Definitions Of Abnormality Flashcards
Definition of deviation of social norms
Abnormal if it goes against from what society would consider the norms
Explain deviation from social norms
Abnormal behaviour breaks society’s ‘rules’, beliefs, and values about how you should behave
Can my explicit or implicit rules
Atypical behaviour goes against social norms and therefore is considered ‘deviant’ as it is at expected behaviour
Applying deviation from social norms to OCD
- Would be regarded as abnormal as society has an unwritten rule that it is unacceptable/unnecessary to engage in behaviour that’s is repetitive or ritualistic Eg: avoiding shaking someone’s hand
- typical behaviour does not involve checking things several times as once is sufficient
Weakness: culturally relative
I: deviation form social norms definition is accused of being culturally relative
E: social norms vary between different cultures as they are not universal
Eg: it is not normal for women to be topless in our culture, but it might be in a tribal society
C: means that the deviation form social norms definition ignores cultural differences in people’s behaviour and it is dependent on the beliefs and values within the societal groups
Weakness: context dependent
I: social norms are context dependent
E: abnormal behaviours are dependent upon the situation in which they are being judged. Many behaviours can be judged as ‘eccentric’ not abnormal in a psychiatric sense
Eg: extensive tattooing on the face may break an implicit rule in society, but is not necessarily abnormal in a ‘clinical’ sense
C: definition of deviation from social norms cannot explain peoplle who express their ‘individuality’ and must consider behaviour in the appropriate context
Weakness: era dependent
I: this definition is also era dependent
E: this is because social norms changes overtime as attitudes ands beliefs change die to historical, political and cultural circumstances altering
C: means that the defection from social norms can only apply to behaviours from one period of time, reducing it’s temporal validity
Define failure to function adequately
Behaviour is abnormal if it prevents a person from leading a normal, everyday life and coping with everyday activities. This c abuses the person stress and discomfort because of their failure to cope
What 4 categories did Rosenhan & Seligmansay behaviour is abnormal is
- Maladaptive
- Irrational behaviour
3.observer discomfort - Unpredictable behaviour breaks
explain maladaptive behaviour
behaviour stops a person from reaching life goals, both socially and occupationally
explain irrational behaviour
displaying behaviour that cannot be explained in a rational, reasonable way
explain observer discomfort
displaying behaviour that makes other people feel uncomfortable
explain unpredictable behaviour
displaying unexpected behaviours characterised by a loss of control
apply failure to function adequately to depression
a person dealing with self loathing and suicidal thoightd would be classified as experiencing irrational behaviour as the indiviudal could be sucsessful and happy
weakness: subjective
I: a criticism is that the definiton is based on subjective judgments
E: what is classified as failure to function may depend on personal opinion and people differ in opinions regarding wha failing to function is, personal beliefs and upbringing determine a persons attitude towards defining abnormality
Eg: someone with torretes syndrome may display ‘tics’ these could cause observer discomfot to some people
C: means the defintion is subjective: what is abnormal is dependent on who is making the judgement
weakness: culturally
I: the definition is cullturally relative
E: what is classifeid as ‘failliing to function’ varies across the world depending on the cultural values and beliefs
EG: in western culture hallucinations is a sign of failling to function (sign of SZ) whereas is some non-western cultures hallucinations can be a sign of spiritual experience - so is a sign of functioning more thst adequaltey
C: means that this definiton ignores cultural values and attitudes
weakness: defining
I: failing to function adequatley is not a defining feautre of abnormality
E: it is possible yo be abnormal and yet still function adequatley
abnormal behaviour displayed by psychopaths and people with personality disorders may not meet any of the criteria of the definiton.
EG: harold shipman killed over 250 of his patients, wihile maintaining family relationships and a career as a GP. simularly ted bunday killed 30 women whilst maintaining a long term relationship and completing a law degree, these people were clearly abnormal, but not becuase thy are failiung t ofunction
C: the definition does not define all cases of abnormality
Define deviation from ideal mental health
Abnormal if it lacks the signs of what people consider to be ideal mental health. It is the absence of particular (ideal) characteristics
Explain deviation from ideal mental health
The more criteria someone fails to meet, the more abnormal they are
Jahoda proposed 6 characteristics of optimal living:
1. Self actualisation
2.postive attitude towards the self
3. Accurate perception of reality
4. Resistance to stress
5. Environmental mastery
6. Autonomy
Applying ideal mental health to phobias
- enviormental mastery
- anxiety and panic in the presence of everyday objects/ situations means tht people with phobias cannot thrive in all aspects of their life
- Eg: may not be able to leave the house due to agoraphobia
strength: postive
I: the definiton takes a postive approach to behaviour
E: if fouces on what is helpful and desirable behaviour rather than behaviours that indicte abnormality, such as failure to function adequatley. this allows clear goals to be set during therapy so an individual can work towards and achieve ideal mental health
C: the deiniton is more optimistic un comparions to other defintions of abnormality
weakness: subjective
I: ideal mental helath is based on subjective judgements
E: the critera are vague and difficult to measure objectively (Eg: enviromental mastery). it is unclear how many of the criteria of idel mental helath need rto be lacking for someone to be defined as abnormal
C: the decison whether someone fulfills the criteria is a difficult one to make
weakness: unrealistic
I: the criteria is unrealistic
E: it is pracially impossible to achieve all of the mental helath criteria all the time. Maslow himslef argued that only a few people ever actually reach self actualisation
C: most of the populatiion would be defined as abnormal using the defintion
Define statistical infrequency
Behaviour is abnormal if it is considered rare/uncommon in the general population, or it is not seen very often
Explain statistical infrequency
- if we scored people on a scale indicating how much they posses a characteristic
- the majority of people ‘the normal’ would be in a cluster in the middle of the curve
- the minority ‘the abnormal’ would be at the tail ends - scores acheived by the top or bottom 2% are abnormal as they are statistically infrequent
- abnormal scores are more than 2 SD away from the mean
- the less frequently the behaviour occurs in the populaion, the more abnormal it is judged to be
