definitions of abnormalty
deviation from social norms
approved and accepted ways of behaving in a particular society
Suggests that people who break or reject the social norms and behave in a socially deviant way, should be regarded as abnormal
explicit= breaking the law, implicit= agreed as a matter of convention within society
evaluation
strength- has usefulness in clinical practice as can help diagnose disorders so has value in psychiatry
limitation-social norms change over time. eg.homosexuality was regarded an illness until 1973. also could be argued diagnoses made on these terms are given as a form of control over minority groups. means not a valid definition and has significant ethical implications
failure to function adequately
rosenhan and seligman suggested 6 features of abnormality
means person unable to live a normal life or engage in normal range of behaviours. disrupt a persons ability to work and conduct successful relationships
irrationality, behaviour cannot be explained in rational way
observer discomfort, behaviour causes discomfort to others
unpredictability, displays unexpected behaviours characterised by loss of control
violation of moral standards
maldaptive behaviour, stops individual attaining life goals
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personal distress
evaluation
strength- definition is person focused and considers subjective experiences of patient.does not make a judgement without taking personal viewpoint of sufferer into consideration
limitation-abnormality isn't always accompanied by dysfunction as psychopaths have been known to commit murders and still appear to lead normal life
deviation from ideal mental health
concentrates on defining normal characteristics people should possess
jahoda identified 6 criteria
these factors are required for 'optimal living'- living life to the fullest
positive attitude towards self, having self respect and positive self concept
self actualisation, achieving full potential
autonomy, being independent and self reliant
resisting stress, having effective coping strategies
accurate perception of reality, viewing world in non distorted way
environmental mastery, being able to meet the demands of any situation. has flexibility and can adapt to circumstances
evaluation
strength- takes pasoitive and holistic stance and focuses on desirable behaviours. considers whole person and takes into account multitude of factors which can affect people well being. definition is comprehensive covering broad range of criteria
limitation- idealistic as most people don't meet all of these ideals all the time and most people find stress hard to deal with and by this deft notion means they may be considered abnormal. also unclear how many of criteria need to be lacking in order to be considered abnormal
statistical in frequency
behaviour abnormal if it is numerically rare
states that the 5% of the population that fall more than two standard deviations from the mean are abnormal
evaluation
strength- can be objectively measured and takes whole population into account so gives useful insight into the whole picture of a particular characteristic. mathematical nature of definition means its clear what is defined as abnormal and what is not therefore no bias
limitation- lacks detail as just bc certain behaviour statistically infrequent doesn't mean its abnormal. therefore fails to distinguish between infrequent desirable and undesirable behaviours