Definitions of abnormality:
1. Explain what is meant by the term statistical deviation as a way to define
abnormality (3 marks)
Statistical deviation - occurs when an individual has a less common characteristic, for
example being more depressed or less intelligent than most of the population.
2. Explain what is meant by the term deviation from social norms as a way to
define abnormality (3 marks)
Deviation from social norms - concerns behaviour that is different from the accepted
standards of behaviour in a community or society.
3. Outline one criticism of statistical deviation (3 marks)
A limitation is that not all unusual characteristics are negative, for example, people who have
an extremely high IQ is considered a positive thing, whereas having a low IQ is abnormal
and can have consequences to mental health. The people with high IQs do not need
treatment, only those with extremely low IQ may need treatment. Also, someone may be
living a happy and fulfilled life and would not benefit from having a label of being abnormal,
for example, someone with a low IQ may not feel any distress and may have a good job and
therefore would not benefit from a label or any treatment. In statistical deviation, there is no
consideration of cultural differences, low internal validity?
4. Explain what is meant by deviations from social norms as a way to define
abnormality (4 marks)
People define behaviour as abnormal on the basis that it offends their sense of what is
acceptable or the norm. We are making a collective judgement as a society about what is
right. These social norms are different for each generation and every culture, so there are
relatively few behaviours that would be considered universally abnormal on the basis that
they breach social norms. A person with antisocial personality disorder is impulsive,
aggressive and irresponsible. One important symptom of antisocial personality disorder is an
“absence of prosocial internal standards associated with failure to conform to lawful or
culturally normative ethical behaviour”. We are making the social judgement that a
psychopath is abnormal because they don’t conform to moral standards. Psychopathic
Behaviour would be considered abnormal in a range of different cultures.
5. Describe and evaluate two ways of defining abnormality (16 marks)
One way of defining abnormality is statistical deviation. According to the statistical deviation
any relatively usual behavior or characteristic can be thought of as “normal” and any
behaviour different to this is “abnormal”. The statistical approach can be used to measure
characteristics such as intelligence. The normal distribution for IQ can be used to define
abnormality. The average IQ is 100, most people have an IQ in the range from 85 to 115.
Only 2% of people have a score below 70. These individuals are very unusual and are liable
to receive a diagnosis of a psychological disorder called intellectual disability disorder
(mental retardation).
,One strength the statistical deviation possesses is that it has a real life application in the
diagnosis of intellectual disability disorder, therefore is a useful part of clinical assessment. It
helps us measure IQ and compare with the rest of the population to highlight those with
extremely high or low IQ and identify them as abnormal. Statistical deviation uses a
quantitative measurement to compare. The standardised measurements of IQ is easy for
clinical assessment. Helps give a cut off point in terms of diagnosis, making it easier to
diagnose those with mental disorders/those who are abnormal. Statistical deviation is also
objective due to the mathematical nature, meaning there is no bias
However, a limitation is that not all unusual characteristics are negative, for example, people
who have an extremely high IQ, considered a positive thing, whereas having a low IQ is
abnormal and can have consequences to mental health. The people with high IQs do not
need treatment, only those with extremely low IQ may need treatment.
Also, someone may be living a happy and fulfilled life and would not benefit from having a
label of being abnormal, for example, someone with a low IQ may not feel any distress and
may have a good job and therefore would not benefit from a label or any treatment. In
statistical deviation, there is no consideration of cultural differences, low internal validity.
Another definition of abnormality is deviation from social norms, so groups of people choose
to define behaviour as abnormal on the basis that it offends their sense of what is
acceptable or the norm. We are making a collective judgement as a society about what is
right. These social norms are different for each generation and every culture, so there are
relatively few behaviours that would be considered universally abnormal on the basis that
they breach social norms. A person with antisocial personality disorder is impulsive,
aggressive and irresponsible. One important symptom of antisocial personality disorder is an
“absence of prosocial internal standards associated with failure to conform to lawful or
culturally normative ethical behaviour”. We are making the social judgement that a
psychopath is abnormal because they don’t conform to moral standards. Psychopathic
Behaviour would be considered abnormal in a range of different cultures.
A strength for this definition of abnormality is that it addresses social norms, something that
statistical deviation couldn’t in regards to desirable and undesirable behaviour. It also
considers culture, social norms are specific and not relevant to others so can be made more
specific to a group of people, increasing accuracy.
However, it includes limitations such as cultural relativism, meaning deviation from social
norms can’t be generalised universally. For example, hearing voices is socially acceptable in
some cultures, such as parts in Africa this would be seen as a mental illness in other places
such as the UK/US. African Americans are 7 times more likely to be diagnosed with
schizophrenia than white Americans. This is a limitation because it demonstrates how
diagnoses may be inaccurate.
1. Explain what is meant by failure to function adequately (4 marks)
A person may cross the line between normal and abnormal at the point when they can no
longer cope with the demands of everyday life and fail to function adequately. For example,
by not being able to maintain basic standards of nutrition and hygiene or if they cannot hold
down a job or maintain relationships with people around them. Rosenhan and Seligman
, have proposed some signs that can be used to determine when someone is not coping.
These include: when someone is no longer conforming to standard interpersonal rules
(maintaining eye contact and respecting personal space), when a person experiences
severe personal distress or a person’s behaviour becomes irrational or dangerous to
themselves or others, an individual must be failing to function adequately before a diagnosis
is made.
2. Outline one strength of the failure to function adequately definition of
abnormality (4 marks)
A strength of failure to function adequately is that it does attempt to include the experience of
the individual and so is personal to them. It may not be an entirely satisfactory approach
because it is difficult to assess stress, but at least this definition acknowledges that the
experience of the individual is important. So failure to function adequately captures the
experience of people who need help. There is a success criteria for recovery, assessing
whether the individual is able to engage in society again depending on the individual's
personal experiences which is hard to measure from other definitions.
3. Explain what is meant by deviation from ideal mental health (4 marks)
Using deviation from ideal mental health is ignoring what makes someone abnormal but
instead think about what makes someone normal. By having a picture of how we should be
psychologically healthy then we begin to identify who deviates from this ideal. Jahoda
suggested that we are in good mental health if we meet the following criteria: we have no
symptoms or distress, we are rational, we self-actualise, can cope with stress, have a
realistic view of the world, good self-esteem and lack guilt, independent of other people and
successfully work, love and enjoy our leisure. Inevitably there is an overlap between what we
might call deviation from ideal mental health and what might be failure to function
adequately.
4. Describe and evaluate at least two definition of abnormality (16 marks)
One method of defining abnormality is failure to function adequately. A person may cross the
line between normal and abnormal at the point when they can no longer cope with the
demands of everyday life and fail to function adequately. For example, by not being able to
maintain basic standards of nutrition and hygiene or if they cannot hold down a job or
maintain relationships with people around them. Rosenhan and Seligman have proposed
some signs that can be used to determine when someone is not coping. These include:
when someone is no longer conforming to standard interpersonal rules (maintaining eye
contact and respecting personal space), when a person experiences severe personal
distress or a person’s behaviour becomes irrational or dangerous to themselves or others.
For example, intellectual disability disorder, an individual must be failing to function
adequately before a diagnosis is made.
A strength of failure to function adequately is that it does attempt to include the experience of
the individual and so is personal to them. It may not be an entirely satisfactory approach
because it is difficult to assess stress, but at least this definition acknowledges that the
experience of the individual is important. So failure to function adequately captures the
experience of people who need help. There is a success criteria for recovery, assessing
whether the individual is able to engage in society again depending on the individual's
personal experiences which is hard to measure from other definitions.
