Definitions of abnormality 2

Question 1

What are the final 2 definitions of abnormality?

Answer 1

• Failure to function adequately
• Deviation from ideal mental health

Question 2

What is failure to function adequately?

Answer 2

• Occurs when someone is unable to cope with ordinary demands of day to day living (e.g. unable to maintain basic standards of hygiene and nutrition, if they cannot hold down a job, or maintain relationships)

Question 3

Who propsed the additional signs of failure to function, and what are they?

Answer 3

• Rosenhan and Seligman
• When a person no longer conforms to standard impersonal rules
• When a person experiences severe personal distress
• When a person’s behaviour becomes irrational or dangerous to themselves and others

Question 4

What is an example of failure to function adequately?

Answer 4

• A diagnosis would be confirmed by, not only a low IQ, but also failing to function adequately

Question 5

What is a strength of failure to function adequately?

Answer 5

• I= Represents a threshold for help
• D- Around 25% of people in the UK will experience a mental health problem in a given year (Mind). It tends to be at the point we seize to function adequately that people seek professional help or are referred for help by others
• E- Treatment and services can be targeted to those who need them the most

Question 6

What is a limitation of failure to function adequately?

Answer 6

• I- Discrimination and social control
• D- It is easy to label non-standard lifestyle choices as abnormal. It is difficult to say when someone is really failing to function, and when someone is simply deviating from social norms. Not having a job or permanent address may be seen as failing to function, but could simply be alternative off-grid lifestyle choices. Also people who favour high risk leisure activities could be classed as irrational/a danger to themself
• E- People who make unusual choices are at risk of being labelled abnormal and their freedom of choice may be restricted

Question 7

Failure to function may not be abnormal

Answer 7

• STRENGTH- Failure to function is no less real just because the cause is clear and some need professional help to adjust to circumstances
• LIMITATION- There are some circumstances in which most of us fail to cope for a time (e.g: bereavement). It may be unfair to give someone a label that may cause them future problems just because they react to difficult circumstances
• E- It is sometimes necessary to define people as abnormal but this is not always the case

Question 8

What is deviation from ideal mental health?

Answer 8

• Occurs when someone does not meet a set of criteria for good mental health
• This definition ignores what makes someone abnormal, and focuses on what makes people normal

Question 9

Who proposed conditions for ideal mental health and what were they?

Answer 9

• Jahoda
• 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

Question 10

What is a strength of deviation from ideal mental health?

Answer 10

• I- A comprehensive definition
• D- Jahoda’s concept of ‘ideal mental health’ includes a range of criteria, for distinguishing mental health from mental disorder- covers most reasons why we may seek help for mental health. This means an individual’s mental health can be meaningfully discussed with a range of professionals who may take different theoretical views
• E- Ideal mental health provides a checklist against which we can assess ourselves and others and discuss psychological issues with professionals

Question 11

What is a limitation of deviation from ideal mental health?

Answer 11

• I- May be culture-bound
• D- Some of Jahoda’s criteria are firmly located in the US and Europe (e.g: self-actualisation- dismissed as self-indulgent in many parts of the world). Even within Europe, there is variation in the value placed on personal independence (e.g: high in Germany, low in Italy). What defines success in our working, social and love lives varies between cultures
• E- It is difficult to apply the concept of ideal mental health from one culture to another

Question 12

Extremely high standards

Deviation from ideal mental health

Answer 12

• STRENGTH- Having a comprehensive set of criteria for mental health to work towards may have practical value as it provides ways to understand and improve mental health
• LIMITATION- Very few of us attain Jahoda’s ideal mental health conditions, and very few achieve all at the same time/ keep them up for long. It may be disheartening to see an impossible set of standards to look up to
  E- Criteria is helpful for some but not for others