Abnormality

• what are the four definitions of abnormality?

  • statistical infrequency
  • failure to function adequately
  • deviation from social norms
  • deviation from ideal mental health
• what is statistical infrequency?

  a behaviour or characteristic that is unusual in a population in terms of data
• what is deviation from social norms?

  a behaviour that goes against what is largely accepted in society
• what is a strength of statistical infrequency?

  real world application as a way of diagnosing and assessing severity of an individual's symptoms
• what is a weakness of statistical infrequency?

  unusual characteristics are not necessarily negative, for example an IQ of over 130
• what is a strength of deviation from social norms?

  real world application in the diagnosis of anti-social personality disorder
• what is a weakness of deviation from social norms?

  cultural relativism, as not all cultures have the same norms - this is a westernised view
• what is failure to function adequately?

  when a person can no longer cope with the demands of everyday life
• what is deviation from ideal mental health?

  a picture of how a person should be in terms of psychological health (Jahoda, 1958)
• what is a strength of failure to function adequately?

  represents a threshold for professional help for people who experience severe symptoms
• what is a weakness of failure to function adequately?

  discrimination and social control, as non-standard lifestyles can easily be labelled as abnormal
• what is a strength of deviation from ideal mental health?

  it is a very comprehensive definition for distinguishing mental health from a mental disorder
• what is a weakness of deviation from ideal mental health?

  may be culture-bound, as ideal mental health cannot be applicable world wide as the criteria is located in the context of the US and western europe