PSY345H5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, Normal Distribution, Constitution Act, 1982
Lecture 1:
Tuesday, September 4, 2018
12:59 PM
What Does Exceptional Mean?
o Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale
• Normal distribution
• Majority fall w/in 1 SD
o If exceptional --> being well above the mean/average --> for ex. in 0.1%
o `Exceptional = exception from rule/exception from norm
• Something that is very different from the norm
• Exceptional can be on either side of the normal distribution
o Term norm = culturally determined to a great extent
o People with disabilities IQ scores --> exceptionality on low end - bottom few percent
o Hearing impairments --> on lower end of IQ scores
o When looking at disability score on whatever measure looking at are going to be scoring
exceptionality low
• Only children who are gifted will be in the exceptionally high area
o 3 diff users
• Exceptional means very good in society in general
• Actual meaning = difference
▪ Different from the norm
• w/in field of disability
▪ As politically correct, non-judgmental term
History of Social Change
o 5 periods of social change
• 1: Social Isolation (murder, confinement outside society)
▪ Includes thousands of years
▪ Approach of murder + confinement outside society
• One of first attempts to establish a civilized society
▪ Up until 18th century (end of 17th century)
▪ Talking in most part in Judeo-Christian traditions + Islamic traditions
• Originated for the most part from the Bible
▪ Religion played a very large role
• On neg side --> see exclusion
▪ Either can't do, unable to try to do, seen us unholy + unpure
• Ex unable to assume commandment that other men are in Jewish
religion for ex
• Than unable to fulfill function and not allowed
• Than excluded from practices that other men are taking part
of
• If child born in 'sin' + born w/ congenital disability - community would see child
as curse
▪ Community see the immoral act of having sex before marriage and
concluded that the child appeared to be punished via the sins of the
parents
▪ "The Charity Model of Disability"
• Hierarchical
• According to this model, general public works + makes money - accumbens to
help others that are less fortunate
• People are not being murdered, confined or starving
• But not necessarily offering jobs
• But looking after them in the charity way
▪ Leper Colony of Spinalonga (Crete - Greece)
• One of the last active leper colonies in Europe (1903 - 1957)
• Exclusive (not in good way) residence outside of society where people with
leprosy would live
• Leprosy = highly contagious
• Exclusion at same times can be justified
▪ Even today
• Ex SARS outbreak
▪ Quarantine/confine indivs w/ infectious disease that is contagious
• How would they know that a child with a disability or birth defect,
such as Down Syndrome, was contagious or not
• Reasons for why they were excluded
• 2: humanitarian + legal reforms in 18th century
▪ Important events in Europe in 18th century
• Industrial Revolution
▪ Prior --> Europe = futile
• Uneducated, illiterate
• Worked in community in exchange for food + protection + being
able to live
• People w/ disabilities were unable to do these jobs + lived on the
streets
• Can't work
• Don't have stamina + skills
• Petty crime
• Need to do something much greater bc it was very visible
• Need was there
▪ 2nd very important development:
• Emancipation
▪ Minority groups that did not have rights were increasingly being granted
the right to majority communities
• Ex people w/ disabilities, Jews, Gypsies
• Groups that never had rights were beginning to have rights
▪ Both the need with petty criminals living on the streets+ the legal aspect of
emancipation
• Willingness to view or at least treat these minority groups as equal indivs
▪ Church taking responsibility for these types of activities (providing a place to stay +
meals) + types of charity methods that the government slowly began to take
responsibility
• Not talking about inclusion
• 3: institutionalization
▪ "Orillia Asylum for Idiots"
• First opened in 1877; renamed Huronia Regional Centre in 1974
