Definitions of abnormality: deviation from social norms - Psychopathology

DEVIATION FROM SOCIAL NORMS:

Under this definition, a person is classified as abnormal if they violate the (unwritten) rules in their society. The ‘abnormal’ behavior is seen as unpredictable and incomprehensible to others as it violates moral/ideal standards (as it differs from what most people do) – it can often lead to others feeling threatened or uncomfortable.

An example that demonstrates this is ‘lip plates’. In Africa, females, once they’ve reached a specific age, pierce their lower lip in order to insert ‘plates’ into their lips, hereby stretching it. To us, this appears very strange and ‘abnormal’, but to them, it is a tradition that their society follows and classifies as ‘normal’.

Evaluation:

• Sometimes, the actions of certain individuals do violate social norms but are not usually regarded as abnormal in psychological terms. For example, prostitutes break a social norm (offering sexual services for payment) but are not usually seen as needing psychiatric help. So where do we draw the line? This therefore is a limitation because it means that abnormality is being measured subjectively – one person may consider the acts of a prostitute to be ‘abnormal’ but others may view it as a way for them to “earn eats meat” and therefore it will rely solely on an individual’s own interpretation of the act – suggesting it may not be the most appropriate measure of abnormality, as it varies from person-to-person.

• Additionally, this definition has the weakness of differing over time – meaning what was once ‘strange’ and ‘abnormal’ may now be ‘normal’, which leads to a lack of consensus between generations. An example which illustrates this is homosexuality: in the 70s, homosexuality was regarded as a mental illness, yet nowadays its becoming more and more common, and viewed as acceptable. This is a weakness as what one generation of people may view as acceptable and the ‘norm’ may be completely different to another generation who experienced a different view on that specific topic as they grew up.

• To add to this, norms are culture specific, and differ in different societies – so what is seen as ‘abnormal’ in one part of the world, may be completely normal to other parts. A popular example that demonstrates this is ‘lip plates’. In many South American countries, specifically Ethiopia, females, once they’ve reached a specific age, pierce their lower lip in order to insert ‘plates’ into their lips, hereby stretching it. To us, this appears very strange and ‘abnormal’, but to them, it is a tradition that their society follows and classifies as ‘normal’.

• There is also strengths of this definition: for example, it has practical applications as it can identify people who need psychiatric help, for example: someone hearing constant voices that aren’t there would most likely be diagnosed as schizophrenic, as it is not ‘typical’ behaviour within our society, and so this could help to improve the quality of their lives, since a diagnosis could help them establish they have a ‘problem’ and could help them to learn about what is happening to them, and how to improve it.