Zusammenfassung der Ressource
Definitions of Abnormality:
number 1: Deviation from
Social Norms
- definition: behaviour which doesn't conform
to socially acceptable patterns may be
considered abnormal
- under this definition: a person's thinking or behaviour is classified as
abnormal if it violates the (unwritten) rules about what is expected or
acceptable behaviour in a particular social group
- example: wearing a bikini to work
- evaluation
- social deviancy is related to moral standards
which can change with time. Therfore this approach
also had to change or would be historically biased
- social deviancy is also defined by the context in which the behaviour occurs: e.g
wearing near to nothing on a beach is acceptable but at school or a formal gathering
would be considered abnormal
- attempts to define abnormaltiy in
terms of social norms are
influenced by cultural factors
(cultural relativism)
- disorders are defined or diagnosed in
different ways in different places by different
groups
- means that a diagnosis may be different for
the same person in 2 different cultures
- what may be seen as a diagnosable disorder for a psychologist in the UK may not
be viewed by a psychologist from another country
- social deviancy not necassarily a bad thing:
- some people are socially diviant because they have a non-conformist lifestyle
- others because their behaviour is motivated by high principles (Nazi Germany)