4.1.1

Definitions of Abnormality

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Deviation from Social Norms

One way of defining abnormality is to say that it includes anything which is considered strange by the people of a particular society, i.e. things that deviate from social norms.

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Social norms

  • Social norms are the things that are considered right or wrong in social behaviour. They reflect what is expected by a group or in society more widely.
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Cultural differences

  • Social norms vary across cultures and subcultures. What is normal and expected in one culture may be viewed as strange by another.
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Unspoken rules

  • Deviating from social norms is often not illegal, but breaks unspoken rules about how to behave.
  • Examples of deviating from social norms in our society include talking to yourself, never washing, or refusing to get out of bed in the morning.
  • According to this definition of psychopathology, these things can be seen as abnormal because they will be considered strange and unacceptable by others in society.
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Limitations of definition

  • A major limitation of this definition is that social norms are highly subjective, and vary from one culture or subculture to another (i.e. they are culturally relative).
  • They also change over time - what was considered normal in the past (e.g. going to school on a donkey) may not be considered normal today.

Statistical Infrequency

One way of defining abnormality is to say that it includes anything which is rare, uncommon or extreme. That is, things which are statistically infrequent are viewed as abnormal.

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Objective measure

  • Statistical infrequency is a relatively objective way of defining abnormality.
  • It doesn’t rely on social norms or opinions, and instead says that any thoughts or behaviours are abnormal if they are at the extreme end of a scale or measure.
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Intelligence

  • Intelligence is one trait which has been explained in terms of statistical infrequency.
  • IQ scores can be displayed on a graph called a normal distribution, which shows that it is common to be near the average, and uncommon to have a very high or low IQ.
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Rating scale

  • Similarly, according to this definition of abnormality, a trait such as how long it takes you to get to sleep or how often you wash would be considered normal if it was near the average, and abnormal if it was extremely high or low.
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Duration of abnormality

  • The frequency and duration of a trait are important according to this definition.
  • An issue such as hearing voices in your head would be considered more extreme and so more abnormal if it was happening every day rather than once per year.
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Strength and weaknesses of definition

  • This definition benefits from being relatively objective. This is a strength.
  • But the definition doesn’t consider how desirable a trait is - some traits such as extreme creativity are not usually considered to be a problem.
  • There’s also no clear dividing line between frequent and infrequent, so the definition can’t be entirely objective.

Jump to other topics

1Social Influence

2Memory

3Attachment

4Psychopathology

5Approaches in Psychology

6Biopsychology

7Research Methods

8Issues & Debates in Psychology (A2 only)

9Option 1: Relationships (A2 only)

10Option 1: Gender (A2 only)

11Option 1: Cognition & Development (A2 only)

12Option 2: Schizophrenia (A2 only)

13Option 2: Eating Behaviour (A2 only)

14Option 2: Stress (A2 only)

15Option 3: Aggression (A2 only)

16Option 3: Forensic Psychology (A2 only)

17Option 3: Addiction (A2 only)

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