Abnormality

• What is deviation from social norms?

  Behaviour that goes against the accepted standards or expectations of a society. People who express such behaviours may be seen as abnormal or deviants.
• What are the strengths of deviation from social norms?

  Practical applications - it allows us to identify people who may need psychiatric help. This definition can therefore be used to help include the quality of people's lives.

  Positive social change - Breaking social norms can lead to a positive shift in behaviour for a society. E.g. abolition of slavery, voting rights for women etc
• What are weaknesses of deviation from social norms?

  • Change over time - Lacks temporal validity as some things considered abnormal in the past may now be considered acceptable and vice versa
  • Context & degree of behaviour - no clear distinction about what is an abnormal deviation from a social norm
  • Cultural relativism - The belief that behaviour cannot be judged unless viewed in the context of the culture in which it originates
• What is statistical infrequency?


  Behaviour is considered abnormal because few people display it. I.e. It is a statistically rare behaviour to be displayed.
• How do normal distribution curves work?

  The majority of scores for a population will cluster around the mean. Any behaviour within the middle 68% of the population is seen as normal, and any behaviour lying outside of this is seen as abnormal.
• Strength of statistical infrequency:

  • Objective - mathematical definition makes it clear what is defined as abnormal and what is not
• Weaknesses of statistical infrequency:

  • Extreme sections - fails to describe & distinguish between problematic behaviour that needs treating and desirable behaviour. Therefore can't be used alone to determine abnormality
  • Cut-off point unclear - Difficult to know line between behaviour frequent enough to be normal and rare enough to be abnormal. Makes definition highly subjective
  • Cultural relativity - some behaviours are rare in some cultures but commonplace in others. Little consideration of cultural variations
• What is failure to function adequately?

  Inability to meet basic needs or function effectively in daily life. Individuals who cannot look after themselves or who are perceived to be irrational or out of control, are often viewed as dysfunctional.
• Who suggested 7 abnormal characteristics used to identify mental/psychological abnormality?

  Rosenhan and Seligman.
• What did Rosenhan and Seligman suggest?

  They came up with some abnormal characteristics to identify mental/psychological abnormality. When several are present, this shows symptoms of abnormality. One symptom alone may not be enough to become problematic.
• What are the characteristics identified by Rosenhan & Seligman?

  • Maladaptiveness - Behaviour which stops the person achieving their goals
  • Suffering - includes depression & anxiety. Often feelings that encourage individuals to seek help
  • Observer discomfort - Family members, colleagues etc become concerned about witnessed behaviour
  • Unpredictability - behaviour that wouldn't be expected
  • Irrationality - Behaviour which cannot be explained rationally
• Strengths of failure to function adequately:

  • Consideration of individual - find out how they're coping from their perspective and provides the opportunity for help to be received
  • Observable - Can be witnessed by other people so if individual is incapable of helping themselves/recognising the issue others can intervene
• Weaknesses of failure to function adequately:

  • Subjective - what one person might view as concerning behaviour another may not. Not overly reliable as people will have different opinions
  • Cultural relativism - standard of one culture being applied to another but different cultures have different expected behaviours
  • Internal distress - abnormal thinking isn't always noticeable if the person is still able to integrate normally into society. Abnormal thinking and internal distress may be missed
• What is deviation from ideal mental health?

  Marie Jahoda wrote a report on mental illness and health. She identified 6 common concepts used when describing mental health. Deviation from these six criteria would be seen as abnormal.
• Who identified 6 common concepts used when describing mental health?

  Marie Jahoda.
• What are the 6 characteristics Marie Jahoda identified?

  • Positive attitudes towards the self
  • Self actualisation
  • Autonomy
  • Resistance to stress
  • Accurate perception of reality
  • Environmental mastery
• What's a strength of deviation from ideal mental health?

  • Seen as a positive explanation. Focuses on behaviour people should aim to display rather than abnormal/infrequent behaviour. Limits stigma attached to behaviours seen as negative. Leads to less negative judgement on people struggling in society.
• What are weaknesses of deviation from ideal mental health?

  • Subjective opinions of criteria - vague and difficult to measure objectively, e.g. different opinions as to what counts as environmental mastery. Decisions based on this explanation may be inconsistent
  • Criteria may be too strict - very difficult for an individual to consistently meet all 6 areas considered to make up ideal mental health. Therefore everyone would be considered abnormal at some point. Makes this a less valid definition.