Definitions of Abnormality

Statisical Defintion of Abnormality

Behaviour that is statisically rare would be seen as abnormal where as behaviour that is satisically common would be seen as normal.

A common example used is IQ tests when IQ is above or below what is normal then this would be abnormal

As this definition uses quantative data a normal disturbution curve can be drawn up to compare results. Using standard devation to see if data falls above or below what is normal and is therefore abonormal

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  • Created by: Daisy
  • Created on: 09-03-12 11:34

Social Norm defintion of Abonormality

When behaviour deviates from the social norm and is seen by the majority of society as Abnormal.

However this defintion does depned on several factors including:

Culture : Behaviour that is accepted in some cultures as acceptable could be seen as abnormal in other cultures

Context: The context of the behaviour is very important, abnormal behaviour can in certain situations be seen as normal e.g. A grown man wearing fancy dress to a fancy dress party would be accepted but in everyday life would be seen as abnormal.

Age: Also important, abonormal behaviour can be accepted due to a persons age. E.g a young child wearing fancy dress everyday would be accpted but for a 30 year old man this would be abnormal

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Statistical Defintion of Abnormality

When behaviour is statiscally rare then it is seen as abnormal, when behaviour is seen as statistically common then it is considered to be normal.

A common example used is IQ tests if data is above or below what is normal then this is abnormal

The defintion uses quantative data so a normal disturbution curve is drawn up to compare results.

Standard deviation can be used to see if data falls above or below what is normal and is therefore abnormal.

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