Psychopathology - AQA A Level Psychology (Paper 1) WITH COMPLETE SOLUTIONS GRADED A+

Psychopathology - AQA A Level Psychology (Paper 1) WITH COMPLETE SOLUTIONS GRADED A+ What is abnormality? (define) - Showing behaviour that is different from the majority of people. What are the 4 definitions of abnormality? - Statistical deviation Deviation from social norms Failure to function adequately Deviation from ideal mental health *S*hould *D*ogs *F*ly *D*rones? What is statistical deviation? And when is this approach of defining abnormality useful? - Occurs when an individual has a less common characteristic, for example being more depressed or less intelligent than most of the population. 2 | P a g e Katelyn Whitman© 2025, All Rights Reserved. Useful when dealing with characteristics that can be measured - e.g, intelligence. What are the 3 evaluation points for statistical deviation? - *Real life application* - diagnosis of intellectual disability disorder. • Used for measurement of severity - useful part of clinical assessment. *Unusual characteristics can be positive.* • E.g, an IQ over 130 is just as unusual as those below 70, but high IQ is not something in need of treatment. • Therefore, statistical deviation alone can't be used to make a diagnosis *Labelling is not beneficial*. • If someone is leading a healthy life, there is no benefit in labelling them as abnormal - more likely to have a negative effect. What is deviation from social norms? And what is an example of this? - Concerns behaviour that is different from the accepted standards of behaviour in a community, culture, or society. Social norms are specific to the culture we live in. Antisocial personality disorder is a key example - don't conform to social/moral standards. 3 | P a g e Katelyn Whitman© 2025, All Rights Reserved. What are the evaluation points for deviation from social norms? - *Real-life application* - diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder. Place for it when thinking about abnormal behaviour BUT - not a sole explanation. Other factors to consider, and in practice deviation from social norms is never the sole reason for defining abnormality *Cultural relativism*. • Social norms vary from one generation to another, and from one culture to another. • Means that a person from one cultural group may label someone from another group as abnormal according to their standards. • Creates problems for people from one culture living within another cultural group. *Can lead to human rights abuses*. • Many diagnoses were used to maintain control over minority groups - e.g, drapetomania was a diagnosis for slaves running away. • When our social norms change, classifications may also change. E.g, homosexuality in the UK - used to be illegal. What is failure to function adequately? And what are the 3 signs? - Occurs when someone is unable to cope with ordinary demands of day-to-day living. Signs: 4 | P a g e Katelyn Whitman© 2025, All Rights Reserved. • Individual no longer conforms to standard interpersonal rules - e.g, maintaining eye contact and respecting personal space • Individual experiences severe personal distress • Individual's behaviour becomes irrational or dangerous to themselves or others. What are the evaluation points for failure to function adequately? - *Subjective judgements*. • Someone has to judge whether a patient is distressed. Methods of making this objective - but psychiatrist still have to judge & this is subjective. *Could be deviation from social norms*. • Hard to differentiate between someone failing to function or just not conforming to social norms. • E.g, not having a job is a sign of failing to function, but they