Definitions of Abnormality: number 1: Deviation from Social Norms

definition: behaviour which doesn't conform to socially acceptable patterns may be considered abnormal
1. under this definition: a person's thinking or behaviour is classified as abnormal if it violates the (unwritten) rules about what is expected or acceptable behaviour in a particular social group
  1. example: wearing a bikini to work
evaluation
1. social deviancy is related to moral standards which can change with time. Therfore this approach also had to change or would be historically biased
2. social deviancy is also defined by the context in which the behaviour occurs: e.g wearing near to nothing on a beach is acceptable but at school or a formal gathering would be considered abnormal
3. attempts to define abnormaltiy in terms of social norms are influenced by cultural factors (cultural relativism)
  1. disorders are defined or diagnosed in different ways in different places by different groups
    1. means that a diagnosis may be different for the same person in 2 different cultures
      1. what may be seen as a diagnosable disorder for a psychologist in the UK may not be viewed by a psychologist from another country
4. social deviancy not necassarily a bad thing:
  1. some people are socially diviant because they have a non-conformist lifestyle
  2. others because their behaviour is motivated by high principles (Nazi Germany)

Resource summary

	Created by samantha_x about 10 years ago