Deviation from Social Norms
Psychology: AQA A Level, topic 4.1.1
Deviation from Social / Cultural Norms
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.
Cultural differences
- Social norms vary across cultures and subcultures. What is normal and expected in one culture may be viewed as strange by another.
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.
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
Deviations from social norms can include anything which is rare, uncommon or extreme. That is, things which are statistically infrequent are viewed as deviations.
Objective measure
- Statistical infrequency is a relatively objective way of defining deviations..
- 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.
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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Normal distribution graph
Rating scale
- Similarly, according to this definition of deviations, 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.
Duration
- 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.
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.
Test yourself on Deviation from Social Norms
Which of the following is NOT an example of a deviation from a social norm?
Which of the following is an important factor to take into account when defining deviations through statistical infrequency?