Psychopathology

• Deviations from social norms

• Behaviour that violates expectations of a group- unwritten rule

• Gives clarity- you will know what is acceptable in your culture

• Helps society to be ordered and predictable

  But

• It is ethnocentric- based on Western ideals

• Norms change over time i.e homosexuality

• Can be a way be remove non-conformists from society

• Failure to function adequately and unable to cope with the demands of everyday life:

  • Self-care

  • Job

  • Interacts meaningful

• Selingman

• Experience or cause distress

• Behave rationally

• Doesn’t follow social rule

But

• Defined largely by social norms

  • i.e Smoking/ Drinking is harmful but not classed as abnormal

• Ethnocentric

  • Abnormal behaviour doesn’t always stop a person from functioning

• Deviation from ideal mental health

  • High self-esteem and a clear sense of identity

  • Able to fulfil potential

  • Ability to cope with stress

  • Independent

  • Accurate perceptions of reality

  • Work-love-lesuire

• But ethnocentric

• The bar is set to high- being abnormal becomes a normal concept becomes meaningless

• Statistical infrequency

  • Anything 2 standard deviations from the Norm= Abnormal

• What about geniuses

  • Ignores desirable traits

• Depression is common so would not be included

• Being left-handed is rare but has no bearing on abnormality

Mental health:

A spectrum going from crisis to excelling- Context is important