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Abnormal Behaviour
By Peace | May 13, 2007
Abnormality is a subjectively defined characteristic, assigned to those with rare or dysfunctional conditions. Defining who is normal or abnormal is a contentious issue in abnormal psychology.
Many layperson’s first associations with psychology are ideas about abnormal behaviour and its treatment. Ideas of abnormality have varied over time and have affected attitudes toward disordered behaviour and its treatment.
Abnormal behavior is influence by biological factors (brain processes), psychological factors (emotional turmoil), and by social factors (inadequate relationships)
Woman are diagnosed more then males because
1. Woman more likely to behave in ways that others label as mental disorders.
2. Woman are taught to express their emotions, while men are trained to control them.
3. Woman have unequal social positions and greater discrimination, more likely to experience trauma-inducing circumstances
4. Woman often placed in “double-blind” situations in society… Woman labeled as mentally disordered for either over conforming or under conforming to feminine gender role stereotypes.
Definining Abnormality
Many definitions exist but none are entirely satisfactory. “Abnormal” literally means “away from the norm”. The norm is the average or typical behaviour or characteristic of the population. Thus norms are different for different populations and can change with time and conditions.
Abnormal behaviour has been defined four different ways by psychologists and social scientists: statistically, culturally, in terms of psychological adequacy, and in terms of categories of symptoms.
1. Statistical Abnormality
In terms of statistics, abnormal behaviour includes any behaviour that is significantly different from the norm. In a normal distribution of characteristics or qualities, both very high scores and very low scores are considered statistically abnormal. For example, in terms of intelligence only “average” intelligence is considered statistically normal. Significantly below-average intelligence is considered abnormal, but so is significantly above-average intelligence. Thus in the statistical sense, unusually well-adjusted behaviour might be considered abnormal, just as disordered behaviour would be.
2. Cultural Abnormality
In cultural terms, it is normal to abide by cultural norms. Cultures have norms for every social behaviour, from personal practices in sexual behaviour and child-rearing, to public actions like driving a car or choosing what to wear. The cultural definition of abnormality includes any behaviour that deviates from cultural norms. If an individual does not know how to dress in public, he or she will be considered abnormal. If an individual deliberately chooses to be a nonconformist in some way, he or she will be considered abnormal.
A problem with the cultural definition is its arbitrariness across time and cultures.l It was normal in the 18th century for American men to wear wigs and pigtails, but not so in the mid-20th century. Judging nonconformists to be abnormal because they do not abide by a dress code will lead to erroneous identifications of abnormality.
3. Psychological Inadequacy
Closer to the “true” understanding of abnormal behaviour is a definition in terms of psychological adequacy. This has taken two forms, a value-based interpretation and a practical interpretation.
Adequacy as a Value: In one sense, an individual is abnormal if his or her behaviour is not healthy. This view assumes common understanding about what “healthy” behaviour is. Insofar as these values might vary across individuals, even across professionals, this view of abnormality has the same liabilities as the cultural definition. Most people will not achieve “ideal” mental health but will still functional adequately and should not be considered abnormal.
Practical Adequacy: One’s behaviour is “psychologically adequate” if he or she sets and achieves goals, is capable of independent living, and can form and sustain close relationships with others. In this view, abnormal behaviour is that which is self-defeating, out of touch with reality, socially unskilled, and personally distressed. This approach to abnormality is more practical and “common-sensical” than the foregoing.
Several conventional criteria
1. One simple thing is statistical infrequency. This has an obvious flaw — the extremely intelligent, honest, or happy are just as abnormal as their opposites. Therefore, abnormal behaviour is considered to be statistically rare as well as undesirable.
Dr Chinemezu of Aba Nigeria on (Abnormalty) The word abnormalty is The state or quality of being abnormal; variation; irregularity - Darwin Something abnormal
2. A more discerning criterion is distress. A person who is displaying a great deal of depression, anxiety, unhappiness, etc. is defined to be abnormal. Unfortunately, many people are not aware of their own mental state, and while they may benefit from help, they feel no compulsion to receive it.
3. Another criterion is morality. This presents many difficulties, because it would be impossible to agree on a single set of morals for the purposes of diagnosis.
4. One criterion commonly referenced is maladaptivity. If a person is behaving in ways counterproductive to their own well-being, it is considered maladaptive. While tighter than the above criteria, it does have some shortcomings. For example, moral behavior including dissent and abstinence may be considered maladaptive to some.
5. Abnormal behaviour violates the standards of society. When people do not follow the conventional social and moral rules of their society, the behaviour is considered abnormal. However, the magnitude of the violation and how commonly it is violated by others must be taken into consideration.
6. Another element of abnormality is that abnormal behaviour will cause social discomfort to those who witness such behaviour.
7. The standard criteria in psychology and psychiatry is that of mental illness. Determination of abnormality is based upon medical diagnosis. This is often criticized for removing control from the ‘patient’, and being easily manipulated by political or social goals.
A mneumonic commonly used as a reference to define abnormality SID’s eFFing DIM:
- SI: Statistical Infrequency simply defines whether a behaviour is abnormal if it doesn’t happen very often. There are no negative or positive overtones when using this definition of abnormality, as it covers behaviours which others don’t deem ‘abnormal’ i.e. stamp-collectors, racing drivers.
- D’s: Deviation from Social Norms defines whether a behaviour is abnormal if it is a behaviour ‘outside’ of society’s ‘circle’ of what is acceptable. The main problem with this definition of abnormality is that not all behaviours that break social norms are ‘wrong’, and that even some social norms need to be broken i.e. women wearing traditionally men’s clothes. Another problem is that there are some behaviours that individuals may do, but don’t openly admit it i.e. picking their noses is a crude example that not many people would admit to.
- FF: The Failure to Function Adequately definition of abnormality defines whether or not a behaviour is abnormal if it is counterproductive to the individual. The main problem with this definition however is that psychologists cannot agree on the boundaries that define what is ‘functioning’ and what is ‘adequately’, as some behaviours that can cause ‘failure to function’ are not seen as bad i.e. firemen risking their lives to save people in a blazing fire.
- DIM: Deviation from Ideal Mental health defines abnormality by determining if the behaviour the individual is portraying is affecting their mental well-being. As with the Failure to Function definition, the boundaries that stipulate what ‘ideal mental health’ is are not properly defined, and the bigger problem with the definition is that all individuals will at some point in their life deviate from ideal mental health, but it does not mean they are abnormal i.e. someone who has lost a relative will be distressed, but would not be defined as abnormal for showing that particular behaviour.
A common approach to defining abnormality is a Multi-Criteria approach, where all definitions of abnormality are used to determine whether an individuals behaviour is abnormal i.e. if an individual is exercising a particular behaviour that is preventing them from ‘functioning’, breaks a social norm and is statistically infrequent then Psychologists would be prepared to define this individual as abnormal. A good example of an abnormal behaviour assessed by a multi-criteria approach is depression: it is commonly seen as a deviation from ideal mental stability, it often stops the individual from ‘functioning’ a normal life and some could say it is statistically infrequent.
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