statistical infrequency AO3

• definition fails to distinguish between problematic behaviour that needs treatment and desirable behaviour that does not e.g. IQ scores which are desirable/undesirable are under 70 or over 130.
• in order to treat psychological disorders we need definition that will adequately identify statistically rare behaviours that are undesirable and damaging to person. as a result definition cannot decide abnormality by itself.
• not clear how far behaviour should be from mean to be seen as abnormal. subjective judgement used to place cut off point. additionally it is not objective either although the stats give a misconception it is
• practical applications - usefulness in clinical settings, used as a part of formal diagnosis and to help assess severity of symptoms e.g. depression. for example intellectual disability is diagnosed with IQ score under 70 (bottom 2%)
• cultural relativism - behaviours that are rare/common change over time and are different in different countries. this means definition can be era-dependent and culturally dependent by using statistical average that may be outdated or may not apply in all countries