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Psychopathology: Models of abnormality · Defining Abnormality

How psychologists decide what counts as abnormal, from rarity and social norms to distress, dysfunction and harmful dysfunction, and why each criterion falls short alone.

Psychopathology · 26 questions

Try 3 questions

1. Under the statistical infrequency definition alone, which of these would count as abnormal?

  1. An exceptionally high IQ
  2. Mild seasonal sadness
  3. Fear of public speaking
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Answer: An exceptionally high IQ

Statistical rarity flags anything far from the average, including desirable traits like very high intelligence, while fear of public speaking is extremely common.

2. Homosexuality was listed as a mental disorder in the DSM until 1973. Which definition of abnormality does this best expose?

  1. Statistical infrequency
  2. Personal distress
  3. Deviation from social norms
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Answer: Deviation from social norms

It was classified as a disorder largely because it broke prevailing social norms; its removal shows that norm-based judgments shift with culture and era.

3. Which set is commonly taught as the "four Ds" of abnormality?

  1. Delusion, denial, depression, dementia
  2. Diagnosis, duration, dosage, discharge
  3. Deviance, distress, dysfunction, danger
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Answer: Deviance, distress, dysfunction, danger

Textbooks summarize abnormal behavior as deviant from norms, distressing, dysfunctional for daily life and sometimes dangerous; no single D is sufficient on its own.

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