Individual
Differences
Abnormality
Who is the most normal? – rank these
celebrities from 1-5. 1 = Most normal.
►Would
someone be considered
abnormal if…..
►They
were gay?
►They had depression?
►They were a single parent?
►If they were a bigamist?
►If they had a learning difficulty?
►If they wore a bikini?
►What
is abnormality?
►How
would we decide what is
normal or abnormal?
►How
would we measure/decide
upon the extent of an
abnormality?
HOW DO WE DEFINE WHAT IS
NORMAL?
►In
►We
►Or
social terms
might use the standard of
adequate functioning
the concept of ideal mental health
DEVIATION FROM SOCIAL NORMS
This approach to abnormality
considers that an individual’s
behaviour can impact on others and
states that…
Behaviour which doesn’t conform to
socially acceptable patterns may be
considered abnormal.
Are these behaviours socially
deviant?
Walking around in the nude?
2. Refusing to go outside?
3. Have several wives?
4. Eating another human being?
5. Holding up (making) the OK sign
with your hand?
6. Having a child out of wedlock?
7. Being gay?
1.
There are a number of problems with
this approach – can you think of any?
►Social
deviancy is related to moral
standards which can change with time.
Therefore this approach also had to
change or would be historically biased.
►Social
deviancy is also defined by
the context in which a behaviour
occurs. (It is ok to be in a bikini on a
beach)
►Social
deviancy is not necessarily a bad
thing: some people are socially deviant
because they have a non-conformist
lifestyle – others because their behaviour is
motivated by high principles (Nazi
Germany)
DEVIANCY CAN’T BE THE SOLE
CRITERION OF ABNORMALITY BUT IT IS
IMPORTANT THAT PEOPLE TRY TO
BEHAVE IN WAYS THAT ARE SOCIALLY
ACCEPTABLE SO THAT THEY DON’T
UPSET OTHERS.
►SOCIAL
The failure to function adequately
approach to define abnormality
If an individual’s behaviour, mood or
thoughts adversely affects their;
(1) Well-being, i.e. their ability to retain
relationships and employment.
(2) Becomes a danger to their own safety
(3) Become a danger to the safety of
others
Then they are considered abnormal.
► Many
mental disorders result in an
inability to function adequately in terms
of every day life and interactions.
►
SO…
► many
people who seek psychiatric help
are recognising that they are not
functioning adequately – so this could
serve as a standard for abnormality
Rosenhan and Seligman (1989) have
extended the failure to function
approach to cover seven features
associated with abnormality.
Each of the features individually may
not be enough to cause a problem BUT when several are present then
they are symptomatic of
abnormality.
THE SEVEN FEATURES ARE: ►
►
►
►
►
►
►
Suffering (personal distress)
Maladaptiveness (destructive behaviour)
Vividness and unconventionality of
behaviour (strange behaviour)
Unpredictability and loss of control
Irrationality and incomprehensibility
Observer discomfort (making others feel
uncomfortable)
Violation of moral and ideal standards
Group Activity – the seven features of
abnormality.
Imagine a continuum from normal
behaviour at one end and extremely
abnormal at the other. Bearing in mind
Rosenhan and Seligman's definitions,
consider the experiences on the next
page and for each of them describe
what would be acceptable behaviour
and what would be regarded as
abnormal.
Suffering – Grief Personal Distress
2. Maladaptiveness – Disregard for ones own
safety – taking part in extreme sports
3. Vividness and unconventionality –
Tattooing/ Piercing
4. Unpredictability and loss of control –
losing ones temper
5. Irrationality and incomprehensibility –
Remaining friendly towards someone who is
hostile
6. Observer discomfort – Laughing
inappropriately
7. Violation of moral and ideal standards –
Removing ones clothes to sunbathe
1.
LIMITATIONS of the “failure to
function approach”
►The
approach requires subjective
decisions (Involves opinions)
►Some of the features also apply to
people who are simply nonconformists or who are grieving etc.
►Not all people who have mental
abnormalities are aware of their failure
to function and so can deny that they
have a problem.
Activity –
Write a description of yourself – call
this (A) then write a brief description
of how you would like to be (B)
►How
different are the two
descriptions? If your ideal self is very
different from your perceived self Would NEVER achieving your ideal
self result in you becoming mentally
unbalanced – depressed etc??
Deviation from Ideal Mental
Health.
Humanistic Psychologists (Carl
Rogers, Maslow) have been
instrumental founders of this final
approach of defining abnormality -
Rogers (1959) believed that abnormal
behaviour occurs when a child
receives conditional love from their
parents (therefore the child will have
to become somebody else in order to
receive the love that they want) .
►Healthy
psychological development
or normal behaviour will therefore be a
result of…
Unconditional love – which leads to
high self-esteem and freedom to seek
self-actualisation
Jahoda (1958) – expanded on the ideal
mental health theory and
suggested that it was preferable to
identify the criteria for positive
mental health. She proposed 6
categories
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Self–attitudes (positive)
Personal growth (being able to achieve)
Integration (being able to cope with
stress)
Autonomy. (being independent)
Perception of reality (being relaistic –
knowing what is real and what is not.)
Environmental mastery (the extent to
which you can love and be loved)
Assessment of the deviation from
ideal mental health model
Pro’s –
►The approach focuses on positive
characteristics – Identifies characteristics
that people need to be mentally healthy
rather than looking for problems
►Limitations: ►Criteria used are hard to define, vague
and difficult to measure (how do you rate
someone’s attitudes/integration?) Criteria
is bound to time and culture. – less likely
to apply to collectivist societies.
Cultural Relativism
► A major problem with ALL
psychological definitions of
Abnormality is that they often fail to
consider differences between cultures.
► Cultural
Relativism means that value
judgments are up to individual cultural
context SO we cannot make absolute
statements about what is normal or
abnormal.
► Different
cultures will have different
criteria as to what constitutes as
normal and abnormal behaviour. What
maybe considered deviant or abnormal
in one culture may be normal in
another
► Dhat
Syndrome in India is an example
of this.
► Dhat
syndrome is found in Males of the
Indian sub-continent. Sufferers have
physical and mental exhaustion and
blame it on the presence of blood in
their semen. A PHYSICAL ILLNESS
► WE
would state that they have
depression!
Also what is considered abnormal
changes over time.
For example – Homosexuality ceased
to be categorised as a mental disorder
in the 1980 edition of DSM (Diagnostic
and statistical manual of mental
disorders) But was considered
abnormal in America until the 1970s
► BUT
There are some features
(identified by Rosenhan and
Seligman) that are universal
indicators of undesirable behaviour –
Failure to eat, chronic depression etc
► Conclusion –The 7 features proposed by
Rosenhan and Seligman may offer the
most realistic approach – the more of
these features possessed by an individual
the more likely it is that they can be
categorised as abnormal