Definitions of abnormality

• definitions of abnormality

  -deviation from social norms

  -failure to function adequately

  -deviation from ideal mental health

  -statistical infrequency
• Statistical infrequency

  Occurs when an individual has a less common characteristic, eg: being more depressed or less intelligent than most.

  • defining anything as 'normal' or 'abnormal' is according to how often we come across it.
  • Any relatively usual behaviour or characteristic can be thought of as 'normal' and any behaviour that is unusual is 'abnormal'
• Evaluation- statistical infrequency, real world application

  Statistical infrequency is used in clinical practice, both as part of formal diagnosis and as a way to access the severity of an individuals' symptoms.

  • Eg: a diagnosis of intellectual disability disorder requires an IQ of below 70. Or used in an assessment tool is the Beck depression inventory. A score of 30+ is widely interpreted as indicating severe depression.
  • so shows statistical infrequency is useful in diagnosis and assessment processes.
• Evaluation- statistical infrequency, unusual characteristics can be positive.

  Infrequent characteristics can be positive and negative.

  • For every person with an IQ below 70 there is another with one above 130. Yet we wouldn't think of someone as abnormal for having a high IQ.
  • this shows that being unusual or at one end of a psychological spectrum does not necessarily make someone abnormal.
  • this means that although statistical infrequency can form part of assessment and diagnostic procedures, it is never sufficient as the sole basis for defining abnormality.
• Deviation from social norms

  Concerns behaviour that is different from the accepted standards of behaviour in a community or society.

  • Groups of people choose to define behaviour as abnormal on the basis that it offends their sense of what is 'acceptable' or the norm.
  • Social norms may be different for each generation and different in every culture, so there are relatively few behaviours that would be considered universally abnormal on the basis that they breach social norms. Eg: homosexuality continues to be viewed as abnormal in some cultures.
• Evaluation- deviation from social norms, real world application

  Deviation from social norms is used in clinical practice. Eg: the key defining characteristic of antisocial personality disorder is the failure to conform to culturally normal ethical behaviour (recklessness, aggression, violating the rights of others and deceitfulness) These signs of the disorder are all deviations from social norms.

  • such norms play a part in the diagnosis of schizoptypal personality disorder, where the term 'strange' is used to characterise the thinking, behaviour+ appearance of people with the disorder.
• Evaluation- deviation from social norms, cultural and situational relativism

  Limitation= variability between social norms in different cultures and even different situations.

  • A person from one culture may label someone from another group as abnormal using their standards rather than the person's standards. Eg: experience of hearing voices is the norm in some cultures (as messages from ancestors) but abnormal in the UK.
  • Also within some cultures, aggressive or deceitful behaviour in the context of family life is more socially unacceptable than in the context of corporate deal-making.
• Failure to function adequately

  Occurs when someone is unable to cope with ordinary demands of day to day living. A person may cross the line between 'normal' and 'abnormal' when they can no longer cope with demands of everyday life

  • We might decide that someone is not functioning adequately when they are unable to maintain basic standards of nutrition and hygiene or they can not hold down a job or maintain relationships with people.
• Someone failing to function adequately

  Rosenhan and Seligman have proposed additional signs that can be used to determine when someone is not coping:

  • when a person no longer conforms to standard interpersonal rules- maintaining eye contact and respecting personal space.
  • when a person experiences severe personal distress.
  • when a person's behaviour becomes irrational or dangerous to themselves or others.
• Evaluation- failure to function adequately, represents a threshold for help

  The failure to function criterion represents a sensible threshold for when people need professional help.

  • most have symptoms of mental disorder to some degree at some point, around 25% of people in the UK will experience a mental health problem in a year. Many people carry on with fairly severe symptoms. It tends to be at the point that we cease to function adequately that people seek professional help.
  • criterion means treatment and services can be targeted to those who need them most.
• Evaluation- failure to function adequately, discrimination and social control

  limitation= it's easy to label non-standard lifestyle choices as abnormal

  • it can be hard to say when someone is really failing to function and when they have simply chosen to deviate from social norms-eg: someone not having a job or permanent address may seem like failing to function but some people choose to live 'off-grid'.
  • so means that people who make unusual choices are at risk of being labelled abnormal and their freedom of choice may be restricted.
• Deviation from ideal mental health

  Occurs when someone does not meet a set of criteria for good mental health.

  • ignore the issue of what makes someone abnormal but instead think about what makes anyone normal.
  • once we have an idea of how we should be psychologically healthy then we can identify who deviates from this ideal.
• what ideal mental health looks like

  Jahoda suggested we are in good mental health if we:

  -have no symptoms or distress

  -are rational and can perceive ourselves accurately

  -self actualise

  -can cope with stress

  -have a realistic view of the world

  -have good self esteem and lack guilt

  -are independent of other people

  -can successfully work, love and enjoy our leisure
• Evaluation- deviation from ideal mental health, a comprehensive definition

  Jahoda's concept of 'ideal mental health' includes a range of criteria for distinguishing mental health from illness. It covers most of the reasons why we might seek help with mental health.

  • so an individuals mental health can be discussed meaningfully with a range of professionals who might take different theoretical views.
  • so ideal mental health provides a checklist against which we can assess ourselves and others and discuss psychological issues with a range of professionals.
• Evaluation- Deviation from ideal mental health, may be culture bound


  limitation= ideal mental criterion, its different elements are not equally applicable across a range of cultures.

  • Some of Jahoda's criteria for ideal mental health are firmly located in the context of USA and Western Europe. In particular the concept of self actualisation would probably be dismissed as self indulgent in much of the world. But within western Europe there is a bit of variation in the value placed on personal independence.
  • difficult to apply concept of ideal mental health between cultures