Abormality

Behaviour that deviates from the norm is abnormal and abnormal behaviours are therefore whatever violates social norms.

Limitations:

• Human rights abuse. (Some countries confine people to mental institutions)
• Cultural differences
• Individualism (Those who do not conform to society may not be abnormal)

Failure to meet the criteria for perfect psychological wellbeing, percieves abnormality in a similar way to the perception of physical health and looks for an absence of well-being.

Limitations:

• Subjective criteria (Criteria difficult to meet.)
• Cultural variation
• Changes over time. (Perceptions of reality change over time)

Characteristics of ideal mental health:

• Autonomy
• Self actualisation
• Environmental mastery
• Positive attitude towards self
• Resisting stress
• Accurate perception of reality.

Percieves individuals as abnormal when their behaviour suggessts they cannot cope with everyday life.

Features of personal dysfunction:

• Personal distress
• Maladaptive behaviour
• Unpredictability
• Irrationality

Limitations:

• Distress to others (person themselves feels no distress)
• Cultural differences
• Normal abnormality (e.g. when loved ones die.)

Percieves psychological abormalities as similar to physical illnesses, caused by abonormal biological processes.

Organic disorders:

• Physical brain damage  (For instance, alzheimers leads to memory loss through destruction of cells within nervous system)
• Bacterial infections and viruses (E.g. neuropsychiatric disorder such as syphillis, later stages tumour like lumps develop in the brain, memory and intellect are impaired)
• Biochemistry (Affected levels of neurotransmitters and hormones, e.g. high levels of dopamine have been linked to shizophrenia)
• Genetics (shizophrenia among general population is 1 per cent, however among children of shizophrenics are 10 per cent, implying a link )

Functional disorders

No obvious physiological causes, such as depression.