Definitions of abnormality

What is deviation from social norms?

Behaviour is abnormal if it goes against/deviates from what society would consider the norm

What is the explanation?

The norm i.e. the behaviour is different to the typical way society would perceive something, would be considered abnormal

Abnormal behaviour is breaking society’s rules, beliefs and values about how you should typically behave

These may be explicit (stated clearly) or implicit (suggested/unwritten)

Atypical behaviour which goes against social norms is considered deviant

What is an example?

OCD- society has implicit rule that it is unacceptable to engage in behaviour which is repetitive/ritualistic i.e avoiding shaking someone’s hand or checking things several times as once is sufficient

What is one strength?

The deviation from social norms definition is accused of being culturally relative

E.g social norms vary between different cultures as they are not universal e.g it is not the norm for women to be topless in our culture, but it might be in a tribal society

This means that the deviation from social norms definition ignores cultural differences in people’s behaviour and is dependent on the beliefs and values within the societal group

What is one weakness?

This definition is also era dependent

Social norms change over time as attitudes and beliefs change due to historical, political and cultural circumstances e.g same sex relationships between males (homosexuality) was considered a mental illness and illegal until 1960’s

This means the definition of deviating from social norms can only apply to behaviours from one period of time, reducing its temporal validity

What is failure to to function adequately?

Behaviour is abnormal if it prevents a person from leading a normal, everyday life and coping with everyday activities.

Causes the individual personal stress and discomfort due to their failure to cope

What are the characteristics?

Maladaptive behaviour- the behaviour stops a person from reaching life goals, both socially and occupationally

Irrational behaviour- displaying behaviour that cannot be explained in a rational, logical and reasonable wayv

Observer discomfort- displaying behaviour that makes other people feel uncomfortable

Unpredictable behaviour- displaying unexpected behaviours characterised by a loss of control

What is an example?

A depressive person could be self-loathing and suicidal

This could be irrational as the individual could appear to be successful and happy

What is one weakness?

One criticism of this definition is that adequate functioning is based on subjective judgements

This is because what is classed as ‘failing to function’ may depend on personal opinion and people differ in their opinions regarding what failing to function is. Personal beliefs and upbringing determine a person’s attitudes towards defining abnormality

E.g people with Tourettes syndrome suffer from ‘ties’- these would cause observer discomfort in some people (it would cause offence), whereas others would not be offended or may even be amused)

This means the definition is subjective: what is abnormal depends on who is making the judgement

What is another weakness?

Failing to function adequately is culturally relative

This is because what is classed as ‘failing to function’ varies across the world depending on the cultural values and beliefs

E.g in Western culture, hallucinations are a sign of failing to function (because they are seen as a sign of schizophrenic behaviour). Whereas, in some non-Western cultures, hallucinations is a spiritual experience (something to be worshipped, even)- so is a sign of functioning more than adequately

This means that this definition ignores cultural values and attitudes

What is deviation from ideal mental health?

Behaviour is abnormal if it lacks the signs of what people consider to be ideal mental health. It is the absence of particular (ideal) characteristics

What are the characteristics?

Self-actualisation- ability to reach one’s potential through personal growth

Positive attitude towards self- having high self esteem and self respect

Accurate perception of reality- ability to see the world as it is without distortions or biases

Resistance to stress- resilience to cope with daily stressors

Environmental mastery- ability to be successful in all aspects of life + adapt and thrive in new situations

Autonomy- ability to act independently and trust one’s own abilities

What is an example?

Depression- characterised by low self esteem and feelings of worthlessness e.g ‘ I am useless’

Criterion for IMH- positive attitudes toward self

What is one strength?

This definition of abnormality takes a positive and holistic stance

This is because it focuses on what is helpful and desirable behaviour rather than behaviours that indicate abnormality, such as failure to function adequately. This also allows clear goals to be set during therapy so an individual can work towards and achieve ideal mental health

The definition is more optimistic in comparison to other definitions of abnormality

What is one weakness?

This is because the criteria are vague and difficult to measure objectively e.g mastery of the environment. Additionally, it is unclear how many of the criteria of ideal mental health is needed to be lacking for someone to be defined as abnormal

This means the decision whether someone fulfills the criteria is a difficulty one to make

What is statistical infrequency?

Behaviour is abnormal if it is considered rare/uncommon in the general population, or it is not seen very often in society

What is the explanation?

If people were scored on a scale indicating how much they possess a characteristic and then plot this data on a frequency distribution, most human characteristics would be normally distributed

Majority of people- normal- clustered around the mean

Minority of people- abnormal- tail ends

Statistically infrequent- top/bottom 2% of population

Abnormal scores- more than 2SD away from the mean

The less frequently a behaviour occurs in the population, the more abnormal the behaviour is judged to be

What is an example?

Approximately 1.9% of US adults are classified as having severe phobias

Minority= rare

What is one strength?

Compared to other definitions, statistically infrequency is more objective

This is because it provides clear guidelines on how to identify when a behaviour should be classed as abnormal. Any behaviour that can be scored in a quantitative way can be plotted on a frequency distribution, and if it occurs in the top/bottom 2% then it is classed as abnormal. Unlike failure to function adequately, where deciding if a behaviour creates ‘observer discomfort’ is down to opinion

This means this definition is more subjective

What is one weakness?

Statistical infrequency is not necessarily a defining feature of abnormality

This is because some statistically rare behaviours are considered normal and vice versa (some abnormal behaviours are statistically common) E.g NIMH figures from 2014 that 6.7% of US adults suffer from major depression- this means the disorder is not technically ‘infrequent’ as defined here. Conversely, highly intelligent people with an IQ of over 130 are in the top 2%- so are statistically rare- yet they wouldn’t be considered ‘abnormal’

This means that this definition ignores ‘desirability’