Examine the concepts of normality and abnormality

INTRODUCTION Abnormality Normality The subjective experience of feeling not normal due to stress, anxiety or unhappiness Behaving in a manner that is accepted by social constructions to be normal

Abnormal Behaviour vs Normal Behaviour Mental Illness o Problems of the brain o Psychological illness observed and noted through symptoms Factors of diagnosis: o Clinicians observations o Self-reports o Clinical interviews o Diagnostic manuals Types of symptoms: o Affective Symptoms (emotions) o Behavioural Symptoms (actions) o Cognitive Symptoms (thoughts) o Somatic Symptoms (physical) Culture and prior experience has a great effect on diagnosis PARAGRAPH 1 Defining Abnormality Mental Illness Criteria o Rosenhan & Seligman (1984) o Personal distress o Maladaptiveness o Irrationality o Unpredictability o Statistical infrequency o Observer discomfort o Violation of morals and ideals A patients own experience is factored into the judgement o This is positive because the patient is able to have a say in their treatment o Not all patients are aware of their conditions (e.g. schizophrenia patients) Some of the criteria relies on outside input and so individual biases may affect interpretation Many individuals experience these criteria and are not classed as abnormal Symptoms overlap between disorders and so misdiagnosis is very possible

Abnormality as Statistical Infrequency Frequent behaviours are normal and infrequent behaviours are abnormal Some statistically infrequent attitudes are desirable (e.g. going for a run every morning, high IQ) and some statistically frequent behaviours are undesirable (e.g. obesity) Culture: frequent and normal behaviours may differ between cultures

Causes normality and conformity to overlap, not conforming may be a good thing The degree to which a behaviour is abnormal plays a role

Abnormality as Deviation from Social Norms Cultural Relativism Not behaving in a manner that coincides with societys expectations of behaviour is seen as abnormal Behaviour cannot be considered abnormal if society accepts it Different societies have different social norms and so there can never be a universal agreement on what is normal and what is not Social norms put in place are not always positive (e.g. deviating from the rules of Apartheid was seen as abnormal yet today Apartheid itself is considered abnormal) PARAGRAPH 2 Defining Normality The Mental Health Criteria o Jahoda (1958) o Positive self-perception o Self-acceptance o Behavioural control o Realistic view of the world o Ability to maintain interpersonal relationships o Ability to be productive Very few people are able to identify with all criteria, so all people would be classified as abnormal The criteria is very idealistic and seems to be based off of Western cultural norms Szasz (1962) claimed that normality and abnormality are cultural concepts and cannot be objectively viewed or studied Contradicting study by Taylor & Brown (1988) o People with depression have a more realistic view of the world o Many people require some deception to be able to function properly o Many people seem to benefit from unreasonable optimism CONCLUSION Our definitions of what is normal and what is abnormal are continuously evolving o E.g. homosexuality Even through its inaccuracies, once a diagnosis is delivered a patient is labelled and stigmatized for the rest of their lives A person may be classed as abnormal due to one of the criteria mentioned above but normal according to another, so which one should be trusted and when can we truly say that an individuals behaviour is abnormal? If all of us can be classified as abnormal by one criteria or another, then would it be possible to say that mental illness is a social construct?