Definitions of abnormality, Y1 pp.

Statistical infrequency:
A person's trait, thinking or behaviour is classified as abnormal if it’s
rare or statistically unusual.
Involves: mean, median and mode

Graph shows a normal distribution

Those on either end of the average are the
abnormal ratings as those are not the
“norm”.

STRENGTHS:
- Helps to address what is meant by normal in a statistical context. It
helps us make cut – off points in terms of diagnosis. (e.g intellectual
disability)

LIMITATIONS:
- Fails to distinguish between desirable and undesirable behaviour.
- E.g. high IQ is statistically abnormal, but may well be regarded as
highly desirable.

- Many rare behaviours or characteristics (e.g. left-handnesses) have no

bearing on normality or abnormality.
- Some characteristics are regarded as abnormal even though they are
quite frequent.
- The cut off point is subjective
Need to decide where to separate normality from abnormality - people
may disagree on where it should be
Deviation from social norms:
A person's thinking or behaviour is classified as abnormal if it violates the
(unwritten) rules about what is expected or acceptable behaviour in a
particular social group.
Their behaviour may be incomprehensible to others or make others feel
threatened or uncomfortable.

Influences to the definition:

- Cultural relativism (Different cultures have different social norms)
- Context & situation (wearing a pig costume for an event vs everyday)
- Historical context (what was acceptable then might not be now)
- Age and gender (a man wearing a dress)

STRENGTHS:
- Social Norms usually exist to enable everyone to live together in society
- allows behaviour that is disruptive or harmful to others to be
considered undesirable, & therefore abnormal.

LIMITATIONS:
- Deviance is related to context & degree

- Social deviance on its own can’t offer a complete definition of

abnormality, as it’s inevitably related to context + degree

- Social relativism
- could create unfair and discriminatory treatment of different cultural
groups, since there is no agreement upon social norms

- Equates normality with conformity

- some people are simply individualistic, or eccentric, but should not be
labelled 'abnormal' if they are otherwise harmless and functioning well

- Not all social norms are necessarily in the best interests of society, &
perhaps should be broken if they are morally wrong (e.g. Rosa Parks)