Essay Sample On Abnormal Psych: Unusual Behaviour & Mental Health

Introduction

Abnormal psychology is a science that examines members of society who may be different from others regarding behaviour. Abnormality can be defined as the failure to function adequately, violation of social norms, statistical infrequency, and differences in normal mental health. Under statistical oddity, an individual's reasoning or characteristic is categorized as an anomaly when it appears unusual. The description also alludes that strange aspects of individuals are aberrant or uncommon. The limitation of this description is that it neglects to differentiate desirable and undesirable behavior. Many rare actions or characteristics have no pertinence on normality or abnormality. Some attributions are considered unusual even though they are altogether regular (Psychteacher.co.uk, 2019).

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

According to the deviation of societal attributes, a person's behaviour or reasoning is seen as abnormal when it does not uphold the expected standard within a specific social grouping (Mcleod, 2019). At this point, their character is unfathomable, and it creates discomfort. Additionally, social behavior is depicted differently by various cultures around the globe. With this definition, one can tell when a standard is disregarded and when there is a misdeed in a person. The limitation of this definition is that social rules differ from culture to culture; thus whatever is esteemed normal in one culture may be considered unusual in another culture which is an example of cultural relativism. Also, social norms can contrast over time; therefore, a demeanor that could have been outlined as uncommon in one era may no longer delineate atypical in another.

When an individual does not coordinate their emotions adequately, it is regarded as an anomaly that averts them from performing an assortment of behavior that society would anticipate from them, for example, administering prosperous relationships. The seven criteria that are implied atypical by Seligman and Rosenhan include fallaciousness, unpredictability and personal anguish. The greater the attributes of individualized dysfunction one have, the more they are regarded as abnormal. The fact that one culture may fail to fit in another is among the limitations that show cultural relativism. These variances result in differences that may not be understood in other cultures. Different diagnoses in different cultures is a likely result of cultural relativism. Another limitation is that presumably, atypical behavior may admittedly be conducive and operative for a person. For example, an individual who has OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder) may ascertain that washing their hands makes them buoyant, joyous and better to cope with daily activities (Mcleod, 2019).

The lack of appropriate mental health can be explained as an abnormality. There are six standards mandatory for ideal mental health, which includes, a strong sense of social identity and high self-esteem, an accurate perception of reality, growth, development or self-actualization, independence and self-reliance and having effective stress coping strategies. This demand one to determine the features that are regarded as imperative to mental health. The definition's limitation is that it is borderline insuperable for a person to accomplish all of the appropriate at once. The barrier that exhibits cultural relativism is that these ideas are bound by culture, based on a Western concept of perfect mental health, and it should not apply when determining the state of other people in a different culture.

References

Mcleod, S. (2019). Abnormal Psychology | Simply Psychology. [online] Simplypsychology.org. Available at: https://www.simplypsychology.org/abnormal-psychology.html [Accessed 12 May 2019].

Psychteacher.co.uk. (2019). Definitions of abnormality - A level psychology - Psychteacher. [online] Available at: http://www.psychteacher.co.uk/abnormality/definitions.html [Accessed 12 May 2019].