definitions of abnormality

Question 1

what is abnormality?

Answer 1

a psychological or behavioural state leading to impairment of interpersonal functioning and/or distress to others

Question 2

what are the 4 criteria for defining abnormaity?

Answer 2

-deviation from social norms
-failure to function adequately
-deviation from ideal mental health
-statistical infrequency

Question 3

what is the deviation from social norms explanation?

Answer 3

-any behaviour varying from a society’s norms is deemed as abnormal
-labels individuals that behave undesirably as social deviants
-the degree in which a social norm is deviated from and how important society sees the norm as being is important

Question 4

what are the strengths of the deviation from social norms expalantion?

Answer 4

-helps people (society intervenes)
-social dimension (rather than the sick-in-the-head dimension)
-situational norms (behaviour seen as abnormal in one setting can be normal in another)
-developmental norms (some behaviours normal at certain ages)
-protects society

Question 5

what are the weaknesses of the deviation from social norms definition?

Answer 5

-subjective (norms are based on the opinions of the elite rather than majority)
-change over time
-individualism (may just be eccentric, not abnormal)
-ethnocentric bias in diagnosis (cochrane 1977 - black people more likely to be diagnosed as schizophrenic)
-cultural differences

Question 6

what is the failure to function adequately definition?

Answer 6

-a persons behaviour suggests they cannot adequately cope with everyday life
-focuses on individual suffering
-Rosenhan & Seligman 1989 - 7 dysfunctional features

Question 7

what are the 7 dysfunctional features?

Answer 7

-personal distress (Eg anxiety disorders)
-maladaptive behaviour (stopping goals)
-unpredictability
-irrationality
-observer discomfort
-violation of moral standards
-unconventionality

Question 8

what scale is used to assess how well someone copes with everyday life?

Answer 8

Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF)
-rates their social, occupational and psychological functioning

Question 9

what are the strengths of the failure to function adequately definition?

Answer 9

-matches the sufferer’s perceptions (most people seeking clinical help believe they’re suffering psychological problems)
-assesses the degree of abnormality (GAF is a continuous scale)
-observable behaviour
-checklist

Question 10

what are the weaknesses of the failure to function adequately definition?

Answer 10

-abnormality isn’t always accompanied by dysfunction (eg psychopaths appear normal)
-subjective nature of the features of dysfunction (GAF doesn’t consider behaviour from the individuals perspective)
-normal abnormality (sometimes distress is normal)
-distress to others (person may feel no distress themselves)
-cultural differences

Question 11

what is the deviation from ideal mental health definition?

Answer 11

-looks for signs of mental absence of well-being
-jahoda 1958 - 6 concepts of ideal mental health (the more concepts a person fails to meet, the more abnormal they are)

Question 12

what are the 6 characteristics of ideal mental health?

Answer 12

-positive attitude towards oneself
-self-actualisation (‘becoming everything one is capable of becoming’)
-autonomy
-resisting stress
-accurate perception of reality
-environmental mastery

Question 13

what are the strengths of the deviation from ideal mental health explanation?

Answer 13

-positivity (emphasises achievements rather than failures)
-target areas of dysfunction (know what to improve)
-holistic (whole person, not parts)
-goal setting (fix absences)

Question 14

what are the limitations of the deviation from ideal mental health definition?

Answer 14

-over-demanding criteria (eg few people experience personal growth all the time)
-subjective criteria (vague, difficult to measure, requires self-reports)
-changes over time (Eg seeing visions used to be a religious experience, now schizo)
-cultural variation
-non-desirability of autonomy (collectivist cultures stress communal goals)

Question 15

what is the statistical infrequency definition?

Answer 15

-behaviours that are statistically rare should be labelled as abnormal
-depends on normal distribution; normal distribution curves are drawn to show what proportion of people share a behaviour, anyone who falls outside 5% of the population is abnormal
-makes no judgements about the quality of life or the nature of mental disorders

Question 16

what are the strengths of the statistical infrequency definition?

Answer 16

-can be appropriate
-no value judgements (nothing is seen as ‘wrong’, just less frequent)
-evidence for assistance (justifies requests)
-based on real data

Question 17

what are the limitations of the statistical infrequency definition?

Answer 17

-where do you draw the line?
-not all infrequent behaviours are abnormal (eg high IQ)
-not all abnormal behaviours are infrequent (eg depression)
-cultural factors