Psychopathology
Psychopathology
De nitions of abnormality
Deviation from social norms
‣ Behaviour that is di erent to the accepted standards in a community or society
‣ Social norms are speci c to the culture we live in and there are few behaviours that
would be considered universally normal
‣ E.g. antisocial personality disorder, being rude to your boss, being gay in some cultures
Social norms: Collective views of acceptable or appropriate behaviour - unwritten rules/
expectations in a given society/culture.
WEAKNESS
P: Social norms change over time.
E: Being an unmarried mother in the 1940’s and 1950’s would be breaking social norms
and therefore this behaviour was classed as abnormal. Many of these women were
sectioned as ‘moral imbeciles’ and society demanded that they “give up” their babies.
E: This example shows, it is not the individual who has changed but the classi cation of
the behaviour by society.
L: The validity of using this de nition alone to de ne abnormality is put into question.
WEAKNESS
P: Social norms di er between cultures and this may be problematic.
E: In British culture it is considered to be polite to nish the food on your plate at
mealtimes but in India, it is a sign that you are still hungry.
E: Shows what is considered ‘normal’ in one culture may be ‘abnormal’ in another
meaning that the de nition doesn’t consistently produce an accurate de nition of
abnormal behaviour.
L: The issue of cultural relativism limits the generalisability of the de nition.
WEAKNESS
P: The de nition doesn’t distinguish between socially deviant behaviour and mental
abnormality as it depends on context.
E: Someone found guilty of being a drink-driver may have broken a social norm, but
they are not considered to have a mental abnormality.
E: It shows that the de nition is inadequate in identifying abnormality as there are many
behaviours that are clearly socially deviant but not psychological abnormalities.
L: This de nition fails to o er a complete explanation in its own right.
Failure to function adequately
‣ Occurs when someone is unable to cope with ordinary demands of day-to-day living
‣ When someone no longer conforms to standard inter-personal rules, experiences
severe personal distress and becomes irrational or a danger to themselves or others
‣ E.g. intellectual disability disorder and phobias
‣ Rosenhan and Seligman created a set of characteristics to de ne mental abnormality
‣ Observer discomfort ‣ Irrational/dangerous behaviour
‣ Unpredictability ‣ Personal distress
Page 1 of 15
STRENGTH A Level Psychology Paper 1
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, Psychopathology
WEAKNESS
P: The presence of an abnormality doesn’t always result in a failure to function.
E: There are people who su er from abnormalities such as depression however, are able
to carry out everyday tasks like going to work and looking after a family and do not
necessarily display a failure to function.
E: This shows that the de nition is inadequate in truly identifying behaviours that may be
considered abnormal.
L: The de nition is limited in explaining abnormality in all situations.
WEAKNESS
P: Behaviour that looks as if it is a failure to function may be behaviour that is admired
by some in society.
E: Some political prisoners who go on a hunger strike as part of their political protest
will often be respected.
E: Although starving yourself may be seen as irrational, it is understandable in a
particular social context and therefore would not be classed as a mental abnormality.
L: The de nition sometimes depends on context and therefore isn’t a full explanation.
Deviation from ideal mental health
‣ Occurs when someone doesn’t meet set criteria for good mental health
‣ E.g. depression
‣ In 1958, Jahoda de ned what characteristics ideal mental health consists of:
‣ Positive attitude towards the self ‣ Resistance to stress
‣ Self-actualisation ‣ Environmental mastery
‣ Autonomy (independance) ‣ Accurate perception of reality
STRENGTH
P: The de nition takes a positive and holistic stance.
E: The de nition focuses on positive and desirable behaviours rather than considering
just negative an undesirable behaviours as well as considering the whole person.
E: Therefore, it is comprehensive and covers a broad range of criteria.
L: The de nition is generalisable and will help people achieve the best of themselves.
WEAKNESS
P: The de nition is problematic as the characteristics are seen as too idealistic.
E: Maslow (1968) argued that only a few people ever achieve ‘self-actualisation’ and so
the criteria is set too high.
E: If this is true, most people are unable to achieve self-actualisation which means that
the majority would be de ned as being abnormal. However, if the majority of people are
‘abnormal’ then not achieving self-actualisation becomes ‘normal’.
L: The DIMH de nition is a poor de nition of abnormality.
Page 2 of 15 A Level Psychology Paper 1
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Psychopathology
De nitions of abnormality
Deviation from social norms
‣ Behaviour that is di erent to the accepted standards in a community or society
‣ Social norms are speci c to the culture we live in and there are few behaviours that
would be considered universally normal
‣ E.g. antisocial personality disorder, being rude to your boss, being gay in some cultures
Social norms: Collective views of acceptable or appropriate behaviour - unwritten rules/
expectations in a given society/culture.
WEAKNESS
P: Social norms change over time.
E: Being an unmarried mother in the 1940’s and 1950’s would be breaking social norms
and therefore this behaviour was classed as abnormal. Many of these women were
sectioned as ‘moral imbeciles’ and society demanded that they “give up” their babies.
E: This example shows, it is not the individual who has changed but the classi cation of
the behaviour by society.
L: The validity of using this de nition alone to de ne abnormality is put into question.
WEAKNESS
P: Social norms di er between cultures and this may be problematic.
E: In British culture it is considered to be polite to nish the food on your plate at
mealtimes but in India, it is a sign that you are still hungry.
E: Shows what is considered ‘normal’ in one culture may be ‘abnormal’ in another
meaning that the de nition doesn’t consistently produce an accurate de nition of
abnormal behaviour.
L: The issue of cultural relativism limits the generalisability of the de nition.
WEAKNESS
P: The de nition doesn’t distinguish between socially deviant behaviour and mental
abnormality as it depends on context.
E: Someone found guilty of being a drink-driver may have broken a social norm, but
they are not considered to have a mental abnormality.
E: It shows that the de nition is inadequate in identifying abnormality as there are many
behaviours that are clearly socially deviant but not psychological abnormalities.
L: This de nition fails to o er a complete explanation in its own right.
Failure to function adequately
‣ Occurs when someone is unable to cope with ordinary demands of day-to-day living
‣ When someone no longer conforms to standard inter-personal rules, experiences
severe personal distress and becomes irrational or a danger to themselves or others
‣ E.g. intellectual disability disorder and phobias
‣ Rosenhan and Seligman created a set of characteristics to de ne mental abnormality
‣ Observer discomfort ‣ Irrational/dangerous behaviour
‣ Unpredictability ‣ Personal distress
Page 1 of 15
STRENGTH A Level Psychology Paper 1
fi fifi fffffi fifi ff fi fi fi fi fi fi fi
, Psychopathology
WEAKNESS
P: The presence of an abnormality doesn’t always result in a failure to function.
E: There are people who su er from abnormalities such as depression however, are able
to carry out everyday tasks like going to work and looking after a family and do not
necessarily display a failure to function.
E: This shows that the de nition is inadequate in truly identifying behaviours that may be
considered abnormal.
L: The de nition is limited in explaining abnormality in all situations.
WEAKNESS
P: Behaviour that looks as if it is a failure to function may be behaviour that is admired
by some in society.
E: Some political prisoners who go on a hunger strike as part of their political protest
will often be respected.
E: Although starving yourself may be seen as irrational, it is understandable in a
particular social context and therefore would not be classed as a mental abnormality.
L: The de nition sometimes depends on context and therefore isn’t a full explanation.
Deviation from ideal mental health
‣ Occurs when someone doesn’t meet set criteria for good mental health
‣ E.g. depression
‣ In 1958, Jahoda de ned what characteristics ideal mental health consists of:
‣ Positive attitude towards the self ‣ Resistance to stress
‣ Self-actualisation ‣ Environmental mastery
‣ Autonomy (independance) ‣ Accurate perception of reality
STRENGTH
P: The de nition takes a positive and holistic stance.
E: The de nition focuses on positive and desirable behaviours rather than considering
just negative an undesirable behaviours as well as considering the whole person.
E: Therefore, it is comprehensive and covers a broad range of criteria.
L: The de nition is generalisable and will help people achieve the best of themselves.
WEAKNESS
P: The de nition is problematic as the characteristics are seen as too idealistic.
E: Maslow (1968) argued that only a few people ever achieve ‘self-actualisation’ and so
the criteria is set too high.
E: If this is true, most people are unable to achieve self-actualisation which means that
the majority would be de ned as being abnormal. However, if the majority of people are
‘abnormal’ then not achieving self-actualisation becomes ‘normal’.
L: The DIMH de nition is a poor de nition of abnormality.
Page 2 of 15 A Level Psychology Paper 1
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