Definitions of Abnormality

Statistical infrequency

Abnormality is determined by how often behaviour occurs in a population

• common behaviour is considered normal but uncommon behaviour considered abnormal.

• Frequency determined by normal distribution- normal population falls in middle of the curve

• Abnormality determined by how far persons behaviour deviates from statistical norm

Example of statistical infrequency

Schizophrenia occurs in 1% of the population

Strength of statsical infrequency- appropriate in clinical practice

Used in clinical practice to form diagnosis, assess severity of symptoms.

• High score in becks depression inventory is statically infrequent- severe depression.

• Also IQ below 70 needed for diagnosis of intellectual disability.

• So SI useful in diagnosing and assessing

• Using objective data allows professions to identify behaviours that deviate from statistical norm- helps ensure reliability of diagnosis to developing appropriate treatments.

Weakness of Statistical infrequency- unusual character can be positive

• Doesn’t distinguish between desirable and undesirable rare traits, assumes all statistically rare characteristics are bad.

• Some unusual traits are good, e.g. having high levels of creativity or very high IQ is statistically infrequency but seen as good.

• Suggests statistical infrequency doesn’t consider value and context of rare traits- shouldn’t be used in isolation to determine abnormality

Deviation from social norms

Behaviour considered abnormal if person behaves in a way that’s different from how we expect people to behave.

Weakness of deviation from social norms- lack of universality

• Lacks universality as what’s considered abnormal Varys between cultures.

• E.g. in western cultures hearing voices considered symptoms of mental disorders like schizophrenia- deviating from social norms. In others, hearing voices regarded as normal experiences associated with spiritual practices.

• Means DFSM can’t be applied equally across all cultures.

Strength of deviation from social norms- pratical use in diagnosing abnormal behaviour

• useful to assess behaviour

  e.g. behaving anti-social termed as socially deviant but this behaviour may be symptoms of schizophrenia so proper treatment can be applied.

• Social norms put in place to ensure softens run smoothly.

• Identifying social deviant behaviour protects society from harmful acts by others.

• DFSM offers practical way of identifying damaging behaviours, allow them to get help

Example of deviation from social norms

Antisocial personality disorder- person deviates from empathy, accountability and respect

Failure to function adequately

Person is abnormal if they cant cope with the demands of everyday life.

• cant maintain basic levels of hygiene or nutrition

• cant maintain jobs or relationships

Signs of someone failing to function

• not conforming to standard interpersonal rules

• experiencing severe personal distress

• dangerous to themselves or others

Strength of failure to function- represents a threshold for help

Represents a sensible threshold when someone needs professional help.

• Being unable to perform daily activities indicates high impairment levels.

• E.g. someone depressed may not get out of bed, go to work, look after themselves.

• Means there’s a practical criteria wehere professionals can prioritize those most in need.

Weakness of failure to function- Can be normal

Some circumstances normal where most of us fail to cope e.g. relationship breakup.

• Unfair to label people in these situations abnormal

• But not functioning due to an event isn’t an excuse for not coping and may need help.

• Severity, duration, context of not functioning should be considered before labelling someone abnormal

Deviation from ideal mental health

Jahoda- Compares individuals psychological state against a set of normal behaviour criteria for optimal mental health

8 characteristics considered ideal mental health by Jahoda

• No symtpoms of distress

• Ratioanl and pervies themselves accurately

• Can self-actualise

• Cope with stress

• Realistic view of the world

• Good self esteem and lack of guilt

• Independant to others

• Successfully work, love, enjoy our leisure

Strength of deviation from ideal mental health- comprehensive definition

Creates clear and comprehensive benchmark for mental health

• Outlining a specific criteria means there’s a structured framework to assess persons psychological state.

• Helps clinicians evaluate various aspects of psychological functioning, ensures balanced assessment.

• Useful identifying specific areas needing help, so can target effective treatments- enhances precision of assessments, ensures people get the help they need.

Weakness of deviation from ideal mental health- culture bias

Some criteria are firmly located in western culture e.g. independence, self actualisation.

• Different cultures have different beliefs of the criteria- collectivist culture focus on community, interdependence.

• Lead to inappropriate diagnosis of non-western people

• Limited applicability across diverse populations.