Definitions of abnormality Flashcards
Deviation from social norms
Norms of behaviour are created by a group of people (society). These social norms represent what is considered to be acceptable or expected ways of behaving. They are like a set of behavioural rules. If an individual deviates (behaves differently) from these social norms their behaviour would be considered abnormal.
These rules of behaviour are often implicit (unspoken) but can also be explicit (defined by law). For example, not laughing at a funeral is an implicit social norm whereas exposing yourself in public is both a deviation from social norms and against the law.
Evaluation of deviation from social norms, criticism
A weakness of this definition is that sometimes, deviation from social norms is a lifestyle choice, not a sign of abnormality. For example, being a vegan, living in a commune or following a minority religion may be an act of non-conformism based on a rejection of usual social norms. This is a weakness because it means that some behaviour might be labelled abnormal when it is not.
Another weakness is that social norms change over time and place; they are constantly changing. For example, it is only recently that unmarried mothers and homosexuals have been regarded as showing normal behaviour. In the past, such individuals were thought of as socially deviant, mentally ill and in need of psychiatric help. This is a weakness because it means that it is not a reliable or permanent way to identify abnormality. Equally, e.g.
hearing voices in your head from your ancestors is considered a social norm in some African cultures but would be considered abnormal in mainstream British culture. This means that the deviation from social norms definition does not provide a universal definition of abnormality.
Another weakness is that this definition of abnormality could be open to abuse. For example, political dissidents in Russia were deemed abnormal as they held different political beliefs from the ruling party. Furthermore, in Japan, there is a history of labelling an individual insane if they do not conform to the high demands of their cultural work ethic. This is a weakness as the definition may be used as a form of social control.
Evaluation of deviation from social norms, strength
On the other hand, one strength of this definition of abnormality is that it has practical applications. It can quite easily be used to identify those who may be in need of psychological intervention. For example, a clinician can easily use the concept when dealing with someone who may be hearing voices. This differs from social norms so may result in that person receiving a diagnosis and help. This is a strength as the definition helps to improve the quality of life of some people.
Failure to function adequately
Functioning adequately can be described as being able to manage tasks necessary in everyday life, e.g. eating, washing, going to work. A person’s behaviour would therefore be abnormal if they were unable to cope with these daily demands.
A failure to function adequately is only seen to be abnormal if distress is caused to one’s self or others. For example, a person might be perfectly content wearing unwashed clothes and not having a regular job. If this isn’t causing them, or others, any distress then judging the behaviour as abnormal would not be
appropriate.
Evaluation of failure to function adequately, strength
A strength of the definition is that it is has had useful practical applications. For example, clinicians often use this definition when making judgements about the need for treatment. Individuals are given an overall score after completing a questionnaire designed by WHODA. This provides an objective and quantitative measurement of functioning. This is a strength because the definition has been useful in everyday practice; the easier it is to identify abnormality the quicker individuals’ will be able to access treatments, thus helping to improve the quality of life of some people.
Evaluation of failure to function adequately, criticism
A weakness of this definition is that sometimes it does not take into account an individual’s circumstances. Individuals experiencing anxiety and distress for a legitimate reason e.g. exams, bereavement, may fail to function adequately for a while. Indeed, sometimes it is normal to fail to function! This is a weakness because their behaviour could be identified as abnormal by this definition but would be an entirely normal response to difficult circumstances.
A further weakness of this definition is that it is not clear how extreme the behaviour has to be in order to be considered abnormal, in other words, how much do we need to fail to function ? For instance most people engage in unpredictable, irrational or maladaptive behaviour from time to time, but at what point can it be defined as abnormality?
In addition, there is the danger of making judgements that an individual is failing to function based upon a predominantly Western cultural perspective. Some cultures value behaviour that is outlandish and vivid as being a sign of having special powers and contact with the spiritual world. Someone demonstrating such behaviour would be incorrectly identified as abnormal and in need of help.
statistical infrequency
Behaviour that is statistically infrequent or very rare is regarded as abnormal. For example,
very few people have extremely high levels of anxiety and so this is seen as abnormal.
Descriptive statistics such as the mean, median or mode describe typical values; what is most common or normal. A frequency graph of behaviours tends to show a normal distribution. Most people are in the central group, clustered around the mean, and fewer people are at either extreme. The extreme ends define what abnormal behaviour is.
For example, intelligence (as measured by an IQ test) is normally distributed. Most people (68%) have an IQ in the range of 85 to 115. Only 2% of people have a score below 70. This is very unusual so individuals at this extreme end would be considered abnormal.
Anxiety levels would similarly be normally distributed. Very few people have extremely high levels of anxiety so this is deemed to be abnormal.
Evaluation of statistical infrequency, strength
A strength of this definition is that it has real-life applications. All assessments of patients with mental illnesses include some kind of measurement of how severe their symptoms are compared to statistical norms. This is a strength because statistical deviation is actually a useful part of clinical assessment of patients in the real-world, and reflects the objective nature of this definition.
Evaluation of statistical infrequency, criticisms
A weakness of this definition is that it does not account for desirability. For example, some behaviours that would be identified as abnormal are actually quite desirable. For example, very few people have an IQ over 150, yet having such a high IQ is not undesirable. This is a weakness because the definition does not distinguish between desirable and undesirable behaviours and therefore doesn’t help us to identify behaviours in need of treatment.
In addition, another problem is that some abnormal behaviour is not rare. Depression and anxiety are quite common. About 37% of teenage girls report low mood and high levels of stress. These would not be identified as abnormal according to this definition but of course, people with depression and anxiety are in need of help. This is a weakness as it this definition cannot appropriately identify more common mental health conditions as abnormal.
A further weakness of this definition is that the cut-off point between normal and abnormal is subjective. For example, we might decide that an abnormal amount of sleep is ‘sleeping for fewer hours than 80% of the population sleep’ but some could argue that 90% would be a better cut-off point between what is normal and abnormal. This is a weakness because different people will judge the same behaviour in different ways depending on where they draw the line.
Deviation from ideal mental health
Jahoda (1958) identified six characteristics of ideal mental health. These are said to be characteristics that enable an individual to behave appropriately and competently and lead a happy life. If an individual does not possess all of these characteristics (deviating from ideal mental health) then their behaviour would be regarded as abnormal.
- Positive Self-attitudes: high self-esteem and strong sense of identity
- Self-actualisation: motivated to develop and reach full potential
- Resistance to stress: ability to cope with stressful situations
- Autonomy: being independent and self-reliant
- Having an accurate perception of reality
- Mastery of the environment: ability to love, work have interpersonal relationships,
adapt to new situations and overcome problems
Evaluation of deviation from ideal mental health, weakness
A weakness of this definition is that most people would be considered abnormal, because it represents an idealised set of expectations. Very few people can say that they show all of the 6 characteristics of ideal mental health. This definition suggests thatmany of us are less than mentally healthy and therefore abnormal. This is a weakness because abnormal behaviour is considered to be unusual rather
than that shown by the majority of people; this means that this definition may not be useful in identifying abnormal behaviour.
Another weakness is that it is not clear how many of the criteria need to be lacking in order to be considered abnormal, or to what extent they must be lacking in order to define abnormality.
Another weakness of this definition is the inclusion of self-actualisation as a criterion for mental health. The problem with this is that it is culturally biased. Jahoda’s ideals are based on Western ideas of self-fulfilment. For example, embedding self-actualisation into a definition of normality, assumes that it is universal and achievable. However, in some collectivist cultures, self-actualisation may be seen as an indication of abnormality, where having the primary goal of life as the actualising of your true potential, being indicative of self-indulgence or selfishness. Also, there are areas of the world where people live in extreme poverty, where self-actualisation may be much less important than having the basic necessities for survival. Furthermore, very few people in reality, actually achieve self- actualisation. Thus, if self-actualisation is a criterion for normality, most of us would be mentally unhealthy.
Evaluation of deviation from ideal mental health, strength
A strength of this definition is that it offers a positive approach to identifying mental illness. The definition focuses on the positives (what is desirable) rather than on the negatives (what is undesirable). This is a strength because this it may be a more ethical way of approaching mental health and viewing the human.
Evaluation of the definitions of abnormality culturally relative
There is one weakness that is common to all four definitions of abnormality; that is they are all culturally relative.
Cultural relativism means that it is only possible to think about people’s normal behaviour in the context of the societies and cultures in which they live. Their behaviour is related to (or relative to) their culture. Abnormality can only be defined by comparing people’s behaviour with what is conventional or accepted in their own culture.
Some definitions of abnormality are limited to the particular culture in which they have been developed. These are often Western cultures such as the US and UK. Trying to identify abnormal behaviour by using the same definitions in other cultures is difficult because of different ideas about what is acceptable and conventional behaviour.
For example, African-Caribbean immigrants in Britain are between 2 and 7 times more likely to be diagnosed with schizophrenia than white British people. A possible explanation for this is there are important differences in the communication style of African-Caribbean people that lead to them being diagnosed wrongly. This deviation from the British norms of communication means that their behaviour is more likely to be called abnormal, whereas in their own culture their behaviour would be accepted as normal.
