The Four Ds

Question 1

Define ‘deviant’.

Answer 1

• Behaviours, emotions, and thoughts which differ from social and cultural norms
• that are seen as unacceptable by society.
• highly deviant behaviours consist of things such as lying or stealing
• if a behaviour is not within two standard deviations for the population, it can be considered statistically abnormal and may be used to diagnose a disorder

Question 2

Give 2 examples of deviant behaviour.

Answer 2

1) Theft
2) chronic lying

Question 3

Why can’t a genius be classed as deviant?

Answer 3

Even though geniuses deviate from the norm, intelligence is accepted by society as it is seen as positive.

Question 4

Give a strength of deviance being used as a criteria for diagnosis.

Answer 4

• It can use statistical measures to help inform decisions
• such as standard deviations, using the normal distribution curve

Question 5

Give a weakness of deviance being used as a criteria for diagnosis.

Answer 5

• Misdiagnosis may occur due to relating to social norms that differ from culture to culture.
• socially controlling as it means that anyone who strays from clinical normality could be considered for diagnosis
• means that everyone must abide by social norms which decreases usefulness in diagnosing a person with a mental health disorder

Question 6

Define ‘distress’.

Answer 6

• Negative behaviours and feelings that cause distress to the individual or others.
• can be used diagnosis if the behaviour causes the person to be upset and there is no logical reason for the person to be upset
• subjective experience crucial- someone may feel extreme distress over something that looks trivial to others
• should be treated in isolation to other D’s
• can be measured using qualitative data from scales such as the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale
• this is a 10 item self-report questionnaire which focuses on experiences in the past 4 weeks

Question 7

Give 2 examples of distressing behaviour.

Answer 7

1) Hypochondriacs
2) Anger

Question 8

Give a strength of distress being used as a criteria for diagnosis.

Answer 8

Useful to the patient who may not realise that they are harming themselves and others in the process.

Question 9

Give a weakness of distress being used as a criteria for diagnosis.

Answer 9

Hard to measure due to being based on the individuals own experience and so it becomes subjective. BUT Kessler scale does provide some level of operationalisation, reducing subjectivity.

Question 10

Define ‘dysfunctional’.

Answer 10

• Behaviours and feelings that interfere with a person’s ability to function in daily life, such as hold a job.
• use a wide range of objective measures to assess everyday functioning- such as the WHODAS
• this looks at the persons understanding of what is going on around them, communication, deterioration and self-care

Question 11

Give 2 examples of dysfunctional behaviour.

Answer 11

1) Insomnia
2) losing a job- so no wages, can’t do what they would like to

Question 12

Give a strength of dysfunction being used as a criteria for diagnosis.

Answer 12

• Davis (2009) said that it can help in making a decision by matching behaviour and beliefs to the axis of the DSM, in this case, specifically axis 5 “level of function”
• ethical- accounts for a persons life and aims to make it better through treatments, but it is somewhat subjective as individual differences with make up what quality of life entails

Question 13

Give a weakness of dysfunction being used as a criteria for diagnosis.

Answer 13

It cannot be used a criteria alone as dysfunction can be deliberate and so if a person only shows this criteria but still has a mental disorder, issues with validity can arise.

Question 14

Define ‘dangerous’.

Answer 14

• Behaviours and feelings that are potentially harmful to and individual or others around them.
• can be physically, such as self harm or erratic behaviour
• can be mentally- such as telling yourself negative things that decrease self esteem

Question 15

Give 2 examples of dangerous behaviour.

Answer 15

1) Smoking
2) Self-harm

Question 16

Give a strength of dangerous being used as a criteria for diagnosis.

Answer 16

Recognising this criteria being prevalent can help to stop or reduce harmful situations the individual may engage in whilst the rest of the diagnosis is taking place.

Question 17

Give a weakness of dangerous being used as a criteria for diagnosis.

Answer 17

Due to being based on self-report data, individuals may leave this information out as they may not want the clinician to know that they are dangerous to themselves or others, leading to misdiagnosis.

Question 18

Give 3 general strengths of the 4 Ds.

Answer 18

1) It provides a holistic approach to abnormality which can be seen as an adequate gage at psychological abnormality
2) Flexible in helping people and enables greater relevance whilst also considering culture
3) Has practical application in aiding a clinician at making a decision on the diagnosis of the individual, which can lead to positive treatment methods which help them in day to day life

Question 19

Give 3 general weaknesses of the 4 Ds.

Answer 19

1) The BPS has expressed concern over the high social control in clinicians deciding what is abnormal behaviour
2) Davis (2009) discusses the addition of the 5th D “Duration” which is equally important and without it the explanation is insufficient
3) Due to self-report it can decrease validity of the individuals honesty and if they are not treated for the right disorder then they may not improve or get worse.