16 marker plans:
1) Definitions of abnormality
AO1
DEVIATION FROM SOCIAL NORMS:
● Each society has set norms or unwritten rules for acceptable behaviour
● Many of these ‘rules’ are learnt in childhood through the socialisation process
● Behaviour that deviates from these social norms is considered ‘abnormal’
● This takes into account the desirability of behaviour
● Draws a line between what is desirable and undesirable and will label individuals
behaving undesirably as social deviants
FACTORS THAT AFFECT DEVIATION FROM SOCIAL NORMS:
● There are a few number of behaviours that would be considered universally abnormal
● Whether we interpret a behaviour that deviates from our social norms as ‘normal’ or
abnormal’ varies across:
● 1) culture - e.g tribal behaviour at a ritual would be normal but not in a uk shopping mall
● 2) time period - e.g. social norms changes over time - homosexuality not removed from
DSM til 1973
● 3) age - a 2 yr old having a temper tantrum is normal, but not a 30 yr old
● 4) situation - e.g. going to the toilet is normal but going in the middle of a classroom is
not
FAILURE TO FUNCTION ADEQUATELY:
- Abnormality can be judged in terms of not being able to cope with everyday life ( failure
to function adequately)
- Such people don’t experience a ‘normal’ range of emotions of participated in a normal
range of behaviours
- Functioning is considered abnormal if it causes great distress and dysfunction
- this distress can be caused to others and in the case of mental disorders the person may
not be distressed at all e.g. schizophrenics generally lack awareness that anything is
wrong but their behaviour can be very distressing to others
ROSENMAN AND SELIGMAN ( 1989):
● Suggest that personal dysfunction has 7 features
● The more you have the more abnormal you are :
● 1) personal distress
● A key feature of abnormality which includes depression and anxiety disorders
● 2) maladaptive behaviour
, ● Behaviour that stops individuals from attaining life goals, both socially and occupationally
e.g. phobia of flying
● 3) observer discomfort
● Displaying behaviour causing discomfort to others
● 4) unpredictability
● Displaying unexpected behaviours characterised by a loss of control e.g. attempting
suicide after failing a test
● 5) unconventality
● Displaying unconventional behaviours
● 6) irrationality
● Displaying behaviour that can not be explained in a rational way
● 7) violation of moral standards
● Displaying behaviour that violated society’s moral standards
DEVIATION FROM IDEAL MENTAL HEALTH:
● Perceives abnormality in a similar way to how physical health is assessed - by looking
for signs of an absence of wellbeing
● Ideal mental health is a set of behaviours which combined produce a healthy state of
mind
● Movement away from these qualities is considered abnormal
● Jahoda (1958) identified a set of characteristics that are required for normal health -
described 6 criteria that individuals should exhibit in order to be normal
JAHODA ( 1958):
● Jahoda (1958) identified a set of characteristics that are required for normal health -
described 6 criteria that individuals should exhibit in order to be normal
● Examples of Jahoda (1958)’s characteristics:
● Self actualisation:
● The idea that everyone has the opportunity to achieve their full potential
● The closer you get to fulfillment the more psychologically healthy or ‘normal’ you are
● autonomy:
● Being self reliant
● Resisting stress
● Having coping strategies and being able to cope with everyday anxiety provoking
situations
● Accurate perception of reality
● Perceiving the world in a non distorted fashion and having an objective and realistic view
of the world
● Environmental mastery
● Being competent in all aspects of life and able to meet the demands of any situation and
having the flexibility to adapt to changing life circumstances
STATISTICAL INFREQUENCY:
● Mathematical method for defining abnormality
, ● Works on the idea that abnormality should be based on infrequency if occurs rarely then
it is abnormal
● We gather statistics that claim to measure certain behaviours with a view to showing
how they are distributed throughout the general population
● Commonly use central tendency to understand central tendency
● What is regarded are statistically rare depends on normal distribution
● A normal curve can be drawn to show what proportions of people share the
characteristics or behaviour in question
● This means that there is a central average or mean and the rest fall symmetrically above
or below that mean
● Standard deviation informs us how far scores fall on either side away from the mean
● Any individual who falls outside the ‘normal distribution’ (about 5% away from the mean)
are perceived to be abnormal
AO3
A03 OF DEVIATION FROM SOCIAL NORMS
● Application Limited- Fails to consider what is normal abnormal behaviour. There are
times when it is normal to suffer distress such as when grieving.Needs to take a more
idiographic stance when identifying abnormal behaviour
● Subjective judgement - Someone has to judge whether someone is distressed or
distressing. Some may report they are distressed but they aren’t actually ( self-report
methods issues?) .Highlights the importance of objective testing such as GAF and DSM
● Cultural differences Normal functioning as a concept varies between cultures
● Cannot be used to judge people’s behaviour from other cultures and subcultures e.g. in
new guinea there was a tradition whereby female family members would cut off a finger
as symbolism to drive away bad spirits - Shows that a culture relativism approach needs
to applied
● Genetic interpretation: Abnormality is not always accompanied by dysfunction
● E.g. psychopaths can cause great harm but yet still appear normal e.g. Harold Shipman
● Assessment criteria beneficial - Provides an assessment criteria that can be used to
assess levels of abnormality. Recognises the use of GAF and the WHODAS to identify
the degrees to which individuals are abnormal by assessing a range of factors that can
contribute towards abnormality
● Matches sufferer’s perception: Many people think that abnormality is due to the lack of
ability to function properly. It also recognises the personal experience of sufferers and
thus allows mental disorders to be regarded from the perception of those suffering
A03 OF FAILURE TO FUNCTION ADEQUATELY
● Application Limited - Fails to consider what is normal abnormal behaviour. There are
times when it is normal to suffer distress such as when grieving. Needs to take a more
idiographic stance when identifying abnormal behaviour
● Subjective judgement- Someone has to judge whether someone is distressed or
distressing. Some may report they are distressed but they aren’t actually ( self-report
methods issues?). Highlights the importance of objective testing such as GAF and DSM
1) Definitions of abnormality
AO1
DEVIATION FROM SOCIAL NORMS:
● Each society has set norms or unwritten rules for acceptable behaviour
● Many of these ‘rules’ are learnt in childhood through the socialisation process
● Behaviour that deviates from these social norms is considered ‘abnormal’
● This takes into account the desirability of behaviour
● Draws a line between what is desirable and undesirable and will label individuals
behaving undesirably as social deviants
FACTORS THAT AFFECT DEVIATION FROM SOCIAL NORMS:
● There are a few number of behaviours that would be considered universally abnormal
● Whether we interpret a behaviour that deviates from our social norms as ‘normal’ or
abnormal’ varies across:
● 1) culture - e.g tribal behaviour at a ritual would be normal but not in a uk shopping mall
● 2) time period - e.g. social norms changes over time - homosexuality not removed from
DSM til 1973
● 3) age - a 2 yr old having a temper tantrum is normal, but not a 30 yr old
● 4) situation - e.g. going to the toilet is normal but going in the middle of a classroom is
not
FAILURE TO FUNCTION ADEQUATELY:
- Abnormality can be judged in terms of not being able to cope with everyday life ( failure
to function adequately)
- Such people don’t experience a ‘normal’ range of emotions of participated in a normal
range of behaviours
- Functioning is considered abnormal if it causes great distress and dysfunction
- this distress can be caused to others and in the case of mental disorders the person may
not be distressed at all e.g. schizophrenics generally lack awareness that anything is
wrong but their behaviour can be very distressing to others
ROSENMAN AND SELIGMAN ( 1989):
● Suggest that personal dysfunction has 7 features
● The more you have the more abnormal you are :
● 1) personal distress
● A key feature of abnormality which includes depression and anxiety disorders
● 2) maladaptive behaviour
, ● Behaviour that stops individuals from attaining life goals, both socially and occupationally
e.g. phobia of flying
● 3) observer discomfort
● Displaying behaviour causing discomfort to others
● 4) unpredictability
● Displaying unexpected behaviours characterised by a loss of control e.g. attempting
suicide after failing a test
● 5) unconventality
● Displaying unconventional behaviours
● 6) irrationality
● Displaying behaviour that can not be explained in a rational way
● 7) violation of moral standards
● Displaying behaviour that violated society’s moral standards
DEVIATION FROM IDEAL MENTAL HEALTH:
● Perceives abnormality in a similar way to how physical health is assessed - by looking
for signs of an absence of wellbeing
● Ideal mental health is a set of behaviours which combined produce a healthy state of
mind
● Movement away from these qualities is considered abnormal
● Jahoda (1958) identified a set of characteristics that are required for normal health -
described 6 criteria that individuals should exhibit in order to be normal
JAHODA ( 1958):
● Jahoda (1958) identified a set of characteristics that are required for normal health -
described 6 criteria that individuals should exhibit in order to be normal
● Examples of Jahoda (1958)’s characteristics:
● Self actualisation:
● The idea that everyone has the opportunity to achieve their full potential
● The closer you get to fulfillment the more psychologically healthy or ‘normal’ you are
● autonomy:
● Being self reliant
● Resisting stress
● Having coping strategies and being able to cope with everyday anxiety provoking
situations
● Accurate perception of reality
● Perceiving the world in a non distorted fashion and having an objective and realistic view
of the world
● Environmental mastery
● Being competent in all aspects of life and able to meet the demands of any situation and
having the flexibility to adapt to changing life circumstances
STATISTICAL INFREQUENCY:
● Mathematical method for defining abnormality
, ● Works on the idea that abnormality should be based on infrequency if occurs rarely then
it is abnormal
● We gather statistics that claim to measure certain behaviours with a view to showing
how they are distributed throughout the general population
● Commonly use central tendency to understand central tendency
● What is regarded are statistically rare depends on normal distribution
● A normal curve can be drawn to show what proportions of people share the
characteristics or behaviour in question
● This means that there is a central average or mean and the rest fall symmetrically above
or below that mean
● Standard deviation informs us how far scores fall on either side away from the mean
● Any individual who falls outside the ‘normal distribution’ (about 5% away from the mean)
are perceived to be abnormal
AO3
A03 OF DEVIATION FROM SOCIAL NORMS
● Application Limited- Fails to consider what is normal abnormal behaviour. There are
times when it is normal to suffer distress such as when grieving.Needs to take a more
idiographic stance when identifying abnormal behaviour
● Subjective judgement - Someone has to judge whether someone is distressed or
distressing. Some may report they are distressed but they aren’t actually ( self-report
methods issues?) .Highlights the importance of objective testing such as GAF and DSM
● Cultural differences Normal functioning as a concept varies between cultures
● Cannot be used to judge people’s behaviour from other cultures and subcultures e.g. in
new guinea there was a tradition whereby female family members would cut off a finger
as symbolism to drive away bad spirits - Shows that a culture relativism approach needs
to applied
● Genetic interpretation: Abnormality is not always accompanied by dysfunction
● E.g. psychopaths can cause great harm but yet still appear normal e.g. Harold Shipman
● Assessment criteria beneficial - Provides an assessment criteria that can be used to
assess levels of abnormality. Recognises the use of GAF and the WHODAS to identify
the degrees to which individuals are abnormal by assessing a range of factors that can
contribute towards abnormality
● Matches sufferer’s perception: Many people think that abnormality is due to the lack of
ability to function properly. It also recognises the personal experience of sufferers and
thus allows mental disorders to be regarded from the perception of those suffering
A03 OF FAILURE TO FUNCTION ADEQUATELY
● Application Limited - Fails to consider what is normal abnormal behaviour. There are
times when it is normal to suffer distress such as when grieving. Needs to take a more
idiographic stance when identifying abnormal behaviour
● Subjective judgement- Someone has to judge whether someone is distressed or
distressing. Some may report they are distressed but they aren’t actually ( self-report
methods issues?). Highlights the importance of objective testing such as GAF and DSM
