Definitions of Abnormality

• Social Norms

  • unwritten rules of behaviour that are acceptable in a group or society
  • norms provide order and predictability in society because people want approval
  • those who don't follow norms with suffer disapproval
  • some rules are explicit and violating them may mean breaking the law
  • others are implicit but agreed upon as a matter of convention within a society
  • anyone who deviates from these norms is seen as abnormal
• Evaluation of Social Norms

  • lacks temporal validity - what is considered socially acceptable now may not have been 50 years ago
  • behaviours that are numerically rare (statistically abnormal) can be socially acceptable, showing that this definition takes into account desires and reasons behind norms
  • social norms are defined by culture
• Statistical Infrequency

  • descriptive statistics are used to represent a typical value in a given data set
  • a person's behaviour would be considered an indication of abnormality if it was found to be numerically rare
  • statistically rare can be defined by anything that falls outside of the normal distribution (2 standard deviations away from the mean)
• Evaluation of Statistical Infrequency

  • real world application - all assessments of patients with mental disorders include some kind of measurement of how sever their symptoms are compared to statistical norms
  • however, unusual characteristics can be positive and although they are statistically abnormal, it doesn't mean they need treatment
  • some people don't benefit from a label as it may have a negative effect on the way others view them and the way they view themselves
• Deviation from Ideal Mental Health

  • Jahoda (1958) conducted a review of what others had written about good mental health and these are characteristics that enable an individual to feel happy and behave competently
  • self-attitudes - high self esteem and sense of identity
  • personal growth and self actualisation
  • integration - being able to cope in a stressful situation
  • autonomy
  • accurate perception of reality
  • mastery of the environment
  • the absence of these criteria indicate abnormality
• Evaluation of deviation for ideal mental health

  • criteria is bound to Western culture and North American cultures (collectivist vs individualistic cultures)
  • perceptions of reality change overtime
  • the criteria can be quite difficult to measure
  • the definition is comprehensive and covers a broad range of criteria for mental health services to be referred for help which suggests that its a useful tool for thinking about mental health
• Failure to Function Normally

  • when behaviour suggests that a person can't cope with everyday living or when it causes distress
  • some people may lack awareness that their behaviour is wrong
  • there may be situations where a person is not coping with everyday life in a normal way. If this doesn't cause distress to self or others, then the person isn't considered abnormal
• Rosenham and Seligman (1989)

  • signs that can be used to determine whether or not someone is functioning normally
  • when a person no longer conforms to standard interpersonal rules (e.g. maintaining eye contact and respecting personal space)
  • when a person experiences severe distress
  • when a person's behaviour becomes irrational or dangerous to themselves or others
• Evaluation of failure to function

  • psychopaths can be dangerous and still appear normal (e.g. Harold Shipman)
  • definition suffers from cultural realism
  • when deciding whether someone is failing to function adequately, someone has to judge whether a patient is distressed or distressing others
  • The Global Assessment of Functioning Scale makes assessments as objective as possible