Abnormal Psychology Essay

737 Words3 Pages
Abnormal psychology: Assignment 1 - defining abnormality 1. Explain statistical infrequency as a means of defining abnormality Statistical infrequency is when something is a rare occurrence and as with abnormal behaviour it is the same if it is rare it is considered abnormal. 2. Give an example to illustrate how this definition could be used. One such example would be a person is in the middle of the town centre screaming that he is a plane whilst running around and since this is a statistical infrequency (rare behaviour) it is thusly considered to be abnormal. 3. Explain at least two criticisms of this definition a) First criticism Where does a person draw the line on what is considered to be a normal behaviour and at what point do we cross that line take IQ as an example if the average IQ is 100 does a person starting becoming abnormal at 99 or at 101 or it is at a further away from what is average. b) Other criticisms Another criticism is would be what happens if the infrequency is a behaviour that is a desirable one, such as a person being a genius or and Olympic athlete they are now considered to be abnormal despite having a wanted quality. 1. Explain deviation from social norms as a means of defining abnormality To deviate from social norms is to act in a way that is the opposite of what society believes to be the right way to act. 2. Give an example to illustrate how this definition could be used. Any act that acts out of the social norms such as standing and screaming during the sermon in a church would be an example of deviation from social norms. 3. Explain at least two criticisms of this definition a) First criticism A criticism of deviation from social norms would be how far would a person has to deviate to be considered abnormal is it the first time they do something or is it multiple deviations but it
Open Document