Lesson 1 Deviation from social norms

Question 1

Deviation from social norms definition

Answer 1

Any behaviour that does not follow accepted social patterns or social rules. Such violation of these patterns or rules can be regarded as abnormal behaviour and would be classed as unacceptable (An example could be wearing no clothes in public). Norms, values, and accepted ways to behave vary from one culture to the next and from one time period to the next.

Question 2

Advantages of deviation from social norms

Answer 2

A strength of deviation from social norms is that it distinguishes a difference between desirable and non desirable behaviour. The model aims to protect members of the public from the effects of abnormal behaviour and the damaging consequences it can have. For instance it is abnormal for someone to wear no clothes in the high street, and if someone was to display this behaviour it would be damaging and disturbing. Therefore to highlight that this behaviour is abnormal, we can aim to minimise this behaviour in order to protect members of the public from its effects

Question 3

Disadvantages of deviation from social norms

Answer 3

1. A disadvantage of using deviation from social norms as a definition of abnormality is that the definition does not always clearly indicate that a person has a psychological abnormality. Therefore psychologists must be cautious when making judgements about whether deviation from social norms implies that someone is abnormal or just odd/eccentric. For instance people who streak might be quite odd and their behaviour does deviate from social norms; however it does not mean that they are mentally disturbed. Therefore we must be very cautious when making judgements about whether someone is mentally disturbed or not (especially when judging behaviour alone)
2. A disadvantage of using deviation from social norms as a definition of abnormality is that context must be taken into account. An example could be that wearing no clothes in the high street would be viewed as odd and deviating from social norms. However wearing no clothes would be acceptable in a different context (a nudist beach), and therefore the behaviour would be acceptable. Therefore context must be considered when judging if behaviour is deviant or not.