Defining Abnormality

The first section of our Abnormality topic is concerned with ways psychologists use to categorise people as 'normal' or 'abnormal' - these methods are called Definitions of Abnormality. They are not explanations as to why people may be psychologically abnormal - we will look at how each of the four approaches explains this next.

The definitions you need to be able to explain and evaluate are (click for presentation):

Deviation from Social Norms

Failure to Function Adequately

Deviation from Ideal Mental Health

In practice psychiatrists and psychologists don't ever use just one definition, they use a 'classificatory system' which is based on a mixture of these ideas. The use of such systems is often called the 'disease model' or 'medical model' of abnormality, because it assumes that psychological disorders can be classified and diagnosed based on clusters of symptoms, much like physical diseases.

Here is a short presentation on this.

For Wednesday 19th October:

An essay, to be word processed and brought electronically (300-400 words):

"Put the three definitions of abnormality in order from most to least useful. Justify your decision with reference to their strengths and limitations."

Revise the 'defining abnormality' section for a test.