Defining Abnormality
Definitions of Abnormality:
Deviation from social norms:
This perspective suggests that behaviours, thoughts, or emotions that significantly differ from the accepted standards of a society are considered abnormal. Factors such as culture, context, and historical time must be taken into account when determining what constitutes a norm.
Failure to function adequately:
Abnormality is where a person is considered abnormal if they are unable to cope with the demands of everyday life, leading to significant personal distress or discomfort. This means they struggle to manage basic tasks like personal hygiene, eating, work or school, and socialising
Statistically infrequent:
This approach says that behaviours that are significantly rare or less common than the majority may indicate abnormality. However, it is essential to distinguish between behaviours that are simply uncommon and those that truly disrupt day-to-day functioning or indicate a mental disorder.
Deviation from ideal mental health:
This concept suggests that if an individual strays too far from what is considered as optimal psychological functioning, such as possessing positive self-esteem, personal growth, and harmonious relationships, this can be interpreted as a sign of abnormality. It emphasises the importance of evaluating mental health according to a standard of well-being rather than merely identifying deficits.
Abnormality can be described as a Deviation from Social Norms:
All societies have their standards of behaviour and attitudes. Deviating from these can be seen as abnormal
But cultures vary, so there isn’t one universal set of social ‘rules’
One problem with defining abnormality as deviation from social norms is that it can be used to justify the removal of ‘unwanted’ people from society. For example, people opposing a particular political regime could be said to be abnormal
Another limitation of defining abnormality as deviation from social norms is that what is considered acceptable or abnormal can change over time. For example, as recently as 1974, homosexuality was classified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) as a disorder. However, the diagnosis was dropped because it was found that homosexuality wasn’t as infrequent as previously thought and that homosexuals don’t differ from heterosexuals in terms of psychological well-being
Abnormality can also be described as Deviation from Statistical Norms:
Abnormality can also be seen as statistically rare behaviour- this can be expressed in terms of normal distribution:
People who behave in an average way make up the middle of the bell-shaped curve
Those people who behave ‘abnormally’ make up the tail ends of the bell curve- this behaviour is rare (statistically infrequent)
However, there are problems with defining abnormality simply in terms of statistical infrequency:
It doesn’t take account of the desirability of behaviour, just its frequency. For example, a very high IQ is abnormal, as is a very low one, but having a high IQ is desirable whereas having a low IQ is undesirable
There’s no distinction between rare, slightly odd behaviour and rare, psychologically abnormal behaviour
There’s no definite cut-off point where normal behaviour becomes abnormal behaviour
Some behaviours that are considered psychologically abnormal are quite common, e.g. mild depression. Using the statistical infrequency idea, some disorders would not be classed as anything unusual
Failure to function adequately is another definition of abnormality:
You can’t function if you can’t cope with the demands of day-to-day life
Various criteria are used for diagnosis, including:
Dysfunctional behaviour- Behaviour which goes against the accepted standards of behaviour
Observer discomfort- Behaviour that causes other individuals to become uncomfortable
Unpredictable behaviour- Impulsive behaviour that seems to be uncomfortable
Irrational behaviour- Behaviour that’s unreasonable and illogical
Personal distress- Being affected by emotion to an excessive degree
If you can tick the box more than one of the criteria above, the person’s behaviour is considered to be abnormal.
Jahoda (1958) identified six conditions associated with ideal mental health:
Jahoda’s six conditions were:
Positive self-attitude
Self-actualisation (realising your potential, being fulfilled)
Resistance to stress
Personal autonomy (making your own decisions, being in control)
Accurate perception of ability
Adaptation to the environment
However, it can be hard to meet all the standards set in this list, and they’re subjective (ideas of what is required for each will differ from person to person)
Also, a violent offender, for example, may have a positive self-attitude and be resistant to stress, etc.- yet society wouldn’t consider them to be in good mental health
The idea of ideal mental health varies across time and between cultures:
What’s considered mentally ‘healthy’ at one time, wouldn’t necessarily be at another. For example, in some cultures today, it’s considered abnormal for women to enjoy sex- they may be forced to have their clitoris surgically removed to prevent their enjoyment. In Victorian times here, women who enjoyed sex were deemed abnormal and hence Freud coined the term ‘nymphomania’. There’s still influence from this today- there are still double standards about male and female sexual activity
But the idea of ‘ideal’ mental health can be a useful one because it moves away from focusing on mental ‘illness’
Some symptoms are associated with mental illness:
The Department of Health provides a guide to assess symptoms associated with mental illness. To be classified as a mental illness, there should be one or more of the following (not temporary) symptoms:
Impairment of intellectual functions, such as memory and comprehension
Alterations to mood that lead to delusional appraisals of the past or future, or lack of any appraisal
Delusional beliefs, such as persecution or jealousy
Disordered thinking- the person may be unable to appraise their situation or communicate with others