Psychopathology: Definitions Of Abnormality Flashcards
1
Q
What Is Psychopathology?
A
- Refers to either the study of mental illness/disorders or the manifestation of behaviours/experiences which may be indicative of mental illness or psychological impairment.
- Concerned with abnormal behaviour and seeks to define what make a behaviour abnormal.
- Problem or disorders can be diagnosed and in turn treated.
2
Q
Statistical Infrequency Definition Of Abnormality.
A
- Says abnormal behaviours are those that are extremely rare and found in very few people.
- Therefore, they use mathematical method for defining abnormality.
- Idea that human attributes fall into a normal distribution within the population, meaning that there is central average/mean, and the rest of the population fall symmetrically above and below that mean.
- Standard deviation as a measure informs us how far scores fall on either side away from the mean.
- This definition states that the 5% of the population that fall more than two standard deviations from the mean are abnormal.
3
Q
Deviation From Social Norms Definition Of Abnormality.
A
- The basic idea is that abnormality is when a behaviour does not fit within what is socially accepted.
- Dependant on the culture in which the behaviour occurs, as it acknowledges the differences between norms in different cultures.
- Some social norms are implicit whereas some cause a disorder in the public and therefore policed by law.
- Paedophilia is defined as abnormal because it deviates from both implicit social rule about behaviour and is against the law.
4
Q
Failure To Function Adequately Definition Of Abnormality.
A
- The definition states that abnormal behaviour is when an individual is not able to cope with everyday life, however it acknowledges that people may act differently but believe if they have the basic inability to manage in everyday life their behaviour is seen abnormal.
5
Q
Failure To Function Adequately Definition Of Abnormality - Rosenhan And Seligman And GAF.
A
- Defined by Rosenhan and Seligman into seven sections: unpredictability, maladaptive behaviour, personal distress, irrationality, observer discomfort, violation of moral standards and unconventionality.
- The Global Assessment of Functioning Scale (GAF) is method of measuring how well individuals function in everyday life and it considers R and S plus occupational functioning.
6
Q
Deviation From Ideal Mental Health Definition Of Abnormality.
A
- Abnormality is defined as deviating from an ideal of positive mental health, defined in terms of Jahoda’s criteria of ideal mental health.
- Absence of the criteria for positive mental health indicates abnormality and a potential mental disorder.
- Jahoda suggested that there were 6 criteria that needed to be fulfilled for ideal mental health and if some are not fulfilled the person will experience difficulty.
7
Q
Deviation From Ideal Mental Health - Jahoda’s 6 Criteria.
A
1) Positive attitudes towards the self - linked to self-esteem.
2) Self-actualisation - being in a state of contentment, feeling that they have become the best person as they can be.
3) Autonomy - independence and self-reliance.
4) Resistance to stress - individuals should be able to cope under stress.
5) Environmental mastery - person can adapt to new situations and be at eade at all situations in their life.
6) Accurate perception of reality - they should have a perspective that is similar to how others see the world.
8
Q
Statistical Infrequency Evaluation: Strength - Real Life Application.
A
- A strength of the statistical definition is that it has a real-life application in the diagnosis of intellectual disability disorder.
- There is therefore a place for statistical deviation in thinking about what are normal and abnormal behaviours/characteristics.
- All assessments of patients with mental disorders include some kind of measurement of how severe their symptoms are compared to statistical norms.
- Therefore, statistical deviation is useful part for clinical assessment.
9
Q
Statistical Infrequency Evaluation: Weakness - Desirable Abnormal Behaviour Not Considered.
A
- One weakness of the statistical infrequency definition is that some abnormal behaviour is desirable.
- For example, very few people have an IQ over 150.
- However, a lot of people would like to be classed as a genius.
- The statistical infrequency definition is therefore does not distinguish between desirable and undesirable behaviour.
- This means that we need a way for identifying behaviours that are both infrequent and undesirable.
10
Q
Statistical Infrequency Evaluation: Weakness - Subjectively Determined.
A
- Another limitation of the statistical infrequency definition is that cut-off points are subjectively determined.
- For example, people disagree on what constitutes an abnormal lack of sleep.
- However, since this a symptom of depression, it is important to know where the cut-off point lies for a diagnosis to be made.
- This means that disagreement about cut-off points make it difficult to define abnormality in terms of statistical infrequency.
11
Q
Statistical Infrequency Evaluation: Weakness - Not Beneficial Labelling.
A
- A further weakness is not everyone unusual benefits from a label.
- Where someone is living a happy fulfilled life, there is no benefit to them being labelled as abnormal regardless on how unusual they are.
- For example someone with very low IQ may not be distressed and may be capable of working.
- A label of ‘intellectual disability disorder’ would not benefit from them.
- This shows that labelling a person as abnormal using this definition could have a negative effect on their self-view and the way others view them.
12
Q
Deviation From Social Norms Evaluation: Strength - Desirable Behaviour Considered.
A
- One strength of the deviation from social norms approach is that it includes the issue of the desirability of behaviour.
- For example, being a genius is statistically abnormal, but we would not want to include that in a definition of abnormal behaviours.
- Furthermore, narcissism was once viewed as a deviation from social norms.
- In today’s society it normal to take selfies of oneself.
- This means social norms can be more useful than other definitions.
13
Q
Deviation From Social Norms Evaluation: Weakness - Not Contemporary.
A
- One weakness of the deviation from social norms definition is that social norms vary over time.
- For example, homosexuality was considered as a mental disorder in DSM.
- However, homosexuality is now considered to be socially acceptable.
- This means that the deviation from social norms definition is based on prevailing social morals and attitudes about what is deemed to be ‘normal’ and ‘abnormal.’
- Too much reliance on such definitions could lead to systematic abuse of human rights because of the attitudes people hold.
14
Q
Deviation From Social Norms Evaluation: Weakness - Cultural Variations.
A
- A further limitation of using social norms to define behaviour as abnormal is that they they vary from one community to another.
- This means that person from one cultural group may label someone from another cultural group as behaving abnormally according to their standards of the person behaving in that way.
- For example, hearing voice is not seen as abnormal in all cultures.
- This shows that it can be problematic to use social norms to define abnormal behaviour when diagnosing those other cultures.
- Abnormality is therefore culturally relative.
15
Q
Deviation From Ideal Mental Health: Strength - Very Comprehensive.
A
- A strength of the deviation from ideal mental definition is that is very comprehensive.
- It covers a broad range of criteria for mental health.
- Some would argue that it probably covers most of the reasons someone would seek help from mental health services or be referred for help.
- The sheer range of factors discussed in relation to Jahoda’s ideal mental health definition make it a good tool for thinking about mental health.
