Defining + supporting psychological development

• Typical behaviour


  Behaviour that is deemed as appropriate and expected in a given situation, what most people ordinarily do in that situation
• Atypical behaviour


  Behaviour that is not typical, differs markedly in some way from what is expected in a given situation. Uncommon and not what most people would do in a situation
• Psychological criteria to categorise behaviour

  • Cultural perspectives
  • Social norms
  • Statistical rarity
  • Personal distress
  • Maladaptive behaviour
• Social Norms


  Widely held standards that govern what people should/shouldn't do in different situations
• Cultural Perspective


  Some cultures perceive a behaviour as violating social norms but other cultures may see it as typical
• Statistical Rarity


  Measured on bell curve, for typical behaviour, it occurs most frequently, whereas atypical behaviour occurs less frequently
• Personal Distress


  Strong, negative and natural psychological reaction to events that occur in life
• Maladaptive behaviour


  Detrimental, counterproductive behaviour that interferes with an individual's ability to adjust/adapt to their environment
• Usefulness of psychological criteria to categorise behaviour

  • Takes into consideration how to classify someone
  • Takes into account more factors
• Limitations of psychological criteria to categorise behaviour

  • Not being able to classify atypical because of certain considered norms (e.g. cultural perspectives of what is considered 'regular' may be biased towards one culture in comparison to another culture who may disagree)
• Normality


  Ways of thinking, feeling and behaving can be used to indicate a person is able to perform everyday tasks at the level required to fulfil their roles in society
• Criteria of normality


  • Freedom from disabling thoughts
  • Capacity to think and act in an organised and reasonably effective manner
  • Freedom from disabling feelings, such as hopelessness and despair
  • Freedom from extreme emotional distress, such as excessive anxiety and persistent upset
  • Ability to cope with the ordinary demands and problems of life
  • Absence of clear-cut symptoms of a mental health disorder, such as obsessions and phobias
• Abnormality


  Any deviation from what is considered normal, typical, usual or healthy
• Neurotypicality


  Used to describe people whose neurological development and cognitive functioning are typical, conforming to what most people would consider to be normal in the general population
• Skills associated with neurotypicality


  Perception, learning, memory understanding, awareness, reasoning, judgement, intuition and language
• Neurodiversity


  Used to describe people whose neurological development and cognitive functioning are atypical and therefore deviate from what is considered 'normal' in the general population
• Intellectual disability


  A neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by mild to profound limitations in cognitive abilities and in skills required to function independently in everyday life
• Examples of neurodiverse conditions

  • Dyslexia
  • ASD (autism spectrum disorder)
  • ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder)
• Dyslexia


  A learning disorder where the individual may have difficulty processing and remembering information they view and hear. Specific attributes to dyslexia = poor literacy skills (reading, writing, spelling, instructional)
• ASD (autism spectrum disorder)


  A developmental disorder that impairs the individual's social skills, ability to process information (following directions, making connections between concepts/ideas), sensory processing, communication ability
• ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder)


  A chronic condition, attention difficulty (ability to focus), hyperactivity, impulsiveness