Definitions of abnormality

• What is statistical deviation?

  • Occurs when an individual has a less common characteristic than the average population
• Statistical Deviation AO3: Real life Application

  • Allows us to be able to diagnose those with intellectual disability disorders
  • Most patients assessed for mental disorders include a measurement of how severe their symptoms are based on statistical norms
• Statistical Deviation AO3: Unusual Characteristics can be positive

  • One limitation of statistical infrequency is that uncommon characteristics can be positive as well as negative
  • IQ scores over 130 are just as unusual as below 70
  • Being unusual or at one end of the psychological spectrum does not make you abnormal
  • Statistical deviation can form part of assessment but it is not sufficient as the sole basis for defining abnormality
• Statistical Deviation AO3: Not everyone benefits from a label

  • If someone is having a fulfilled life they may not benefit from having a labe
  • Someone with a low IQ may be happy and may not need a diagnosis
  • Being labelled for some brings social stigma and has a negative effect
• What is Deviation from Social Norms?


  Behaviour that is not considered to be socially acceptable
• What does culturally relative mean?


  Changes over time and across cultures
• Deviation from social norms: Antisocial personality disorder

  • Person that is impulsive, aggressive and irresponsible
  • Absence of prosocial behaviour
  • We make the social judgement that psychopaths are abnormal because they don't conform to moral standards
  • Psychopaths are considered abnormal in many different cultures
• Deviation from social norms AO3: Real World Application

  • Used in clinical practice e.g the characteristics for antisocial personality disorder is failure to conform so most signs are deviation from social norms
  • This shows that the deviation from social norms criteria has value in psychiatry
• Deviation from social norms AO3: Cultural and Situational Relativism

  • Social norms differ in different cultures and different situations
  • A person from one cultural group may label someone from another group as abnormal
  • For example hearing voices may be normal in another culture but abnormal in others
  • It is difficult to judge deviation from social norms across different situations and cultures
• What is Failure to Function Adequately?


  The inability to cope with everyday life
• When is someone failing to function adequately?

  1. Lack of standard interpersonal rules e.g no longer maintain eye contact and personal space
  2. Experiences severe personal distress
  3. When behaviour becomes irrational and dangerous
• Failure to function adequately AO3: May not be abnormal

  • Some circumstances occur where some fail to cope for a time e.g bereavement
  • It is unfair to give someone a label that creates future problems because of that situation
  • However, some do need professional help for some causes like bereavement
• Failure to function adequately AO3: Represents a threshold for help

  • Represents a sensible threshold for getting professional help
  • Around 25% of people in UK experience mental health issues
  • This criterion means that treatment and services can be targeted to those who need it most
• Failure to function adequately AO3: Alternative lifestyles

  • Easy to label non-standard lifestyles as abnormal
  • New age travellers- do not live in permanent accommodation and may not work
  • Spiritualists- take part in religious rituals believing they are communicating to the dead
  • People who make unusual choices are at risk of being labelled abnormal and their freedom of choice is restricted
• What is deviation from ideal mental health?


  Behaviour is abnormal when there is a lack of healthy ideal characteristics
• What are the 6 categories of Ideal Mental Health?

  1. Self attitudes- high self esteem and strong sense of identity
  2. Personal growth- achieve their full potential
  3. Integration- coping with stressful situations
  4. Autonomy- independent and self regulating
  5. Accurate perception of reality
  6. Mastery of the environment
• Deviation from ideal mental health AO3: Big Criteria

  • Includes a range of criteria for distinguishing mental health from mental disorder
  • This in turn means that an individual’s mental health can be discussed meaningfully with a range of professionals e.g psychiatrist and a humanistic counsellor
  • Ideal mental health provides a checklist against which we can assess ourselves and others and discuss psychological issues with a range of professionals
• Deviation from ideal mental health AO3: May be culture bound

  • The different elements in the criteria is that they are not equally applicable across a range of cultures
  • Jahoda’s criteria mostly applies for the US and Europe generally
  • Self-actualisation would probably be dismissed as self-indulgent in much of the world
  • What defines success in our work and social lives is different in other cultures
  • It is difficult to apply the concept of ideal mental health from one culture to another
• Deviation from ideal mental health AO3: Unrealistic Expectations

  • Very few of us attain all of Jahoda’s criteria for mental health
  • It can be disheartening to see an impossible set of standards to live up to
  • But having such a comprehensive set of criteria for mental health to work towards might be of practical value to someone wanting to understanding and improve their mental health