definition of abnormalities

• what is psychopathology?

  The study of psychological disorders.
• what is statistical infrequency as an explanation of abnormality?

  when an individual has a less common characteristics than others.
• when is Statistical infrequency useful?

  it is useful when dealing with things that can be measured.
• evaluate statistical infrequency

  § statistical infrequency as a measure of abnormality has a real-life application in clinical assessment patients with mental illnesses have their symptoms compared to statistical normal indicate the severity of their illness.

  § Some people might be harmed by labels e.g. if someone has a low IQ and is living a happy life labelling them as intellectually disabled could be very upsetting.

  § Statistical frequency can be positive too (e.g. high IQ is seen as desirable) and therefore displaying statistical.
• What is deviation from social norms?

  Behavior that goes against the accepted standards or expectations of a society.
• Deviation from social norms


  A measure of abnormality
• Deviation from social norms as a measure of abnormality

  • Has a real-life application in diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder (psychopathy)
  • Other important factors such as distress it can cause others should be considered, so it should never be the only thing to define abnormality
• Culture differs and therefore view different behaviour as abnormal
• Historically, deviations from social norms were there to maintain control over minority/inferior groups
• Some would argue that despite society being different nowadays, modern diagnoses of mental disorders are still just abusing individuals' right to be different
• what is failure to function adequately


  when a person cannot cope with the ordinary daily demands of life.
• what are the signs Rosenhan & Seligman said to look out for

  not conforming to interpersonal rules

  experiencing personal distress

  behaving irrationally

  low IQ would not lead to diagnosis unless the person was unable function adequately
• Evaluate failure to function adequately

  ·  Failure to function adequately is a useful measure of abnormality as it attempts to include the subjective experience of the individual and is therefore perhaps more likely to capture those who are in need of support.

  ·  People who choose to live alternative lifestyles could be interpreted as failing to function adequately and then we risk limiting personal freedom and discriminating against minority groups.

  ·  Assessing whether someone is failing to function comes down to subjective judgment. There are objective checklist
• what is abnormality

  the absence of criteria for good mental health
• what is deviation from ideal mental health?

  according to Jahoda 1958 there are criteria’s a person must meet for a good mental health and the more criteria absent the more the person is unable to cope:

  self-actualisation, cope with stress, realistic view of the world, good self-esteem or lack of guilt, independent, successful work, love and leisure, accurate self-perception and no sign of distress
• evaluate deviation of mental health

  · A broad range criteria is given for what good mental health looks like, so covers most reasons a person would seek mental health services for.

  · Some say Jahoda’s classification of ideal mental health is culture bound (e.g. self-actualisation)

  · Sets an unrealistically high bar for mental health.