definitions of abnormality

statistical infrequency

no. of people with unusual behaviour
IQ and intellectual disability disorder
- majority of people’s scores will cluster around an average of 100
- only 2% of people have a score below 70 so they would be considered abnormal

a strength of statistical infrequency is its usefulness
it is used in clinical practice to as part of diagnosis but also assessing the severity of an individuals symptoms
an example of s.f used in assessment tools is beck’s depression inventory. a score of 30+ is widely interpreted as indicating severe depression
this shows that s.f has real world application, making it reliable and valid

a limitation of s.f is that infrequent characteristics can be positive too
for every person with an IQ below 70, there is also someone with an IQ above 130. yet we would not think of them being abnormal
similarly, someone who scores very low on the bdi would not be abnormal
these examples suggest that being on one end of a psychological spectrum doesn’t necessarily make a person abnormal
therefore, it cannot be a firm definition of abnormality

when a person behaves in a way that is different from how we expect them to behave
norm = collective judgement as a society about what is right
norms are different for each generation and culture, so very little behaviour that would be considered universally abnormal
antisocial personality disorder
- a person with this disorder is impulsive, aggressive and irresponsible
- social judgement that psychopaths are abnormal because they dont conform to moral standards and is considered abnormal in a wide range of cultures

one strength of d.s.n is its usefulness
it is used in clinical practice to help diagnose disorder. for example, characteristics to look out for when diagnosing antisocial personality disorder would be recklessness, aggression and violating the rights of others. these signs all deviate from normal behaviour
this shows that d.s.n has real world application whr diagnosing disorders in psychiatry

one limitation of d.s.n is the variability between social norms in different cultures
a person from one culture may label someone as abnormal using the standards of their own cultures, while the behaviour may be normal in the other individual’s culture
for example, hearing voices in some cultures is a sign from the ancestors whereas many western cultures would consider it to be abnormal
this undermines the validity of d.s.n as it cannot be applied to all cultures due to the variability

when a person can no longer cope with the demands of everyday life i.e basic standards of nutrition and hygiene, not being able to hold down a job or maintain relationships
rosenhan and seligman - proposed additional signs to be used in order to determine when someone is not coping
- no longer conforms to interpersonal rules i.e maintaining eye contact, respecting personal space
- severe personal distress
- behaviour that is irrational or dangerous to themselves or others
intellectual disability disorder - low IQ in addition to not being able to function adequately

one strength is that it represents a sensible threshold for help for when people need professional help
many people have symptoms of mental disorder to some degree. the charity, mind, claims that around 25% of people in the uk will experience a mental health problem
however, many people press on in the face of severe symptoms. it is at the point we cease to function adequately that people seek professional help
this criterion allows for people to receive the help they need when they need it

one limitation is that it easily labels non standard lifestyle choices as abnormal
in practice, it is hard to distinguish whether a certain behaviour is actually failure to function or deviating from the norm.
for example, unemployment and lack of a permanent address may seem like failure to function but it could be the lifestyle the individual is choosing for themselves
this means that people who make unusual choices are at risk of being labelled abnormal and their freedom of choice may be restricted, which may subject them to discrimination

looking at what makes someone normal
once we establish what normal looks like, we can establish who deviates from this ideal
jahoda - created mental health criteria
- no symptoms or distress
- rational and good self perception
- self actualise
- can cope w stress
- realistic view of the world
- good self esteem and lack of guilt
- independent of other people
- successfully work, love and enjoy

a strength of the criteria is that it is comprehensive
it covers most of the reasons why we might seek help with mental health.
this in turn allows for the individual’s mental health to be discussed meaningfully with a range of professionals
for example, a psychiatrist might focus on symptoms whereas a humanistic counsellor might be more interested in self actualisation
this means that the criteria provides a checklist which can be used to assess others and dicuss mental disorders with professionals

one limitation is that the criteria is not applicable across all cultures
some aspects of the criteria are firmly rooted in the context of western cultures
for example, self actualisation could be seen as self indulgent in many collectivist cultures
this means it is harder to apply the concept of ideal mental health when different groups of people have different definitions of it.