Definitions of Abnormality

• define the term deviation


  refers to deviant behaviour that is considered undesirable or anti-social by the majority of societies members
• what are social norms?


  they are rules that society has about how people should think and behave, they are standards of acceptable behaviour set by that social group
• what is abnormal behaviour?


  it is regarded as anything that deviates from a social norm against society's accepted standard for behaviour
• what are the two types of social norms? explain them


  ->explicit: set down as codes, conducts or laws, breaking these rules may result in punishment

  ->implicit: 'understood' but not stated formally; for examples we have explicit rules about respecting personal space and how to behave in social situations
• what is the DSM-5


  a manual used by psychiatrists to diagnose mental disorders
• what is an important symptom of Antisocial personality disorder?


  an absence of pro-social internal standards associated with failure to conform to lawful or culturally ethical behaviour
• what is a strength of the definition-deviation from social norms

  ->the definition is flexible dependent on the situation and age

  ->it allows the consideration of the social dimensions and desirability of a behaviour

  ->e.g homosexuality is classed as abnormal depending upon where a person lives (Brunei introducing a law against homosexuality in 2019)
• why is the definition deviation from societal norms being flexible a strength?

  it allows for our understanding that a behaviour may be normal or desirable in one situation but not another
• what is a limitation of the definition deviation from social norms?


  ->it is culturally relative

  ->e.g in different cultures, hearing voices could be praised as it's seen as a spiritual/religious awakening

  ->whereas, in the UK; if someone was to report hearing voices, they'll be diagnosed with schizophrenia
• why is the definition-deviation from social norms being considered culturally relative a limitation?


  it suggests that the definition cannot be applied universally to label abnormal behaviour as every culture is different, which could lead to different assumptions of what is abnormality and it makes it hard to standardise abnormality
• what is another strength of the definition-deviation from societal norms?


  ->it includes the desirability of behaviour

  ->the statistical infrequency definition does not take desirability into account.

  ->e.g- being a genius is considered statistically abnormal but we wouldn't include that in our abnormal behaviours
• why is the definition, deviation from social norms including issues of desirability a strength?


  it means that deviation from social norms can be more useful that statistical infrequency
• how is a person considered abnormal, under the definition; Failure to function adequately?

  they are abnormal if they are unable to cope with the demands of everyday life , e.g self-care
• what are the characteristics of abnormal people under the definition FTFA(failure to functional adequately)

  ->Rosenhan & Seligman (1989)

  ->suffering

  ->maladaptiveness

  ->vividness & unconventionality

  ->unpredictability

  ->irrationality

  ->observer discomfort

  ->violations of moral and social standards
• what's a strength of the definition FTFA (failure to function adequately)

  -> a strength is that it takes into consideration of the experiences, thoughts and feelings of the patient

  -> this therefore allows an assessment to be made from the point of view of the person experiencing it

  ->the more symptoms the sufferer shows, the more abnormal they are. It doesn't simply make a judgement without taking the personal viewpoint of the sufferer into consideration
• why is the fact that the definition FTFA takes into consideration the experiences of the patient a strength?

  -> it is a strength because, the definition takes an idiographic approach by taking into account the patient current experiences

  ->it also means that psychologists can decide on the best course of treatment
• what is a limitation of the definition FTFA?

  ->there are exceptions to the rule

  ->for example, people who are grieving for a loved one who has passed away, may be able to cope with life and function inadequately as a result e.g get out of bed; which under this definition demonstrates maladaptiveness tendencies

  ->and this would therefore be an indication of abnormality
• why is the fact that there are exceptions to the rule, a limitation of the definition FTFA?

  ->this is a imitation because grief is a natural part of losing someone and therefore under the FTFA definition, they may be classed as abnormal

  ->when overtime, they'll be able to return back to normal
• what is another limitation of the definition FTFA?

  ->the definition is culturally relative

  ->e.g, lower class and ethnic minorities may be more likely to be diagnosed with a mental disorder because their lifestyles are different to the ruling classes and therefore more likely to lead to a judgement of failing to function adequately
• why is the definition being culturally relative a limitation?

  ->it suggests that this definition cannot be applied universally to label abnormal behaviour as every culture is different, which could lead to different assumptions of what abnormality is and it makes it hard to standardise abnormality
• Define Deviation From Ideal Mental Health

  ->we define what's normal/ideal and anything that deviates from this is regarded as abnormal
• what's Jahoda criteria?


  ->positive attitudes towards one's self

  ->self-actualisation of one's potential

  ->resistance to stress

  ->personal autonomy

  ->accurate perception of reality

  ->adapting to the environment
• describe what it means to have positive attitudes towards one's self

  -.it means having a positive self-concept and sense of identity, including the qualities such as self-respect
• describe what it means to have self-actualisation of one's potential


  recognising one's potential and always striving to fulfil it
• describe what it means to have good resistance to stress

  being able to cope with anxiety without burning out or losing yourself
• what does it mean to have good personal autonomy?

  relying on one's self and resources and also understanding that sometimes you may have set backs
• what does it mean to have an accurate perception of reality ?

  ->viewing yourself and the world in realistic terms rather than in a distorted way
• what does it means to be highly adapted to the environment?

  it means being happy in all areas of your life. For example; work and personal relationships and adapting to change/environment
• what is a limitation of the definition deviation from ideal mental health?

  ->it's the difficulty of achieving self-actualisation

  ->meeting all Jahoda's six criteria appears quite demanding

  ->very few people may actually achieve their full potential in life, whether because of personal failings or a difficult environment

  ->for example, 'self-actualisation' is difficult to achieve therefore, most of us would be regarded as mentally unhealthy
• why is the difficulty in achieving self-actualisation under the definition; deviation from ideal mental health a limitation?

  ->it's a limitation because, the criteria could be seen as unrealistic for most people to reach and therefore; majority of the population would be seen to have a mental disorder which isn't accurate

  ->in addition, if most people are classed as mentally unwell; then the people who actually need treatment may not get the help that they need
• what is a strength of the definition deviation from ideal mental health?

  ->it offers an alternative perspective on mental disorders by focusing on the positives rather than negatives

  ->Jahoda's approach focuses on what is desirable rather than what is undesirable. e.g, having a positive view of one's self
• what is another limitation of the definition deviation from ideal mental health?

  ->some of Jahoda's classifications of ideal mental health are specific to Western Europe and North American cultures and can therefore be seen to be culturally biased

  ->e,g, the emphasis on personal achievement and being independent would be considered self-indulgent and a bad thing in other parts of the world, because the emphasis is so much on the individual rather than the family and community

  ->in addition, self actualisation is also a Western concept and not applicable to many collectivist countries
• why is the fact that some of Jahoda's classifications of ideal mental health being culturally relative a limitation?

  ->this is a weakness because psychology and Jahoda's criteria are based on individualistic western cultures and therefore cannot be applied to the other eastern or non-collectivist countries
• describe the definition Statistical Infrequency

  ->behaviours that are statistically rare should be seen as abnormal

  ->statistics are gathered that claim to measure certain characteristics and behaviours, with a view to show how they are distributed throughout the general population

  ->so that, any individual that falls outside the 'normal distribution', usually about 5% of a population will therefore be considered abnormal
• what is a strength of the definition Statistical Infrequency?

  ->a strength of this is it's usefulness

  ->it's an objective measure if abnormality due to it being mathematical in nature

  ->it's used in clinical practice, both as part of formal diagnosis and as a way to assess the severity of an individual's symptoms, e.g Beck depression inventory (BDI) is an assessment tool for diagnosing depression

  ->A score of 30+ (top 5% of respondents) is widely interpreted as indicating severe depression
• why is the usefulness of the definition Statistical infrequency a strength?

  it's a strength because it removes the subjectivity of diagnosing a mental disorder

  ->it allows psychiatrists and doctors to diagnose a patient objectively
• what is a limitation of the definition Statistical Infrequency?

  ->not all infrequent behaviours are abnormal

  ->IQ scores over 130 are in the top 2.5% of the population therefore statistically speaking, many gifted individuals could be classed as abnormal using this definition

  ->However, we wouldn't think of gifted individuals as abnormal and in need of intervention or treatment

  ->to use the criterion for this cases would be inappropriate
• why is the fact that not all infrequent traits are abnormal a limitation of the definition Statistical Infrequency?

  it's a limitation because this definition is not appropriate for mental disorders and therefore, it's not useful
• what's another limitation of the definition statistical infrequency?

  ->it can be subjective

  ->for example, we might consider the symptoms of depression, one of them is difficulty sleeping; how do we decide what is 'normal'?

  ->we could decide that abnormal sleep should be defined as sleeping for fewer hours than 80% of the population
• why is the fact that the definition Statistical Infrequency being subjective sometimes a limitation?

  ->it's a limitation because some people think that difficulty sleeping isn't sufficiently abnormal and want to raise it to 90% for example

  ->therefore; statistical infrequency definition isn't always as objective as it appears