Clinical Psychology and Mental Health

(or Psychopathology)

Definitions of abnormality - Statistical Infrequency

Statistical infrequency - defining abnormality in terms of statistics

• Behaviours that are rare (statistically infrequent) in one culture may be more common (statistically more frequent) in another culture.

• For example, one symptom of schizophrenia is hearing voices. However, this is common in some cultures where religious leaders have claimed to have heard the voice of God. This means that the statistical infrequency model is culturally relative.

Example:

• IQ + Intellectual disability disorder

  • IQ is normally distributed

  • The average IQ is 100 - Most people have an IQ between 85-115, only 2% have a score below 70

  • Those individuals scoring below 70 are statistically unusual or ‘abnormal’ and are diagnosed with intellectual disability disorder

Definitions of abnormality - Deviation from social norms

Abnormality is based on social context

• A person’s thinking or behaviour is classified as abnormal if it violates the (unwritten) rules about the standards of what is acceptable behaviour in a particular social group. Their behaviour may be incomprehensible to others or make others feel threatened or uncomfortable. Acceptable behaviour varies markedly when different cultures are compared.

• Social norms are bound by culture. Classification systems such as the DSM are almost entirely based on the social norms of the dominant culture in the West white and middle-class. However, the most recent revision to DSM acknowledges cultural differences.

• For example, panic attacks make reference to uncontrollable crying in some cultures while difficulty breathing might be more common in other cultures.

There are relatively few behaviours that would be considered universally abnormal therefore definitions are related to cultural context:

• for example - homosexuality is viewed as abnormal in some cultures but not others and was considered abnormal in our society in the past

Evaluation - Statistical Infrequency

Strength:

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Limitation:

Evaluation - Deviation from social norms