definitions of abnormality

statistical deviation
1. normal - something that occurs a lot
2. behaviour that is different - abnormal
3. e.g. IQ
  1. can be reliably measured
  2. average
    1. normal distribution 85-115
  3. abnormal
    1. below 70
      1. intellectual disability disorder
deviation from social norms
1. what is acceptable
2. what is right in society
3. specific to the culture we live in
  1. homosexuality for some cultures
  2. few behaviours are universally abnormal
4. e.g.
  1. antisocial personality disorder
    1. impulsive, aggressive & irresponsible
    2. an absence of prosocial internal standards
      1. failure to conform to the law
      2. failure to conform to cultural behaviour
5. psychopath
  1. don't conform to moral standards
  2. abnormal behaviour
evaluation - statistical deviation
1. real life application
  1. strengths
    1. applied in the diagnosis of intellectual disability disorder
    2. can be measured
    3. compared to the norm to see how severe their illness is
2. unusual characteristics
  1. IQ of 130 is as unusual as one of 70
    1. upper intelligence is a good thing
    2. doesn't need treatment
  2. just because something isn't normal doesn't mean it's abnormal
3. label
  1. no benefit of being labelled abnormal if..
    1. someone with a low IQ is living a good life
    2. no distress
    3. can work
  2. being labelled may have a negative effect
evaluation - deviation from social norms
1. explanation
  1. strength - real life application
    1. diagnose - antisocial personality disorder
  2. however there are other factors
    1. distress to other people from APD
  3. never the sole reason to define abnormality
2. cultural relativism
  1. what may be normal in one society may not be in another
  2. hearing voices for some cultures is normal
    1. but not in the UK - may be mentally ill
    2. problem for people living in another country
3. human rights abused
  1. too much reliance on deviation from social norms
    1. can lead to systematic abuse of human rights
      1. historical records
        show deviation from social norms
        were to have control over minority groups
  2. nowadays these norms seem silly
    1. but only because of our norms
  3. are our modern day mental illnesses
    1. abusing peoples rights to be different
evaluation +
1. strength of deviation form social norms - weakness of statistical deviation
  1. includes the issue of the desirability of a behaviour
  2. e.g. geniuses are statistically abnormal
    1. but we wouldn't define them as abnormal
2. social norms can be more useful than statistical norms

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definitions of abnormality

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	Created by Daisy U about 9 years ago