PSY240H1 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Intellectual Disability, Abnormal Psychology, Brain Fever

• School: UTSG
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSY240H1
• Professor: Hywel Morgan

Document Summary

Abnormal behaviours is characterized by the presence of many characteristics at one time these characteristics being: statistical infrequency, violation of norms, personal distress, disability or dysfunction, and unexpectedness. Statistical infrequency means that only a small part of the general population exhibit abnormal behaviours the normal curve places the majority of people in the middle. Statistical infrequency is used a lot in the diagnosis of mental retardation by using the iq test, below average is an indication of mental retardation. Only certain infrequent behaviours can be categorized as abnormal therefore statistical infrequency gives little guidance in determining which infrequent behaviours should be studied. Violation of norms deals with behaviour and if it threatens or makes the people observing the behaviour anxious. This poses an issue since many unusual behaviours can be tolerated even if they violate social norms such as criminals and prostitutes who violate social norms but are not studied within abnormal psychology.