def of abnormality

• Definitions of abnormality:

  • statistical infrequency
  • deviation from social norms
  • failure to function adequately
  • deviation from ideal mental health
• Statistical infrequency= when an individual has a less common characteristic
• Deviation from social norms= behaviour that is different from the accepted standards of behaviour in a community
• Statistical Infrequency


  Can be used in clinical practice, both as part of formal diagnosis and to assess the severity of an individual’s symptoms.
• Statistical infrequency


  Example in diagnosis:

  A diagnosis of intellectual disability disorder requires an IQ of below 70.
• Statistical Infrequency


  Example as an assessment tool:

  In the Beck depression inventory (BDI), a score of 30+ is widely interpreted as indicating severe depression.
• Statistical Infrequency


  Infrequent characteristics can be positive as well as negative. For example, we would not think of someone with a high IQ as being abnormal or someone with a low depression score on the BDI. This suggest that being at one end of a psychological spectrum does not necessarily make someone abnormal.
• Deviation from social norms


  Norms are specific to the culture we live in and may be different for each generation and culture, so there are very few behaviours that would be considered universally abnormal based on the basis that they breach social norms (e.g. homosexuality).
• Deviation from social norms


  Example: antisocial personality disorder (psychopathy)

  Someone with antisocial personality disorder is described to fail to conform to lawful and culturally normative ethical behaviour. Psychopathic behaviour would be considered abnormal in a very wide range of cultures.
• Deviation from social norms:

  It is used in clinical practice. For example, in the diagnosis is antisocial personality disorder and schizoptypal personality disorder. This shows deviation from social norms has value in psychiatry.
• Deviation from social norms


  However, there is a lot of variability between social norms in different cultures and even different situations.
• Deviation from social norms

  A person from one cultural group may label someone from another group as abnormal using their standards rather than the person’s standards.
• Deviation from social norms


  For example, hearing voices is the norm in some cultures (as messages from ancestors) but would be seen as abnormal in the UK.
• Deviation from social norms


  Also, even within one cultural context social norms differ from one situation to another. (e.g aggressive and deceitful behaviour in the context of family life is less socially unacceptable than in the context of corporate deal-making). This means it is difficult to judge deviation from social norms across different situations and cultures.
• Failure to function adequately= when someone is unable to cope with the demands of everyday life.
• Failure to function adequately:

  Rosenham and Seligman proposed additional signs:

  • when a person no longer conforms to standard interpersonal rules (e.g eye contact)
  • when a person experiences severe personal distress
  • when a persons behaviour becomes irrational or dangerous to themselves or others
• Failure to function adequately:


  Example: intellectual disability disorder

  One criteria is having a very low IQ but an individual must also be failing to function adequately before a diagnosis would be given.
• Failure to function adequately:

  The failure to function criterion provides a sensible threshold for when people need professional help. Most of us have symptoms of mental disorder to some degree at some time, however many people press on in the face of fairly severe symptoms.
• Failure to function adequately:

  It tends to be at the point we cease to function adequately that people seek professional help or are noticed and referred by others. This criterion means that treatment can be targeted to those who need it most.
• Failure to function adequately


  It is easy to label non-standard lifestyle choices as abnormal. In practice it is very hard to say when someone is failing to function adequately and when they have simply chosen to deviate from social norms.
• Failure to function adequately

  For example, not having a job or a permanent place to live might seem like failing to function adequately, however, people with alternative lifestyles may choose to live ‘off-grid’. This means 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:

  Marie Jahoda suggested we are in good mental health if:

  • we have no symptoms or distress
  • we are rational and can perceive ourselves accurately
  • we self-actualise
  • we can cope with stress
  • we have a realistic view of the world
  • we have good self-esteem and lack guilt
  • we are independent of other people
  • we can successfully work, love and enjoy our leisure
• Deviation from ideal mental health


  Jahoda’s concept of ideal mental health includes a range of criteria that covers most of the reasons we might seek help with mental health.
• Deviation from ideal mental health


  This means that ideal mental health provides a checklist against which we can assess ourselves and others and discuss psychological issues with a range of professionals who might take on different theoretical views.
• Deviation from ideal mental health


  However its elements may not be equally applicable across a range of cultures. Some of Jahoda’s criteria are firmly located in the context of the USA and Western Europe (e.g. the concept of self-actualisation would be considered self-indulgent in much of the world).
• Deviation from ideal mental health

  Even within Wetsern Europe, there is quite a bit of variation in the value placed on personal independence. Furthermore what defines success in our working, social and love lives is very different in different cultures. This means it is difficult to apply the concept of ideal mental health from one culture to another.