + self-actualisation
  • being independent of others (autonomous) and self-regulating
  • having an accuate view of reality
  • being able to intergrate and resist stress
  • being able to master your environment (love, friendship, work etc)
• Deviation from Social Norms - A03

  • cultural relativism - weakness
  • hindsight bias - weakness
  • able to establish if someone has an abnormality - strength
• FFA - A03

  • simply deviation from social norms - weakness
  • considers subjective personal experience - strength
• Statistical Infrequency - A03

  • misdiagnosis - weakness
  • labelling - weakness
• Deviation from Ideal Mental Health

  • unrealistic criteria - weakness
  • cultural relativism - weakness
  • positive and holistic stance - strength