Abnormality

• Statistical infrequency = Occurs when an individual has a less common characteristic (e.g. being more depressed or less intelligent than most of the population)
• deviation from social norms =concerns behaviour that is different from the accepted standards of behaviour in a community or society
• Failure to function adequately = when someone is unable to cope with ordinary demands of day-to-day living
• Deviation from ideal mental health - Marie Jahoda’s (1958):

  • we have no symptoms or distress
  • we can cope with stress
  • we are rational
  • we can self-actualize
  • we have realistic views of the world
  • good self esteem & lack of guilt
  • independent of other people
  • successfully work, love, enjoy leisure
• Example of statistical infrequency:

  • Average UK IQ is set at 100
  • Using normal distribution normal range is 85 - 115
  • Only 2% of people have an IQ below 70
  • This would lead to diagnosis of intellectual disability disorder (IDD)
• Social norms vary between generations and cultures
• Deviation from social norms example:

  • Antisocial personality disorder (psychopathy)
  • Symptoms suggest that there is failure to conform to lawful and culturally ethical behaviour
• Statistical Infrequency Evaluation 1:

  Strength - useful in clinical practice for diagnosis and to assess the severity of symptoms - IQ Example
• Statistical Infrequency Evaluation 2:

  Weakness - unusual characteristics can be positive as well as negative - having an abnormally high IQ can be positive but according to statistical infrequency it is a negative
• Statistical Infrequency Evaluation 3:

  Strength - some 'abnormal' people may benefit from being classed as abnormal - low IQ can lead to a diagnosis that can help them in everyday life
• Deviation from social norms Evaluation 1:

  Strength - useful in clinical practice - can help diagnose antisocial personality diagnosis - help to improve lives of people suffering with those disorders
• Deviation from social norms Evaluation 2:

  Weakness - social norms vary between cultures - someone from another group may class someone as abnormal using their standards

  • difficult to judge deviation from social norms across different situations and cultures
• Someone is failing to function when the cannot hold down a job or maintain relationships with people around them
• Example of failure to function adequately:

  An individual must also be failing to function adequately before they are diagnosed with disorders such as intellectual disability disorder
• Deviation from ideal mental health = When someone does not meet a set of criteria for good mental health
• Failure to function adequately Evaluation 1:

  Strength - represents a sensible threshold for when people need professional help - means that treatment and services can be targeted to those who need it most
• Failure to function adequately Evaluation 2:

  Weakness - labels non-standard lifestyle choices as abnormal when the person may have chosen to live that lifestyle - restricts peoples freedom of choice
• Deviation from ideal mental health evaluation 1:

  Strength - highly comprehensive - a checklist that can be applied to everyone and is easy to access - helps psychologists universally agree
• Deviation from ideal mental health evaluation 2:

  Weakness - aren't easy applicable across all cultures - difficult to apply to everyone in society
• Deviation from ideal mental health evaluation 3:

  Weakness - Jahoda's criteria are very high standards and its hard for everyone to achieve all of them at the same time
• When is someone failing to function adequately:

  • no longer conforming to standard interpersonal rules (personal space)
  • when a person experiences severe personal distress
  • when a persons behaviour becomes dangerous or irrational