abnormality definitions

• statistical infrequency 


  abnormality is statistically rare and uncommon

  people who are 2 standard deviations above or below the mean ,extreme 2.145% of population, are abnormal
• deviation from social norms 


  a society has rules about what are acceptable behaviours, values and beliefs

  behaviour is abnormal if it deviates from some notion of what the society consider proper or acceptable
• failure to function adequately 


  behaviours that prevent people from coping with demands of everyday life are abnormal

  such as ability to work, care for themselves or form relationships

  can be asses using the Global Assessment of Functioning scale
• deviation from ideal mental health


  definition specifies the ideal and then suggests those who do not meet these criteria are abnormal

  Jahoda's ideal mental health , 1958

  1.positive attitude towards self 2.ability to self actualise 3.ability to resist stress 4.personal autonomy 5.accurate perception of reality 6.ability to adapt to ones environment
• social infrequency evaluation 


  doesn't take into account the desirability of the behaviour, many desirable behaviours , genius or low anxiety, are statistically infrequent

  but we wouldn't call them abnormal because they are beneficial and don't require treatment
• social infrequency evaluation 2

  definition relies on having accurate statical data

  many reasons it might be inaccurate = gender bias , stats show female suffer more with mental health issues might be a reflection of socialisation and isn't a true reflection of the disorder
• deviation from social norms evaluation 


  social norms vary between cultures , therefore using the definition may result in incorrect diagnosis of abnormality = cultural relativism
• deviation from social norms evaluation 2

  social norms vary with time because of changing social attitudes , therefore using this definition , abnormality would change over time and be inconsistent
• failure to function adequately evaluation

  involves making subjective judgements about others

  ethical issues with doctors making judgements about others functioning as it involves labelling people

  will people always tell the truth to the doctor

  can the person themselves make the judgement , lots will be in denial
• failure to function adequately evaluation 2

  many normal people fail to cope at certain times = grieving or before an exam...

  in these situations if a person does or er may consider them as abnormal = therefore definition is flawed as there are situations when not coping would not be abnormal
• Deviation from ideal mental health evaluation 


  Cultural relativism -the list of attributes criticised for being ethnocentric - in collectivist cultures personal autonomy is thought to be unhealthy as people are expected to work together not independently

  -perceptions of reality are partly dependent on cultural and religious beliefs , therefore using Jahodas criteria may result in incorrect diagnosis of abnormality cross culturallily
• deviation from ideal mental health evaluation 2 


  Accurate perception of reality changes over time with new knowledge
• Deviation from ideal mental health evaluation 3 


  Accurate perception of reality is not a characteristic of normal people

  depressed people perceive the world more accurately than normal people

  ‘sadder but wiser effect’ / depressive realism

  ’normal people’ create positive illusions in order to protect themselves from reality, therefore the idea that an accurate perception of reality is needed for ideal mental health is flawed
• Deviation from ideal mental health evaluation 4


  Criteria are so demanding that everyone would be considered abnormal to some extent