PSYCHOPATHOLOGY - definitions of abnormality (1)

Question 1

what is statistical infrequency?

Answer 1

occurs when an individual has a less common characteristic. eg being more depressed or less intelligent than most of the population

Question 2

what is deviation from social norms?

Answer 2

concerns behaviour that is different from the accepted standards of behaviour in a community or society

Question 3

give an example of statistical infrequency.

Answer 3

intellectual disability disorder = individuals who score below 70 are classified as abnormal.

Question 4

give an example for deviation from social norms

Answer 4

antisocial personality disorder = person is impulsive, aggressive and irresponsible, fail to conform to lawful and culturally normative behaviour.

Question 5

evaluate statistical infrquency?

Answer 5

+ REAL WORLD APPLICATION=
used in clinical practice as a part of diagnosis and to assess severity of an individuals symptoms.
eg people diagnosed for intellectual disability score an IQ below 70.
= this shows that statistical infrequency criterion has high value due to its usefulness in assessment processes.

• infrequent characteristics can also be positive as well as negative =. for every person with an IQ score below 70 there is someone with an IQ score above 130. However ppl with above 130 IQ aren’t classified as abnormal. This means that it is not fair to classify something as abnormal at one end of a spectrum and not the other = SF is not sufficient as the sole basis for defining abnormality

Question 6

evaluate deviation from social norms

Answer 6

+ REAL WORLD APPLICATION= used in clinical practice
eg. key defining charactersitics of antisocial personality disorder is failure to conform to ethical behaviour. these signs of disorders are ALL deviations from social norms.
This shows that deviation from social norms criterion has value in psychiatry

• there is VARIABILITY BETWEEN SOCIAL NORMS IN DIFFERENT CULTURES= eg experiencing of hearing voices may be classified as abnormal in the UK however some other cultures believe that it is a message from their ancestors.
  Therefore it is difficult to judge deviation from social norms across different situations and cultures.