definitions of abnormality

• statistical infrequency 


  occurs when an individual has a less common characteristic, for example being more depressed or less intelligent than most of the population
• deviation from social norms 


  when a person behaves in a way that is different from how we expect people to behave. groups of people choose to define behaviour as abnormal on what is acceptable or what is right
• norms are specific to the culture we live in 


  social norms are different for each generation and culture, they breach their social norms. e.g. homosexuality continues to be viewed as abnormal in some cultures
• antisocial personality disorder

  a person with APD is impulsive, aggressive and irresponsible. one important symptom of APD is an absence of prosocial standards associated with failure to conform to cultural behaviour. psychopathic behaviour would be considered abnormal in a wide range of cultures
• A03 - statistical infrequency

  • one strength is that it has real life application in the diagnosis of intellectual disability disorder
  • therefore is a place for statistical infrequency in thinking about normal and abnormal behaviours and characteristics
  • assessments of patients include measurement of how severe their symptoms are compared to statistical norms
• A03 - statistical infrequency

  • IQ scores over 130 are just as unusual as those below 70
  • just because very few people display certain behaviours does make the behaviour statistically abnormal but it doesn't mean they require treatment to return to normal
  • this is a serious limitation to statistical infrequency and means it would never be used alone to make a diagnosis
• A03 - statistical infrequency

  • not everyone unusual benefits from a label
  • where someone is living a happy life, there is no benefit to them being labelled as abnormal regardless of how unusual they are
  • if that person was labelled as abnormal this might have a negative effect on the way others view them and how they view themselves
• A03 - deviation from social norms

  • a strength is that it has real life application in the diagnosis of APD
  • therefore is a place for deviation from social norms in thinking what is normal and abnormal
  • however, there are other factors to consider such as the distress to other people resulting from APD
  • deviation from social norms is never the sole explanation for abnormality
• A03 - deviation from social norms

  • social norms vary from one generation to another massively
  • e.g. a person from one cultural group may label someone from another culture as behaving abnormally according to their standards rather than the way the person is behaving
  • e.g. hearing voices is socially accepted in some cultures but would be seen as abnormal in the UK
• A03 - deviation from social norms

  • there is too much reliance on deviation from social norms to understand abnormality which can also lead to systematic abuse to human rights
  • previous classifications show that diagnoses were really there to maintain control over ethnicity groups and women
• failure to function adequately

  when a person can no longer cope with the demands of everyday life, we might decide someone is not functioning adequately when they are unable to maintain basic standards of nutrition and hygiene. also if they cannot hold down a job or maintain relationships with people
• Rosehan and Seligman (1998)

  they have proposed signs that can be used to determine when someone is not coping. these include:

  • when a person no longer conforms to standard interpersonal rules e.g. maintaining eye contact
  • when a person experiences severe personal distress
  • when a person's behaviour becomes irrational or dangerous to themselves or others
• deviation from ideal mental health

  occurs when someone does not meet a set of criteria for good mental health
• what does ideal mental health look like?

  • we have no symptoms or distress
  • we self-actualise (reach our potential)
  • we can cope with stress
  • we have a good self-esteem and lack guilt
  • we have a realistic view of the world
• A03 - failure to function adequately

  • a strength is that it does not attempt to include the subjective experience of the individual
  • it may not be an entirely satisfactory approach because its difficult to assess distress, but it acknowledges that the experience of the patient is important
  • suggests it is a useful criteria for assessing abnormality
• A03 - failure to function adequately

  • it can be hard to say when someone is failing to function and when they are just deviating from social norms
  • if we treat certain behaviours as failures of adequate functioning, we risk limiting personal freedom and discriminating against minority groups
• A03 - failure to function adequately

  • when deciding whether someone is failing to function, someone has to judge whether a patient is distressed or distressing
  • some patients may say they are distressed but may be judged as not suffering
  • the principle remains that someone e.g. a psychiatrist has the right to make this judgement
• A03 - deviation from ideal mental health

  • a strength is that it is very comprehensive
  • it covers a broad range of criteria for mental health and covers most of the reasons someone would seek from mental health services or be referred for help
  • the range of factors make it a good tool when thinking about mental health
• A03 - deviation from ideal mental health

  • some of the ideas in the classification are specific to Western European and North American cultures (culture-bound)
  • e.g. the emphasis on personal achievement in the concept of self-actualisation would be considered self-indulgent in much of the world because the emphasis is so much on the individual rather than the family or community
• A03 - deviation from ideal mental health

  • it sets an unrealistic high standard for mental health because none of us can achieve all of the factors in the criteria
  • therefore can see most of us as being abnormal
  • however, it makes it clear to people the ways in which they could benefit from seeking treatment to improve their mental health