Definitions of Psychopathology

Level: AS Levels, A Level, GCSE – Exam Boards: Edexcel, AQA, OCR, WJEC, IB, Eduqas – Psychology Revision Notes

Definitions of Psychopathology

Deviation from social norms: behaviour violating accepted social rules

Failure to function adequately: an ability to cope with day-to-day living

Deviation from ideal mental health: failure to meet the criteria for perfect psychological wellbeing

Statistical infrequency: behaviours that are statistically rare

EXAMPLES:

• A young woman reports that she has an acute fear of snakes. She cannot bear to watch any films of television programmes which include snakes. If she sees a picture of a snake, she becomes very anxious/distressed. Similarly, if she sees a toy snake in a shop, she wants to walk away. She certainly will not go anywhere near a zoo. [Failure to function adequately]

• A young man who lives with his mother believes that the world beyond his house is filled with radio waves which will insert evil thoughts into his head. For this reason, he never leaves his house and covers his bedroom window with aluminium foil because he believes that this will protect him. He claims to hear voices which tell him that he should give up the fight against the evil waves. [Deviation from ideal mental health]

• Martha has an incredibly high IQ over 150. This type of IQ score is extremely rare and means she is in the top 0.1% of the world. [Statistical infrequency]

• As the president of her country, Mrs Nastani decided to outlaw explicitly all homosexual behaviour. Anyone who openly disagreed with her new law would also be breaking the law and be considered mentally unstable. [Deviation from social norms]

CRITRIA FOR PYSCHOLOGICAL WELLBEING:

• Self-attitudes: having high self-esteem and a strong sense of personal identity
• Personal growth: the ability to love, work, solve problems and adjust to new environments
• Integration: being able to cope in the social world, such as managing stressful situations
• Autonomy: being an independent person who is of their own mind and able to make their own decisions
• Accurate perception of reality: being able to form a realist judgement of themselves and the actions of others
• Mastery of the environment: ‘self actualisation’ – the extent to which a person develops to their full capacities

Quick Fire Questions – Knowledge Check

1. Identify the four Definitions of Psychopathology (4 marks)

4. Discuss the strengths and weaknesses for the ‘Deviation from Social Norm’ definition of Psychopathology (6 marks)

5. Describe what the ‘Failure to Function Adequately’ definition of Psychopathology is (2 marks)

6. Outline and evaluate one definition of abnormality. (6 marks)

7. Explain two criterion that you would expect someone to display if they are psychologically healthy. (4 marks)

8. Describe a weakness of defining abnormality, in terms of mental health (2 marks)

9. Outline two definitions of abnormality (6 marks)

10. Provide an example of a ‘Deviation from Ideal Mental Health’ psychopathological definition (4 marks)

11. Outline the six criteria for psychological wellbeing (6 marks)