1. Typical and atypical behaviour

Typical behaviour: Patterns of behaviour that are expected of an individual or that conform to standards of what is acceptable in a given situation

eg/When a child’s skills, abilities and behaviours fall within a expected range of development, or progress at a similar pace compared to peers of the same age.

General Level:

• typical behaviour that most people would ordinarily do in a situation at that time

Individual Level:

• at most times the person acts as they usually do in a given situation

Atypical behaviour: Patterns of behaviour that are not expected for an individual/ deviate from the norm and can be harmful or distressing for individual around them.

• tend to violate what society feels is appropriate

eg/ Excessive violence, aggression, social withdrawal, self harm

General Level:

• atypical behaviour that most people would not ordinarily do in a situation at that time

Individual Level:

• at most times the person acts in ways that are unusual for them in a given situation
  ie/ out of character

eg/ friendly person becomes withdrawn and does not interact with others for a period of time

Psychological criteria used to categorise typical and Atypical behaviour

Criteria’s can be used to determine if behaviour is typical or atypical, which can help identify if patient is in need of management & treatment

Cultural perspectives: involves using cultural norms/standards to determine whether behaviours are acceptable or typical for a certain culture (this may vary between cultures)

ie/ Eye contact in Hispanic, Asian, Middle eastern cultures is seen as rude but respectful in Western

limitations:

• Typical and Atypical behaviour differs between countries, no universal standard

• countries with higher cultural diversity make it difficult to assess Atypical & typical behaviours

• values, beliefs, expectancies of cultures can change over time

Social norms

• shared standards/ social beliefs on what is acceptable behaviour

• govern what people should/shouldn’t do in different situations

• aren’t written down/ explicitly stated

• learned through socialisation in childhood

→ can be within different groups such as gender norms and age norms

eg/ throwing a tantrum as a baby is socially acceptable but not for adults

Limitations:

• no universal agreement to social norms and may differ between individuals even within the same culture

• can change over time with changes of society ie/online dating

• may depend on situation or context

Statistic rarity

• behaviours are considered abnormal if they deviate significantly from the mean

• based on the normal distribution curve → normal behaviour falls in the middle area

Limitations:

• the cut off area for typical or atypical behaviour is subjective

• when viewing behaviour, both ends of curve is atypical

• same behaviours may not be statistically rare but are atypical
  e.g./ 1 in 7 aussies experience depression but it is atypical behaviour

Personal distress

usually involves unpleasant & upsetting emotions such as sadness, anxiety, overwhelmed as well as physiological pain and suffering, e.g./ loss of a loved one, life threatening disease, traumatic event, financial difficulty

• considered atypical if distress is so intense, disruptive and persistent that it interferes with a person’s ability to function normally for a long period of time.

limitations:

• experience of distress varies among individuals

• personal distress may not occur even if behaviour is atypical

• personal distress is not enough to describe behaviour as atypical but rather the severity of distress

Adaptive vs maladaptive behaviour

Adaptive behaviour

any behaviour that enables the individual to adjust to the environment appropriately and effectively → actions that someone carries out every day to need with their personal/social responsibilities

• having a good nights sleep

• dressing correctly for school

• being productive at school

Maladaptive behaviour

behaviour that is unhelpful, dysfunctional and nonproductive that interferes with a persons ability to adjust to their environment appropriately & effectively

• is effective for stress short term but tends to strengthen stress long-term as it does not address the root cause

• interfere with ability to perform daily tasks

• useful in assisting psychologists to identify individuals who are not functioning effectively.

e.g./ you have homework you are stressed about but instead you scroll on your phone to distract yourself

limitations:

• how adaptive or maladaptive behaviour is hard to quantify

• whether behaviour is maladaptive or not depends on situation (eg/ binge watching movies for fun or watching to distract yourself from work)

• maladaptive behaviours can be categorised as typical when viewed from a statistical perspective

Explanation should demonstrate understanding that atypical development raises concerns when it is persistent, is evident across different situations in everyday life, and results in maladaptive behaviour i.e. interferes with the ability to successfully adjust to the environment.

S,S,C,M,P

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