Individual Differences
People who behave in a socially deviant and apparently unintelligible
way should be regarded as abnormal because they do not agree with
social conventions and don’t do what is normally expected in society.
The ‘deviation from social norms’ definition of abnormality determines
the mental state of an individual by studying how closely they follow
the ‘unspoken’ rules of society.
However, there are a few limitations to this approach. One problem is
based on the idea that social norms change over time. What is
acceptable in society now, may have been incomprehensible in the past.
For example, single women who became pregnant (I.e. out of marriage),
were seen as social deviants and some were hospitalised in psychiatric
institutions. Nowadays, it is much more common for single women to
have children outside of wedlock.
The ‘statistical infrequency’ approach is based on the idea that
certain behaviours are statistically rare in the larger population. If
very few people (2.145% of population) show the rare behaviour or way
of thinking, then they are described as abnormal. Again, this approach
has limitations as well.
The concept of statistical abnormality does not allow us to identify
what rare behaviours require treatment. The approach fails to make
reference to desirability. Some rare behaviours are undesirable such
as anorexia, high trait anxiety, and many others. Yet, other rare
behaviours are much desired such as low anxiety and genius. The
‘statistical infrequency’ approach doesn’t succeeds in giving a
definition that shows the rare behaviour to be undesirable and
potentially damaging to the individual.
The Behavioural Model indicates that individuals with mental disorders
possess maladaptive forms of behaviour , which have been learned.
Maladaptive behaviour prevents an individual from achieving major life
goals such as enjoying a good relationships with other people or
working effectively. Most of the learning takes the form of classical
conditioning or operant conditioning. Therefore, an appropriate form
of treatment involves further conditioning or observational learning
which will help to remove the maladaptive behaviours that have been
Drapetomania is a mental illness used to describe why slaves “ran away.” Drapetomania was created by a southern physician named Samuel A. Cartwright in 1851. The invention of Drapetomania occurred during a controversial time for the north and the south. The north and the south did not agree on the institution of slavery at this time. The northerners identified slavery as unjust and southerners saw it as a means of support. The northern states had many free blacks because they chose to abolish slavery. Northerners enforced personal liberty laws to aid fleeing slaves from the south so they could not be recaptured, and the southern states got the Fugitive Slave Act to help in getting runaway slaves returned to the south. During the antebellum period, southerners were desperate to continue the institution of slavery. The demand for cotton increased between 1830 and 1850, and Southerners depended on slavery to support their cotton-based economy. Southerners use drapetomania as a way to define blacks and dehumanize them. There were many motives to why Southerners would suddenly agree upon the discovery of drapetomania. The antebellum plantation society commonly looked for measures to explain slavery. [Preview of points]Southerners used Drapetomania as a logical excuse to continue the institution of slavery.
Some factors that are explored in studies involves the genetics in a person, how parents treat their children, influences peers have and the situations that a person may experience throughout their childhood and adult life. There is a possible connection between the feelings of anxiety, aggression and fear with a genetic makeup in a person’s body (Huff, 2004). Research has even shown that if an individual was abuse, whether physical or verbally they are at risk for developing a personality disorder as well (Huff, 2004). Another interesting study conducted by Robert Krueger, PhD, exploring the influences that can contribute to the development of a personality disorder, looks at studying personality traits within identical twins who did not grow up together. In the study, it appeared that genetics contributed more to a person personality trait then the environment they were in. Krueger opinion was that “The predominant reason normal and abnormal personality are linked to each other is because they are linked to the same underlying genetic mechanisms” (Huff,
In the well-received novel “Pudd’nhead Wilson,” Mark Twain skillfully addresses the ancient argument about the origin of one’s character and whether it’s derived from his nature or his surroundings. We can best see this battle between nature versus nurture by inspecting the plot lines that follow the characters Thomas a Becket Driscoll, Valet de Chambre, and Roxana the slave. Thomas was born into a wealthy white family while Roxy birthed Chambers into a life of slavery. It seemed as though each would have gone their separate ways into opposite walks of life, but Roxy secretly swapped the children, which destined each to their counterintuitive fates. Through their words and actions, Tom, Chambers, and Roxy have proven the idea that one’s behaviors and desires are a result of his upbringings and the environment he lives in rather than by his innate nature.
The five factions in Divergent’s serve as values that citizen can aspire to achieve in their fullest. The fearless are drawn to Dauntless, the intelligent to Erudite, the kind to Amity, the honest to Candor, and the selfless to Abnegation. I do not think that only these factions represent every basic personality type, nor fulfill all of people’s basic needs. To fill in the gaps, I would create factions for the selfish and manipulative, among others.
Personality disorders and mental illnesses are viewed by the general public as similar attributes that are equally harmful. However, when one delves into the diagnostics and patterns of the individual disorders and illnesses, it can be seen that there are major differences between each one. There are many levels of severity of the effects each disorder or illness has on society as a whole. They range from affecting only the individual on a solely personal basis to affecting a large amount of people on a highly violent level. Generally, it is found that mental illnesses have an influence on an individual level while personality disorders have an influence on a widespread level. As in every medical topic, there are outliers, or cases that are far outside the expected outcome, but for the most part, illnesses have less far reaching effects than disorders. On the spectrum of the societal effects of personality disorders and mental illnesses, the obsessive-compulsive disorder, which is actually a mental illness, is on the lowest level in terms of widespread consequences; just above this illness is schizophrenia which has the ability to affect more than the individual unless treated; the narcissistic disorder has farther reaching effects in society, such as in bureaucratic situations, than the two previously mentioned illnesses, placing it higher on the spectrum, and last, but not least, the schizoid personality disorder has proven to have the most wide spread consequences in the form of both emotional trauma and violence allocating it the highest level.
Providing an all inclusive, concrete definition of what a mental disorder is a complicated task. Many factors are responsible for the development and presence of a disorder; therefore, pinpointing and providing a universal definition can be quite difficult. In order to provide a basic set of universal parameters in what constitutes and defines a mental disorder, The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) was developed in order to help clinicians and providers navigate the many disorders. While the DSM provides a definition of mental disorder, different perspectives of psychology offer various views of mental disorder.
And some researcher has suggested that this model does not reduce stigma. (Thomas Szasz, 2002) states “Liberation by oppression: a comparative study of slavery and psychiatry”. Szasz argues that mental health is a rhetorical invention itself. Psychiatric often stigmatise by insisting that mental illness problems are brain diseases and most Psychiatrist doesn’t see these things as ‘disease ‘ . Thomas SZAZ claims mental illness would only refer to behavioural deviations that have a well-defined organic basis. Other deviant behaviours the product of “problems of living”. Brown and Harris (1978) found major negative life events make people vulnerable to clinical depression. Other researchers found that certain types of life events are more likely to be associated with a development of mental disorders than others—events that are “no normative, unexpected, uncontrollable, clustered in time.” The key problem with this explanation is that coerced and forced medication is generally wrong and that psychiatrists do not warn individual about many of psychiatric drugs potential side
Having understood that genetics do play a part in the actions of an individual, solving the question of how much of it is in part of the biological makeup. There is clear evidence from studies that about 50% of the deviation of antisocial behavior is derived from genetics. The question has now been changed to “Which genes predispose to which kinds of antisocial behavior?” (Raine, 2008)
However, mental health is more than just the absence of mental disorders and there are a number of problems that can interfere with a person’s cognitive, social and emotional abilities. Biological approaches to mental health view all psychiatric disorders as being caused by organic factors such as genetic and biochemical factors. The role of psychiatrists or clinical psychologists is to help the patient cope with the illness or control the effects of it by means of medication or therapy (Cardwell, Clark, and Meldrum, 2008). In contrast to the biological theory, the social theory to mental ill health offers a holistic approach to try and understand mental disorders. This means that there may also be social factors that may influence a person’s resistance or susceptibility to psychiatric disorders. These could be triggered by certain life events such as a tragedy or stress. It also takes into consideration the labelling theory where society labels a person as ‘mentally ill’ who then accepts that status (self-fulfilling prophecy) and may lead to a severe mental
In a country based around free will, the United States contains a vast variety of personalities and behaviors. Plenty of people, probably more than we know, exert abnormal behavior. Abnormal behavior is patterns of emotion, thought, and action that are considered pathological. Historically, people blame witchcraft for this eccentric type of behavior and tended to perform exorcisms in hopes of abolishing such actions. Anxiety disorders and personality disorders, two forms of abnormal behavior, can alter a person’s personality as a result of life experiences.
The stories Remembering My Childhood on the Continent of Africa and Self-Discovery and the Danish Way of Life are easily comparable. The narrators of both stories write about a time in which they are experiencing a different culture. They also write about their yearnings for self-discovery through exotic experiences. The viewpoints, however, of each writer are at opposite ends of the spectrum. In Self-Discovery and the Danish Way of Life, the narrator writes about his international experiences while studying abroad in Denmark. On the other hand, in Remembering My Childhood on the Continent of Africa, the narrator never actually visits Africa. Instead, he figuratively visits the continent through the experiences of another person. These stories may appear to be similar because of the comparable aspirations of the narrators. However, they are also different with respect the narrators’ unique viewpoints on life.
To think how far we have come with medicine and technology is astounding. Looking into the biological model of abnormalities we learn that the focus is to connect a medical prospective to the variations in abnormal behavior. The text uses the case of Philip Berman, a person who exhibits a wide range of emotion when triggered with certain topics. In this case researchers are looking to find a glitch between his body chemistry and his behavior. The question here is: Can there be a connection between imperfect organisms within the body which in turn display abnormal behavior? We learn from the text that the brain has many parts that are designed to specific duties. If one of the nerves or cells is faulty, can it somehow be tied to the way a person acts? The answer is yes. We know that abnormal behavior is not just that of a mental disorder, and we know that certain chromosomal disorders have been proven to cause abnormalities within the human body. In Philip’s case, it is not necessarily a behavior that we know could be caused by a glitch in the system. We learned many facts about his life that can play a role in the way he carries himself. If we were looking into his genetic inheritance we might ask questions like the genetic makeup of the family history (i.e. has there been a history of mental disorder in the family?). Was Philip used to being an only child for so
Concerns have been raised that the diagnosis may at times be misapplied to individuals in settings in which seemingly antisocial behavour may be part of a protective survival strategy. In assessing antisocial traits, it is helpful for the clinician to consider the social and economic context in which the behaviour
Barlow, D., Durand, V., & Stewart, S. (2009). Abnormal psychology an integrative apporach. (2nd ed.). United States of America: Wadsworth
I think the best, most logical, and most realistic explanation of abnormal behavior is the multicultural model, which according to the textbook is “the view that each culture within a larger society has a particular set of values and beliefs, as well as special external pressures, that help account for the behavior of its members” (62). This particular model attributes environmental and social factors as causing abnormal and dysfunctional psychological functions, because of their prominent and powerful influence on individuals’ conscious and subconscious, thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. This models also acknowledges and respects cultural diversity, while catering to these differences in ways that specifically emphasizes and celebrates these