definitions of abnormality

• what is abnormality?


  a psychological or behavioural state leading to imparement of interpersonal functioning and/or distress to others
• what are the 4 definitions of abnormality?


  deviation from social norms

  the faliure to function adequately

  deviation from ideal mental health

  the statistical infrequency
• what is the deviation of social norms definition?


  behaviour violating accepted social rules

  draws the line between desireable and undesireable behaviours

  labels people who break the rules and allow us to interfere in their life
• what is the faliure to function adequately definition?


  an inability to cope with day to day living

  behaviour is abnormal if it leads to distress that means someone cant function properly- can be because of a limitation of emotions or behaviours

  focuses on personal experience
• what were Rosenhan and seligman (1989) features of personal dysfunction?


  personal distress

  maladaptive behaviour

  irrationability

  observer discomfort

  violation of moral standards

  unconventionality
• how are Rosenhan and seligman (1989) features of personal dysfunction measured?

  using the global assessment of functioning scale
• what is the deviation from ideal mental health definition?


  faliure to meet the criteria for perfect psychological wellbeing made people abnormal even if only one characteristic was missing
• what are Jahoda's characteristics of ideal mental health?


  positive attitude towards oneself

  self-actualisation

  autonomy

  resisting stress

  accurate perception of reality

  environmental mastery
• what is the statistical infrequency definition?


  behaviours that are rare

  statistics are gathered that measure behaviours throughout the general population,most characteristics are normally distributed

  most people are in the middle (mean) 5% from the mean either side are extreme and therefore abnormal
• What are three strengths of deviation of social norms ?

  Protects society, seeks to protect society from the effects an individuals behaviour can have on others

  distinguishes between normal and abnormal

  Helps people, allows people to intervene when someone is in distress
• what are three strengths of failure to function adequately ?

  assess degree of abnormality, the GAF tool uses a continuous scale to see how much abnormality there is

  observable behaviour, judgements can be made by others on whether individuals are functioning

  personal perspective, recognises personal experiences
• what are three strengths of deviation from ideal mental health ?

  its holistic, considers the whole person not just areas of behaviour that are causing concern

  targets area of dysfunction, allows focusing on specific problem areas that are specific to each disorder

  goal setting, allows setting goals to achieve normality
• what are three strengths of statistical infrequency ?

  no value judgements, behaviours are not seen as wrong but rather infrequent

  based on real data, relies on real and unbiased data so is objective

  overall view, gives an overview of what behaviours and characteristics are infrequent within a given population
• what are three weaknesses of deviation from social norms?

  subjective, social norms are based on opinions of ruling elites rather than majority opinion

  changes over time, norms are defined by society often relate to moral standards and social attitudes

  cultural differences, social norms vary within and across cultures and so is difficult o know if they are being broken
• what are three weaknesses of failure to function adequately?

  abnormality without dysfunction, psychopaths are people with dangerous personality disorders that can cause great harm but they appear normal

  normal abnormality, there are times when its normal to be functioning inadequately eg grief

  distress to others, someone’s behaviour may cause distress to others and be regarded as dysfunctional ,while the individual feels no distress
• what are three weaknesses of deviation from ideal mental health?

  over-demanding criteria, hardly anyone would be classed as healthy few people are experiencing personal growth all the time

  subjective criteria, many of the criteria is vague and difficult to measure

  contextual effects, what is healthy depends on the context
• what are three weaknesses of statistical infrequency ?

  not all infrequent behaviours are abnormal

  where do you draw the line , it is not clear how far behaviour should deviate from the norm to be classed as abnormal

  not all abnormal behaviours are infrequent , some statistically normal behaviours are seen as abnormal