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PSY30010: Week 1, Abnormal
Psychology Questions and Correct
Answers (100% Pass)
abnormality
✓ There is still no universal agreement about what is meant by
abnormality or disorder
Indicators of Abnormality
✓ subjective distress, maladaptiveness,
✓ statistical deviancy,
✓ violation of the standards of society,
✓ social discomfort,
✓ irrationality and unpredictability, dangerousness
Indicator of abnormality: Subjective distress
✓ If people suffer or experience psychological pain, we are inclined to
consider this as indicative of abnormality. People with depression
clearly report being distressed, as do people with anxiety disorders.
Indicator of abnormality: Maladaptiveness.
Master01 | November, 2024/2025 | Latest update
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✓ Maladaptive behaviour interferes with our well-being and with our
ability to enjoy our work and our relationships
Indicator of abnormality: Statistical Deviancy.
✓ This tells us that in defining abnormality we make value judgments. If
something is statistically rare and undesirable (as is severely diminished
intellectual functioning), we are more likely to consider it abnormal
than something that is statistically rare and highly desirable (such as
genius) or something that is undesirable but statistically common (such
as rudeness).
Indicator of abnormality: Violation of the standards of society.
✓ When people fail to follow the conventional social and moral rules of
their cultural group, we may consider their behaviour as abnormal.
Indicator of abnormality: Social discomfort.
✓ Not all rules are explicit. And not all rules bother us when they are
violated. Nonetheless, when someone violates an implicit or unwritten
social rule, those around him or her may experience a sense of
discomfort or unease.
Indicator of abnormality: Irrationality and unpredictability.
Master01 | November, 2024/2025 | Latest update
, 1|Page | © copyright 2024/2025 | Grade A+
✓ We expect people to behave in certain ways. Although a little
unconventionality may add some spice to life, there is a point at which
we are likely to consider a given unorthodox behaviour abnormal.
Indicator of abnormality: Dangerousness.
✓ It seems quite reasonable to think that someone who is a danger to
him- or herself or to another person must be psychologically abnormal.
DSM-5
✓ the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition; a widely used system for
classifying psychological disorders.
nomenclature
✓ A system of naming, especially in the arts or sciences
DSM-5 definition of mental disorder
✓ a syndrome that is present in an individual and that involves clinically
significant disturbance in behavior, emotion regulation, or cognitive
functioning
Master01 | November, 2024/2025 | Latest update
PSY30010: Week 1, Abnormal
Psychology Questions and Correct
Answers (100% Pass)
abnormality
✓ There is still no universal agreement about what is meant by
abnormality or disorder
Indicators of Abnormality
✓ subjective distress, maladaptiveness,
✓ statistical deviancy,
✓ violation of the standards of society,
✓ social discomfort,
✓ irrationality and unpredictability, dangerousness
Indicator of abnormality: Subjective distress
✓ If people suffer or experience psychological pain, we are inclined to
consider this as indicative of abnormality. People with depression
clearly report being distressed, as do people with anxiety disorders.
Indicator of abnormality: Maladaptiveness.
Master01 | November, 2024/2025 | Latest update
, 1|Page | © copyright 2024/2025 | Grade A+
✓ Maladaptive behaviour interferes with our well-being and with our
ability to enjoy our work and our relationships
Indicator of abnormality: Statistical Deviancy.
✓ This tells us that in defining abnormality we make value judgments. If
something is statistically rare and undesirable (as is severely diminished
intellectual functioning), we are more likely to consider it abnormal
than something that is statistically rare and highly desirable (such as
genius) or something that is undesirable but statistically common (such
as rudeness).
Indicator of abnormality: Violation of the standards of society.
✓ When people fail to follow the conventional social and moral rules of
their cultural group, we may consider their behaviour as abnormal.
Indicator of abnormality: Social discomfort.
✓ Not all rules are explicit. And not all rules bother us when they are
violated. Nonetheless, when someone violates an implicit or unwritten
social rule, those around him or her may experience a sense of
discomfort or unease.
Indicator of abnormality: Irrationality and unpredictability.
Master01 | November, 2024/2025 | Latest update
, 1|Page | © copyright 2024/2025 | Grade A+
✓ We expect people to behave in certain ways. Although a little
unconventionality may add some spice to life, there is a point at which
we are likely to consider a given unorthodox behaviour abnormal.
Indicator of abnormality: Dangerousness.
✓ It seems quite reasonable to think that someone who is a danger to
him- or herself or to another person must be psychologically abnormal.
DSM-5
✓ the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition; a widely used system for
classifying psychological disorders.
nomenclature
✓ A system of naming, especially in the arts or sciences
DSM-5 definition of mental disorder
✓ a syndrome that is present in an individual and that involves clinically
significant disturbance in behavior, emotion regulation, or cognitive
functioning
Master01 | November, 2024/2025 | Latest update
