Link to the spec…. 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.

Seligman’s Definitions 1.Statistical Infrequency 2.Deviation for social Norm’s 3.Failure to Function Adequately 4.Deviation from Ideal Mental Health Discuss!

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 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. The statistical definition The IQ intelligence quotient is often given as an example of the working of this definition. IQ is normally distributed across the population and anyone outside the normal limits is said to have an abnormal IQ. IQ has a standard deviation of 15 and a mean of 100. One standard deviation either side would be from 85 to 115, two standard deviations either side is from , this is where normal ends. An IQ score of 130 and above is abnormally high IQ score, and the same for an IQ score of 70 and below Only 2.2% of the IQ score is above 130 and below 70. This is further illustrated by the fact that having an IQ below 70 is one of the criteria's for mental disorder.

To understand the idea of abnormality is anything that is statistically infrequent 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 In the middle of the scores this simply means that there are roughly the same number of scores on each side of the average the scores are normally distributed around the average Any score that is two standard deviations or more away from the mean denotes abnormality This is not only applied to IQ but to other mental health criteria For example: - DASS (depression, anxiety, and stress scale) uses a questionnaire to measure depression, anxiety and stress, a very high score would be considered abnormal and in need for treatment, the DASS score would be expected to fall in the middle to be considered normal. Normal Distribution

Knowing that the data is normally distributed means that anyone a long way away outside the average could be regards as abnormal.

Evaluation…. Lets have a discussion

evaluation It gives a quantitative measure that is objective. The advantage of an objective measurement is that it is more likely to be reliable and therefore suitable, someone else administering the same test is likely to get the same result and draw the same conclusion about abnormality Some areas of functioning such as IQ highlight abnormality as lack of normal functioning in some way, on a practical level this can be useful as evidence in support of requests for assistance and funding for those identified, having a number is not only useful because it is seen as objective but also because it is accepted as more scientific.

weaknesses Abnormal in both statistical and a mental health sense may not be undesirable 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 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 depression is frequent is the UK, however it is considered a mental health disorder and abnormal, again this shows the limitations of the definition What about left-handedness? Abnormal behaviour is not rare, most people are likely to show abnormal behaviour some time in their life.

Some one who fits the criteria for mental retardation 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

What are social norms? Queuing for one hour in the Post Office Being covered head to toe in tattoos Stealing from the local shop Not standing too close to someone when you speak Hearing voices in our head Counting the number of times you chew your food Being part of a gay community Being a member of an church group that meets daily Having big holes in your earlobes Wearing appropriate clothes when its cold. Saying please and thank you Wearing a diving suit when walking down the road

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.

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 If someone’s behaviour goes against a particular society norms it is understandable that their behaviour would be called abnormal This is what the social norms definition of abnormality says, there are aspects of society though to be taken into account like the situation, age gender and historical context.

It is therefore seen as difficult to define norms In IRAN 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 effect of context 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???

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! The effect of age and gender 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 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

Deviation from social norms Two disorders that can be classified using the Deviation from Social Norms definition are  Schizophrenia  Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Pick one of these and discuss with your partner how they relate to both definitions of abnormality. Then join with another pair and share your ideas about your disorder.

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? Use your textbooks / AS notes to brainstorm ideas.