Clinical Psychology: The branch of applied psychology that deals with understanding mental health and illnesses, such as Anorexia Nervosa. Sometimes referred to as ‘abnormal psychology’ as it is concerned with the study of behavior that is not regarded as ‘normal’.
Abnormality (and why it is difficult to define): Anything that is not considered as a desirable behavior within a society. The concept ‘normal’ depends on culture, as what is considered to be normal in one culture might be abnormal in another.
Statistical definition of abnormality: Where abnormality is behavior that is rare. If behavior is infrequent (statistically) within a population (if the behavour falls within the top or bottom 2% of a normal distribution graph) then it is considered to be abnormal.
- Strengths: It is useful for some abnormal behaviour. The definition has helped to form the basis for diagnosing severe learning disability, which is classified as a psychological disorder.
- Weaknesses: Fails to take account of desirable behaviours. The term ‘abnormal’ is usually used in a negative sense. However, there is behaviour that is statistically rare but desirable and healthy; for example, a high pain threshold or being exceptionally good at sports.
- Another problem with this definition is that what appears rare in some cultures is common in others. E.g. Depression is rarely reported in Asian cultures and mental illnesses are rarely diagnosed in China, in contrast to Western cultures such as the UK and USA.
- Also, some behaviours that would be classed as being within the normal range due to so many people having them, such as anxiety, are seen as abnormal in a clinical sense.
Social norms definition of abnormality: When a person’s behavior or beliefs go against what is regarded as acceptable and expected within a particular society, they may be judge as abnormal.
- Strengths: Enables individuals in need to acquire help. If behaviour drastically deviates from what society expects, appropriate help can be found for the individual who displays such behaviour. This may be vital, as some people with a mental disorder are unable to motivate themselves to seek assistance. For example, people with severe depression might not have the energy to seek help.
- Weaknesses: This definition is not always helpful because breaking social norms can be worthwhile. Societies can use this definition to gain social control – anybody who does not agree with the government can be diagnosed as abnormal.
- Another problem is that norms change over time. Standards within society change from era to era which shows that the definition is not universal. E.g. Homosexuality.
- A problem is that definitions of abnormality can vary between the wider cultures and sub-groups. For instance, in Western society, there is a common assumption that the behaviour of the while populations (wider culture) is the norm and that any deviation from this by another ethnic group (sub-group) indicates abnormality. This point is illustrated by the over diagnosis of schizophrenia amongst the Afro-Caribbean population in the UK.
Schizophrenia: A very mental illness that can affect the way someone speaks, thinks and feels to such a degree that they lose focus on reality. Disruption in language, cognition and emotions.
Reliability: A measure of whether replications would produce similar results. If they do then the study is reliable.
Validity: A valid test that measures what it claims to measure. There are many different types of validity, including popularity, face, ecological, etc.
Primary Data: Gathered first hand from the source directly by the researcher(s). Examples of methods that collect primary data are questionnaires, observations, etc.
Secondary Data: Data that has already been gathered by someone and is used by another researcher for further research. An example of secondary data is government statistics.