Definitions of abnormality PPO Flashcards
STATISTICAL INFREQUENCY
occurs when an individual has a less common characteristic
- Statistics are about numbers
- Usual behaviour is seen as normal
- Unusual behaviour is abnormal
Example:IQ and intellectual disability disorder:
Statistical approach can help when dealing with characteristics that can be reliably measured, for example intelligence. The further we go below or above the ‘normal distribution’. People below 70 on the IQ scale are abnormal and are liable to receive a diagnosis of a psychological disorder - intellectual disability disorder IDD
DEVIATION FROM SOCIAL NORMS
concerns behaviour that is different from the accepted standards of behaviour in a community or society
- We notice people who deviate from the social norms
- People define behaviour as abnormal if it goes against what they see as acceptable or the norm
- Collective judgement as a society about what is right
Norms are specific to the culture we live in:
Social norms may be different for each generation and different in every culture. Few behaviours are seen as universally abnormal eg homosexuality.
Example: antisocial personality disorder:
A person with APD is impulsive, aggressive and irresponsible. We make a social judgement that psychopaths are abnormal because they don’t conform to our moral standards and it would be considered abnormal in many cultures.
FAILURE TO FUNCTION ADEQUATELY
Occurs when someone is unable to cope with ordinary demands of day-to-day living
When is someone failing to function adequately:
- **Rosenhan **and Seligman have proposed additional signs to determine when someone is not coping
- When someone stops conforming to standard rules : Maintaining eye contact, respecting personal space
- Sever personal distress
- Behaviour becomes irrational or dangerous to themselves or others
- 7 major features in abnormal behaviour (eg suffering, irrational, observer discomfort)
DEVIATION FROM IDEAL MENTAL HEALTH
Occurs when someone does not meet a set of criteria for good mental health
What does ideal mental health look like:
Jahoda suggested we are in good mental health if we met these criteria:
* No distress
* Rational and perceive ourselves accurately
* We self-actualise (reach our potential)
* Cope with stress
* Realistic view of the world
* Good self esteem
* Independant
* Successfully work, love and enjoy our leisure
*
real world application of statistical infrequency
strength
- Useful
- Used in clinical practice
- Beck depression inventory BDI
Value of statistical infrequency criterion is useful in diagnostic and assessment processes.
unusual characteristics can be positive in statistical infrequency
limitation
- Unusual at one end of a spectrum does not mean bad
Statistical infrequency is never sufficient as the sole basis for defining abnormality
real world application of deviation from social norms
strength
- Useful
- Clinical practice
- Schizotypal personality disorder where ‘strange’ is part of the diagnosis process
Deviation from social norms criteria has value in psychiatry
Cultural situational relativism of deviation from social norms
limitation
- Variability between social norms in different cultures and even different situations
- People may be labelled using standards from a different group
- Aggressive behaviour in family life is abnormal but not in corporate deal-making
Difficult to judge deviation from social norms across different situations and cultures.
Represents a threshold for help for failure to function
strength
- Most of us have mental disorder to some degree at some point
- We cease to function, then we seek professional help
Which means that treatment and services can be targeted to those who need them most
Discrimination and social control for failure to function
limitation
- It’s easy to label non-standard lifestyle choices as abnormal
- It can be hard to say when someone is really failing to function
People who make unusual choices are at risk of being labelled abnormal and their freedom of choice may be restricted
a comprehensive definition for ideal mental health
strenght
- Highly comprehensive
- Jahoda’s concept of ideal mental health includes a range of criteria
An individual’s feelings can be expressed in many ways
deviation from ideal mental health may be culturally bound
limitation
- May be culturally bound
- Its different elements are not equally applicable across a range of cultures
- Some of Jahoda’s criteria is located in the context of the US and Europe
Idea of self-actualisation would be dismissed in most parts of the world as self-indulgent
