Chapter 5 Assessment Diagnosis 1 What the three primary criteria used to determine whether behaviors are abnormal a Statistical Infrequency or violation of social norms b Subjective Distress i When a persons behavior becomes deviant dangerous outrageous or otherwise non conforming they re likely to be categorized as abnormal ii Case examples immediately categorizing both of these features is that their behaviors violate social norms 1 Dmitri IQ and school performance are considerably lower than the mean a His aspect of deviance can be described statistically and with numbers 2 Juanita came to peoples attention because she was different a Her clothes appearance and interests don t conform to those of the females in her culture i The perception of the affected individual not observable deviations of behavior but the subjective feelings and sense of well being of the individual 1 If the person is anxiety ridden then they re maladjusted regardless of whether or not the anxiety is creating obvious problem behaviors ii Cynthia in a sense she s very conformed she has an ability to cope with stress that others envy 1 But Cynthia is unhappy and conflicted and struggling with a large amount of anxiety 2 A clinical psychologist wouldn t be surprised to see Cynthia in her office but her friends would be shocked to find out she was seeing a therapist iii Kwame his friends family and co workers would be happy to know he was getting help because at one time other another they all have described him as sick 1 Kwame himself isn t at odds he doesn t see himself as sick he would likely be offended if someone suggested he seek therapy c Disability dysfunction or impairment i For a behavior to be considered abnormal it must create some degree of social interpersonal or occupational or educational problems for the individual 1 Disability or dysfunction Pg 137 labels behavior as abnormal if it creates social or occupational problems for the individual ii Dysfunction in these two areas are often fairly obvious to the clinician and the individual 1 Lack of friendships or relationships because of a lack in interpersonal contact would indicate social dysfunction 2 The loss of a job or failing grades because of emotional problems like depression would indicate occupational dysfunction iii Richard Completely dependent on his wife and this combined with constant somatic complaints and inability to cope with stress has left him unemployed occupational iv Phyllis drug habit has left her failing school 2 What are the advantages and disadvantages of these three criteria for determining abnormal behaviors a Statistical Infrequency or violation of social norms i Advantages 1 Cut off points Pg 131 in the context of conformity oriented definitions the numerical values on a test or inventory that differentiate the normal form abnormal behavior a Appealing because these points are quantifiable b in nature If the cut off point is 80 and the individuals score is 70 they re labeled as abnormal its very straightforward and easy to use 2 Intuitive appeal it may seem obvious that the behaviors we consider abnormal would also be evaluated similarly by others particularly health professionals in this case a You ll know it when you see it ii Disadvantages 1 Choice of cut off points a Conformity oriented definitions are limited by the difficulty of establishing agreed upon cut off points b Once they re established they re very straightforward but there is little information on how to choose these points i Dmitri traditional IQ tests set the cut off point at 70 for an average IQ if you score below a 70 then you ll likely be diagnosed with mental retardation 1 But is 64 different enough from 70 to be considered mentally retarded is 69 that different Is 72 that different form 70 72 would mean above average 2 The number of deviations 3 Cultural and developmental relativity a The number of behaviors one must show in b order to earn the label deviant meaning abnormal deviance from the mean Juanita was it just the five crucifixes on her wall that earned her the title of abnormal or was it her total behavioral configuration i Was it just the crucifixes or was it those combined with her clothing choices her decisions to not wear make up or jewelry her decision to fast etc If she had only shown three of those things would she still be considered abnormal ii a Juanita her behavior wasn t deviant in an absolute sense if she had been raised in a household that was extremely religious and she had been exposed to radical beliefs and practices her behavior wouldn t be abnormal i What s deviant for one group is not necessarily deviant for another the idea of cultural relativity plays an important role b Judgments can also vary depending on who s making them family friends peers school administrators i Even clinicians judgments can be relative to the groups they belong to c Some behaviors are more appropriate at one developmental stage but not at the other d Carrying cultural relativity to an extreme can have a negative impact i It could place nearly every reference group beyond reproach cultures can turn into subcultures then mini cultures and so forth b Subjective distress i Advantages 1 Reasonable to think that adults and some children would know if they re experiencing emotional or behavioral distress and could share such information a Many methods of assessment assume the responded is aware of their internal state and ii Disadvantages will response honestly when asked about their personal distress 1 Cynthia using this method Cynthia would be maladjusted but Kwame wouldn t be a This is suggesting that labeling someone as maladjusted isn t very meaningful unless the basis of judgment is specified and the behavioral manifestations are clearly stated 2 Not everyone who is considered disordered reports subjective distress a Clinicians often run into people who are completely out of touch with reality but say that they have inner tranquility 3 What amount of subjective distress is needed to be considered abnormal a Everyone experiences distress at some point for some its daily others its due to an event but at what point does that distress become clinical ii Disadvantages 1 Relatively little interference is needed problems in social and occupational areas tend to cause people to pursue treatment a They often realize the extent of their problems when they begin to impact their family or social relationships as well as work or school performance 1
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