Outline and Evaluate One or More Psychological Definitions of Abnormality

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. Failure to Function Adequately is one definition of abnormality. In this definition , a person is considered abnormal if they are unable to cope with the demands of everyday life. Someone who may be unable to perform the behaviours necessary for day-to-day living such as washing, eating, holding down a job and interacting with peers is considered abnormal. Rosenhan & Seligman's study said that people who cannot function adequately will show certain traits.These traits are: Personal distress, such as being over anxious, and unhappy with yourself. Maladaptive behaviour, behaviour that stops a person from progressing socially.Unpredictability, behaviours which cannot be predicted, often seen as loss of control. Irrationality, the inability to make rational decisions in a way a 'normal' person would. Observer discomfort , exhibiting behaviours that makes overs feel uncomfortable. Violation of moral standards, showing behaviours that are not socially accepted. Unconventionality, doing things that are not common behaviours in the population. This definition along with most other definitions of abnormality, has many limitations. One limitation of this definition is that behaviour seen as abnormal may actually be helpful to a person, for example; a person who has obsessive-compulsive disorder and constantly feels that they need to wash their hands, may find that this behaviour makes them happy and better able to cope with his day. Another limitation is that many people take part in activities that are maladaptive/harmful or threatening to themselves, however, we don’t tend to class people who smoke, drink or take part in extreme sport as abnormal. Another main limitation is that social norms are subjective, this means that there is no operation issued scale.Norms may also change over time and can vary between generations. However the main limitation of all

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