Defintions of Abnormality Flashcards

(21 cards)

1
Q

AO1 - definitions if abnormality

A
  • Statistical Infrequency (Data) – rare, normal distribution, IQ as an example
     Occurs when an individual has a less common characteristic, for example being more depressed or less intelligent than most of the population
  • Failure to function adequately (Psychologist) – failure to complete every day tasks, break interpersonal rules, harm to self or distress, shown through Rosenhan and Seligman’s research
     Occurs when someone is unable to cope with ordinary demand of day-to-day living
  • Deviation from Social Norms (Society) – unwritten rules, society agrees on, varies between culture
     Concerns behaviour that is different from the excepted standards of behaviour in a community or society
  • Deviation from Ideal Mental Health (Rule book/Psychologists) – Jahoda, Defines mental health, ability to self actualise
     Occurs when someone does not meet a set of criteria for good mental health
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2
Q

What are the four types and explain them

A

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

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3
Q

give some info about deviation from ideal mental health

A

defines what is normal behaviour
by Marie Jahoda an Austrian psychologist
can be remembered using acronym PRAISE
 Positive attitude towards self: an individual should be in touch with their own identity and feelings.
Have self-respect and a positive self-concept.
 Resistance to stress: individuals should be able to resist the effects of stress by having effective
coping strategies.
 Accurate perception of reality: individuals should have an objective and realistic view of the world.
 Independent (Autonomy): individuals should be independent and self-reliant and able to make
personal decisions.
 Self-actualization: individuals should be focused on the future and their own personal growth and
development. ‘Becoming everything one is capable of becoming’.
 Environmental mastery: being competent in all aspects of life and able to meet the demands of any
situation. Having the flexibility to adapt to changing life circumstances.

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4
Q

tell me a sentence that sums up deviation from ideal mental health

A

The more characteristics individuals fail to meet and the further they are away from realising individual
characteristics, the more abnormal they are.

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5
Q

whats a strength of deviation from ideal mental health concept

A

takes a positive and hollistic view

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6
Q

whats some limitation of deviation from ideal mental health concept

A

over-stringent criteria, most people don’t meet all of the criteria, undermines them and the usefulness of this

cultural variations - rooted in western views

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7
Q

AO3 (1) for deviation of ideal mental health

A
  • A weakness of deviation of ideal mental health is the criteria was written by an Austrian psychologist.
  • For example, Marie Jahoda’s was an Austrian social psychologist that developed the theory of “Ideal mental health” using an 8 step criteria.
  • This is a weakness as due to her being an Austrian psychologist, her success criteria can be considered extreme as western ideology of mental health that is harsh to mental health making it difficult for people to live up to.
  • However, it can be argued that lots of countries appeal to western cultures, methods and ideas making her criteria appealing to countries around the world that want to adapt to western thinking as they see it as a strength.
  • Despite that, it makes it hard for people to self-actualise as the criteria makes it almost impossible to achieve.
  • Thus reducing the likelihood of people choosing it as a definition.
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8
Q

AO3 (2) for statistical infrequency

A
  • One weakness of statistical infrequency is that the data collected is quantitative; this means it is limited to numerical data and doesn’t consist of detail and descriptions.
  • An example of this would be asking a sample of people to rank a type of food on a scale of 1-10.
  • This is a weakness as researchers will lack personal and detailed opinions to explain why majority of the sample may have a similar judgement and why certain individuals do not align with the average scores, showing the limitations of quantitative data.
  • However, other psychologists may argue that quantitative data is useful as collecting it may be more efficient compared to qualitative data benefitting the costs of the research.
  • Despite this, statistical infrequency is still a weakness when it comes to considering whether an individual can be defined as abnormal or not as there is no reasoning to suggest why they should be considered abnormal when only numbers and statistics have been provided and due to this, people may be less likely to choose this definition to decide whether someone is abnormal or not.
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9
Q

AO3 (4) for failure to function adequately

A
  • A weakness of the failure to function adequately definition of abnormality is that some people choose not to have interpersonal relationships.
  • A requirement for being normal by this definition is that a person maintains interpersonal relationships.
  • This is a weakness because some people may be able to conform to standard interpersonal rules but choose not to and live alone. This means that they could meet all other requirements of normality but due to their lifestyle choice of living alone and choosing not to have interpersonal relationships, they would be labelled as abnormal despite being able to function in every other way.
  • However, some may argue that maintaining interpersonal relationships is a key part of functioning in everyday life, and failure to do is a deviation for social norms and therefore is already considered abnormal by different definition of abnormality.
  • Despite this, living without interpersonal relationships may be a lifestyle choice and an individual may be otherwise functioning normally, therefore this definition may be less likely to be chosen
  • Thus reducing the external validity of failure to function adequately as a definition of abnormality
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10
Q

AO3 (3) for deviation of social norms

A
  • A weakness of deviation of social norms is people with learning difficulties will automatically struggle to follow them.
  • A common thing people with ASD and ADHD struggle with is behaviour within social situations, meaning they often do not understand the unwritten rules of society or struggle to follow them. Under this definition of abnormality, all people with these disorders would be automatically classed as abnormal, something they cannot help or control.
  • This lowers the credibility of this definition, as it automatically classes some people under it for deviating from social norms just by having learning difficulties.
  • However, classing people suffering from ADHD and ASD as abnormal would allow them to seek support as they do display abnormal behaviours, meaning the definition is more likely to be used.
  • Overall, a weakness of deviation of social norms is people with learning difficulties automatically struggling to follow the unwritten rules of society.
  • This decreases the validity of the definition, because it automatically classes a group in society as abnormal, without taking into consideration any other behaviour, meaning psychologists are less likely to choose this as the definition of abnormality.
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11
Q

what are all of the AO3s in a short explanation

A

weakness - deviation of ideal mental health - Jahoda is Austrian and developed her success criteria according to the western ideology which can be seen as extreme, however lots of countries appeal to western cultures, despite this hard to achieve or self-actualise with this success criteria reducing likelihood of ppl using it as a definition

weakness - statistical infrequency - quantitative so limited to numerical data (no detail or descriptions) like sample of ppl ranking a type of food on a scale of 1-10 so we don’t know why a majority might have similar judgement or why some ppl don’t align with average scores cuz lack personal and detailed opinions, however useful cuz efficient to collect compared to qualitative so benefits cost of research, despite this no reason to consider ppl abnormal with just numbers reducing likelihood of ppl using it as a definition

weakness - deviation from social norms - ppl with learning difficulties automatically struggle to follow, ppl with ASD or ADHD cant do social situations so automatically labelled abnormal over something they cant help, lowering credibility cuz automatically classing ppl as abnormal cuz learning difficulties affect them in terms of social norms, however helps them to seek support if considered abnormal, despite this learning difficulties ppl cant follow unwritten rules of society that are always changing thus reducing validity cuz does take into consideration any other behaviour

weakness - failure to function adequately - some ppl choose not to have interpersonal relationships which is a requirement to be normal according to this, some ppl might conform to standard interpersonal rules but choose not to be alone, so ticking every other box like except that makes them not normal??, however some argue its a key part of functioning in everyday life, despite this lifestyle choice therefore less likely to be chosen

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12
Q

give some info about statistical infrequency

A

This definition defines behaviours that
are abnormal as statistically rare.

uses normal distribution graph/curve

Most people will fall on or
near the mean for these.

Any individuals that fall outside the
‘normal distribution’ usually about 5%
of a population (2 standard deviation
points away from the mean) are
perceived as being abnormal.

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13
Q

strength of statistical infrequency

A

objective way of defining abnormality
based on unbiased statistical data, avoids criticism like the other ones which are subjective on what’s considered normal

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14
Q

limitation of statistical infrequency

A

subjectivity of cut-off points - deciding someone’s behaviour must deviate from the statistical norm before it should be considered abnormal is a problem

overlooks desirable behaviour - high IQ is statistically infrequent and so they wouldn’t be ‘normal’

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15
Q

give some info about deviation from social norms

A

unwritten rules created by society like not being naked in public or not pushing to the front of a queue

draws a line between desirable and undesirable behaviours and
labels individuals behaving undesirably as social deviants

Norms are specific to the culture that we live in and are likely to be different for
different situations and different generations, so there are very few behaviours
that would be considered universally abnormal.

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16
Q

strength of deviation from social norms

A

developmental norms - establishes what behaviour is normal for different ages like crying in a supermarket for a kid vs an adult over ice cream, defining it this way means individual differences in society are acknowledged when establishing if the behaviour is abnormal

17
Q

limitations of deviation from social norms

A

change over time - constantly changing and often related to moral standards that changes as social attitudes change like homosexuality being a mental disorder until 1990

cultural differences - social norms vary across cultures like western societies with hearing voices think schizophrenia but other cultures see it as common and not unusual

18
Q

give info on failure to function adequately

A

by Rosenhan and Seligman (1989)

When someone’s behaviour suggests that they cannot cope with everyday demands e.g. getting up in the
morning, getting washed and dressed, and going to work

7 features of dysfunction by Rosenhan and Seligman (1989)

acronym - Unique People Often Meet very Unhappy Insects

Personal distress
A key feature of abnormality. Includes depression and anxiety disorders

Maladaptive behaviour
Behaviour stopping individuals from attaining life goals, both socially and occupationally.

Unpredictability
Displaying unexpected behaviours, characterised by loss of control, like attempted suicide.

Irrationality
Displaying behaviour that cannot be explained in a rational way

Observer discomfort
Displaying behaviour that causes discomfort to others i.e. friends, family members

Violation of moral standards
Displaying behaviour that violates society’s moral standards e.g. causing pain to another person

Unconventionality
Displaying unusual or odd behaviour

19
Q

strength of failure to function

A

focuses on individual’s experience

20
Q

limitations of failure to function

A

abnormality is not always accompanied by dysfunction - psychopaths can cause great harm and still appear to function normally like Harold Shipman doctor who murdered so many patients but appeared non-dysfunctional

normal abnormality - sometimes its normal to show some of these traits like when someone dies its hard to cope with everyday demand which is not abnormal