definitions of abnormality

• explain deviation from norms?

  • behaviour that deviates from these norms is abnormal
  • abnormal - whatever violates social norms
• what does the definition of deviation from social norms allow?

  • a distinction between desirable & undesirable behaviours
  • social deviants - people who behave undesirably
• explain how tourette's is abnormal using the deviation from social norms definition?

  • swearing in public
  • breaks the unwritten rule
  • seen as an undesirable behaviour
  • will be considered social deviants
• explain failure to function adequately?

  • perceives individuals as abnormal when the behaviour shows they cannot cope with everyday life (ftfa)
• what characteristics were related to ftfa did rosenhan & seligman identify?

  1. maladaptive - interference to keep normal daily routine
  2. unpredictable & uncontrolled behaviour
  3. observer feels discomfort when seeing this behaviour
  4. irrational behaviour
• explain how depression is abnormal using the ftfa defintion?

  • a person may be unable to get out of bed in the morning & will be unable to maintain a normal pattern of behaviour meaning they cannot function adequately
• explain deviation from ideal mental health? (imh)

  • perceives abnormality as the absence of well being
• what did marie jahoda identify were the 5 main features of ideal mental health?

  1. self actualisation
  2. ability to resist stress
  3. have a positive self esteem & strong sense of identity
  4. accurate perception of reality
  5. mastery of the environment
• explain how autism is abnormal using the imh definition?

  • mastery of environment is missing as change is not coped with well as individuals thrive when there is a structure of routine
  • a disruption may cause emotional distress
• explain statistical deviation/infrequency?

  • behaviour is abnormal if it falls outside of the range that is typical for most people
• explain how anorexia/obesity is abnormal using the stat deviation definition?

  • causes people's weight to be lower/higher than the majority, this makes their weight unusual/infrequent
• X of deviation from social norms?

  1. ignores role of context
  2. social norms change over time
  3. culturally relative
• X of failure to function adequately?

  1. not always accompanied by dysfunction
  2. ignores role of context
  3. culturally relative
• X of deviation from ideal mental health?

  1. over demanding criteria
  2. criteria changes over time
  3. culturally relative
• X for statistical deviation?

  1. not all unusual characteristics are negative
  2. not everyone benefits from a label
• * real life application for statistical deviation?

  • docs can identify severity of disorders
  • seeing how statistically infrequent their symptoms are & treat it accordingly
  • valid
  • able to have a positive impact on patient's lives & society
• ignores role of context X for dsn?

  • surgeon may wash hands several times a day,
  • if this was an ordinary person it would be considered deviating from social norms so labelled abnormal
  • ? valid
  • may falsely label a person as abnormal when they are actually not
  • leads to misdiagnosis & receiving unnecessary treatments
• social norms change over time X for dsn?

  • homosexuality was abnormal in 1900s
  • but now not seen as an abnormality
  • ? temporal
  • cannot classify someone as being abnormal & guarantee they actually are in todays society as attitudes constantly change over time
  • means our approach to defining mental illness is out of date
• cultural relativity X for dsn?

  • social norms vary within cultures so difficult to know when being broken
  • sleeping during day may be sign of depression
  • in spain have siestas - midday nap - their social norm
  • ? population
  • cannot be generalised to other cultures
  • someone may be defined as abnormal in one culture but normal in another
• X not always being accompanied by dysfunction for ftfa?

  • harold shipman killed 215 people over 23 yrs
  • maintained outward apperance of a respectable member of his profession & went undetected due to his ability to appear normal
  • ? valid
  • may define abnormal people as normal as can go about their normal day
  • meaning person will be misdiagnosed for psychotic behaviour
  • may go untreated/not convicted - has implications on legal system
• ignores role of context X for ftfa?

  • are times in people's lives when its normal to suffer from distress
  • grieving is normal & may display maladaptive behaviour does not mean person is abnormal
  • ? valid
  • can falsely label those who are going through stressful time when are actually normal
  • may be unnecessarily given treatment
• cultural relativity X for ftfa?

  • what is considered to be normal functioning varies from culture to culture
  • e.g sleeping in the daytime in britain would be abnormal but in spain its normal
  • ? population
  • cannot be generalised to different countries & culture whose normal functioning is different to ours
• over demanding criteria X for dimh?

  • most people do not meet all the ideals
  • teens struggle to achieve self actualisation as are not given chance/opportunity
  • ? valid
  • can label people who are mentally healthy & normal as abnormal
  • high % of people would be falsely labelled abnormal
• criteria changes over time X for dimh?

  • perception of reality aspect of ideal m.h changes over time
  • in 13th century europe seeing visions was + sign of religious committment
  • now would be seen as sign of schizophrenia
  • ? temporal
  • doesn't account for changes in perceptions of imh so could label someone as abnormal in today's society who is found to be normal in the future
• culturally relative X of dimh?

  • criteria used to judge ideal m.h are subjective to cultural relativism
  • should not be used to judge others of different cultures
  • ? population
  • cannot be used to accurately identify abnormality cross culturally
  • cannot be generalised to wider population
• X not all unusual characteristics are negative for sd?

  • having high iq may deviate from stat norm
  • but is not undesirable feature
  • is actually useful for that person & for others as their knowledge can positively contribute to society
  • ? valid
  • can label those with desirable characteristics as abnormal since its infrequent
• X not everyone unusual benefits from a label for sd?

  • those with dwarfism may not respond well to being labelled abnormal since their height is not same as stat average
  • ? valid
  • ignores fact that unusual characteristics don't define person's ability to function in everyday life
  • could unnecessarily impact mental health & well being