Defining abnormality
You must be able to :
Describe and Evaluate the
Statistical definition of abnormality and the
Social Norm definition of abnormality in
terms of their suitability as definitions of
abnormality.
Map to Specification
3 Content
a) Describe both the statistical definition of
abnormality and the ‘social norms’ definition of
abnormality.
b) Evaluate the statistical definition of
abnormality and the ‘social norms’ definition of
abnormality in terms of their suitability as
definitions of abnormality.
There are a number of ways of
defining abnormality
1. Statistical Infrequency
2. Deviation for social Norm’s
3. Failure to Function Adequately
4. Deviation from Ideal Mental Health
Statistical Infrequency
Statistical Infrequency
By definition abnormality means deviating from the
norm or average.
Statistically infrequent behaviour is regarded as abnormal, whereas frequent
behaviour is normal.
Individual characteristics can be measured (e.g., mood, intelligence, etc) and the
distribution of these characteristics within the population can be graphed. The
normal distribution curve shows the majority of people as being in the middle.
These people are defined as ‘normal’. Relatively few people fall at either end.
However, if they are then they are defined as ‘abnormal’.
For example, most “normal” people eat an
average of between 1500 to 3000 calories a day.
However, anorexics consume very few calories,
and bulimics consume lots
– which makes their behaviour “abnormal”.
The statistical definition
Abnormal???
Abnormal???
The spread is measured by standard deviation.
68% of the population fall between 1 SD either side of the mean and 95% fall between
2 SD. Thus, scores outside this range are unusual, therefore 2.5% fall below it and
2.5% above it.
Normal Distribution
• abnormality is defined as anything that is
statistically infrequent
• Any score that is two standard deviations or more
away from the mean denotes abnormality
• It helps to know about normal distribution, a
characteristic of behaviour is seen as normally
distributed if the mean average, mode and
median all fall in the same place
Knowing that the data is normally distributed
means that anyone a long way away outside the
average could be regards as abnormal.
Strengths
• It gives a quantitative measure that is
objective. (Useful to have a definitive cut off).
• On a practical level this can be useful as
evidence in support of requests for assistance
and funding for those identified.
Weaknesses
• Abnormal in both a statistical and a mental
health sense may not be a bad thing.
• E.g. an IQ score of 130+ is likely to be seen as
desirable, what is statistically infrequent such
as genius may not be bad.
 IQ scores of 130+ are just as infrequent but you
wouldn’t call these people abnormal
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Jodie Foster
Albert Einstein
Sharon Stone
Madonna
Charles Darwin
Bill Gates
Abraham Lincoln
Hillary Clinton
Sir Isaac Newton
There are statistically frequent behaviours which are
considered as abnormal.
i.e. - depression is frequent is the UK, however it is
considered a mental health disorder and abnormal.
Abnormal behaviour is not rare, most people are likely to
show abnormal behaviour some time in their life.
Consider
 Some one who fits the criteria for mental illness but
are living happy and independent lives
 Sarah and Michelle are both sisters, Sarah has an IQ of
69 and Michelle has an IQ of 70, both work on a full
time basis at their Local Tesco’s, Sarah is thinking of
going back to college and do an NVQ qualification,
whilst Michelle is expecting her first child and wants to
become a full-time mum.
 Cut off point is a IQ score of 70, how can we justify
someone as being abnormal if they have a score of 69
Deviation from Social Norms
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxPZh4AnWyk
Discuss!
Deviation from social norms
•Every society has accepted standards of
behaviour, these are sometimes written as part
of the law.
•Others are implicit : they are generally accepted
but not legally binding
E.g. not standing too close to someone when
they are talking.
•Social norms allow for the regulation of normal
behaviour.
•One approach to defining abnormality is to
consider deviations from the social norm as an
indicator of abnormal behaviour.
What are social norms? ~ ideas on a post it note!
Queuing for
one hour in the
Post Office
Being covered
head to toe in
tattoos
Hearing voices
in our head
Counting the
number of
times you chew
your food
Having big
holes in your
earlobes
Wearing
appropriate
clothes when
its cold.
Stealing from
the local shop
Not standing
too close to
someone when
you speak
Being part of a
gay community
Being a member
of an church
group that meets
daily
Saying please
and thank you
Wearing a
diving suit
when walking
down the road
The social norms definition
• This definition states that behaviour which
conforms to social norms is normal and
behaviour that does not is abnormal
• Norms are social rules that are not laws but
customs and people in society abide by such rules
in their behaviour
• There are aspects of society though to be taken
into account like the situation, age, cultural,
gender and historical context.
The effect of context
• In some countries if you are found to be homosexual
then you are forced to have a transgender operation
and deemed to suffer from a mental illness!
• The situation and context for the behaviour are both
important, a behaviour might be abnormal in one
context but normal in another
• Being naked in public???
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlZpSd2lRJQ
The effect of age and gender
• For instance if someone chose to go out wearing a
chicken suit that would be considered abnormal, BUT
normal for a charity event, or a fancy dress party!
• Age is another factor in making a judgement about
abnormality, for example a 3 year old might take his
clothes off in public but this would be considered as
abnormal for an adult.
• What may be considered as normal for a man, on a hot
sunny day walking around shirtless would not be
considered as normal for a woman!
The effect of historical context
What was considered as the norm many years ago might have changed
for example becoming pregnant outside wedlock was considered
evidence as a mental health problem 100 years ago, women could
have been put into an institution because of it
Homosexuality
is listed in DSM (1980)
 Drapetomania = Slaves experienced an irrational desire to run away
 Nymphomania = Middle class women sexually attracted to working
class men
 Moral insanity = Women who inherited money and spent
it on themselves rather than male relatives
Strengths and Weaknesses
Using the cards, decide which of the points are
strengths and weaknesses
Place them into two columns on your desk
Rank them in terms of which you think is more
important
Copy the points into your notes.
Unit 4 Synoptic Link:
How have these two definitions of abnormality
resulted in instances of social control in recent history?
Social control =
• the power of organisations, institutions and the laws of society to influence and
regulate behaviour.
• the impact of education, religion, media and other social forces on a person or a
groups' behaviour
Use your textbooks / AS notes to brainstorm ideas.