A-LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY NOTES AND REVISION

There are various different methods of defining abnormality. These include: the statistical infrequency definition; the deviation from social norms definition; the failure to function adequately, and deviation from ideal mental health. Definition 1: The statistical infrequency definition. Under this definition, abnormality is defined as any substantial deviation from the statistically calculated average ( ±2 standard deviations away from the mean, in a normal distribution). Therefore any behaviour that occurs rarely in relation to the entire population is viewed as "abnormal". For example, the average IQ score is 100, and only 2% of the entire population have a score of 70 or less - and so, these individuals, under this definition would be considered "abnormal" and would be liable to receive a diagnosis of a psychological disorder (intellectual disability disorder). PEE (Point, Evidence, Explain) Evaluation points: Strength : One strength of this definiti...

Crime: A legalistic definition : "breaking the laws of society" A normative definition : "acts that can cause offence to moral norms and values held by society such as religion beliefs" Problems in defining crimes: There are many problems in defining crime. For example: Historical context : the definition of what a "crime" is changes over time. For example, homosexuality was regarded as a crime in the UK before 1967. Culture : what is regarded as a crime in one culture, may not be seen as a crime in another. For example, in some countries it is completely acceptable to have more than one wife - however, in the UK this is considered to be a crime (bigamy). Age : determines whether the individual is viewed as a criminal or not. For example, stealing is quite obviously a crime, but if a three-year old child wonders out of a shop carrying something they haven't bought, they wouldn't be considered a criminal. Specific Cir...