definitions of abnormality

• deviation from social norms: to behave in a way that does not conform to expected standards.

  • swearing at a teacher or skipping a queue.

  Norms are relative and can change in terms of culture and time.

  • attitudes to smoking and the way that people have dressed over time - abnormal to row a bout down the street, but in Venice it is normal
• Deviation from social norms:

  Strengths:

  • applicable to real life when diagnosing condition - antisocial personality disorder are aggressive - practical value

  Weakness:

  • not all deviation is a sign of an illness or require diagnosis
  • not universal and doesn't apply to all definitions - norms are culturally relative
• Statistical infrequency: a behaviour which is rare is abnormal. Abnormality occupies the extreme ends of a distribution curve

  Strength:

  • practical value - diagnosis use statistics to define abnormality

  Weakness:

  • labelled with abnormalities will not have a positive effect on individual
  • not all rare behaviours are negative, high IQ
• Failure to function adequately: have the inability to cope with everyday life - personal hygiene or socialising

  
  

  Rosenham and Seligman: the more negative characteristics a person shows, more likely to be considered abnormal
• failure to function adequately:

  strengths:

  • highlights behaviour of those in need of treatment

  weakness:

  • can cause distress to others and seen as a form of controlling people's behaviour/life
  • not all dangerous behaviour needs intervention - climb tall heights or sky dive
• deviation from ideal mental health:

  Jahoda: define physical illness by looking at what is different from ideal physical health - 6 categories people need to be, to be considered healthy.

  GRAPES: Growth, resistance to stress, autonomy, perception of reality, environment and self-attitudes
• deviation from ideal mental health:

  strengths:

  • considered a range of factors and can provide a clear explanation for abnormalities

  weakness:

  • unrealistic, most people would be judged abnormal as a result - high expectations of mental health
  • culturally relative - perception of reality in different cultures - hearing voices = schizophrenia or being closer to God