Short Answer Practice Questions
Describe one behavioural characteristic that might be seen in a
person who has been diagnosed with a phobia of wasps. (2)
One behavioural characteristic that a phobic person may experience is a
panic response. Panic may involve a range of behaviours, including;
crying, screaming or running away. Younger children may involve other
behaviours, like; freezing, clinging or having a tantrum.
Outline and Evaluate two definitions of abnormality. (8)
One definition of abnormality is the failure to function adequately. A
person may cross the between the line of normality and abnormality at the
point where they can no longer cope with the demands of everyday life
and they fail to function adequately. This may happen when they are
unable to maintain basic standards of society by not painting their own
nutrition and hygiene. We may also consider that they are no longer able
to function adequately when they cannot handle a job or maintain
relationships with people around them.
A strength of failure to function adequately is that it doesn’t attempt to
include the subjective experiences of an individual. It may not be a
satisfactory approach, as it is difficult to assess distress; in some aspects,
this definition manages to acknowledge that the experience of the patient
is important. Failure to function adequately therefore manages to capture
the experiences of many of the people who need help, suggesting that
this approach is a useful indicator for assessing abnormality.
An issue with the concept of somebody failing to function adequately is
how it’s difficult to differentiate between whether or not somebody is
really failing to function, or whether they’re just deviating from social
norms. An example of this could be those who practise dangerous sports
could be seen in a maladaptive light, whereas the people who are apart of
religions may be seen as being idiotic in terms of what they’re believing in.
Treating such behaviours as failures from being able to function
adequately can limit the personal freedom that minority groups may have,
therefore suggesting that some people may have two different subjective
views on a singular thing.
Describe one behavioural characteristic that might be seen in a
person who has been diagnosed with a phobia of wasps. (2)
One behavioural characteristic that a phobic person may experience is a
panic response. Panic may involve a range of behaviours, including;
crying, screaming or running away. Younger children may involve other
behaviours, like; freezing, clinging or having a tantrum.
Outline and Evaluate two definitions of abnormality. (8)
One definition of abnormality is the failure to function adequately. A
person may cross the between the line of normality and abnormality at the
point where they can no longer cope with the demands of everyday life
and they fail to function adequately. This may happen when they are
unable to maintain basic standards of society by not painting their own
nutrition and hygiene. We may also consider that they are no longer able
to function adequately when they cannot handle a job or maintain
relationships with people around them.
A strength of failure to function adequately is that it doesn’t attempt to
include the subjective experiences of an individual. It may not be a
satisfactory approach, as it is difficult to assess distress; in some aspects,
this definition manages to acknowledge that the experience of the patient
is important. Failure to function adequately therefore manages to capture
the experiences of many of the people who need help, suggesting that
this approach is a useful indicator for assessing abnormality.
An issue with the concept of somebody failing to function adequately is
how it’s difficult to differentiate between whether or not somebody is
really failing to function, or whether they’re just deviating from social
norms. An example of this could be those who practise dangerous sports
could be seen in a maladaptive light, whereas the people who are apart of
religions may be seen as being idiotic in terms of what they’re believing in.
Treating such behaviours as failures from being able to function
adequately can limit the personal freedom that minority groups may have,
therefore suggesting that some people may have two different subjective
views on a singular thing.
