Statistical Infrequency

• Defines abnormality by behaviour that deviates from the mean average, so the less often it occurs, the more abnormal it is.
• Standard deviation - a measure of dispersion which shows how far spread out the scores are from the mean.
• The majority cluster around the mean. 68% fall within 1 standard deviation from the mean. 95% fall within 2 standard deviations from the mean. 5% fall outside 3 standard deviations from the mean and are considered abnormal.
• 𝓼𝓽𝓻𝓮𝓷𝓰𝓽𝓱𝓼:

  • Overall view - focuses on statistics so there is no room for bias.
  • Based on real data - objective so no judgement.
• 𝓵𝓲𝓶𝓲𝓽𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷𝓼:

  • Where to draw the line - how far can depression be considered to be abnormal when so many people have it?
  • Labels can be harmful - if someone is living happily labelling them could be harmful, regardless of how unusual they are.
  • Failure to recognise desirable behaviour - those with a high IQ are classed as abnormal when it is actually desirable.
  • Constant data - abnormality rate is always changing.
  • Too simplistic - doesn't tell us why things happen, just data.