Statistical Infrequency - a2 Psychology Lesson updates 13-14



|Statistical|Outline (A01) |Weaknesses (Limitations) |

|Infrequency| | |

| |By definition abnormality means deviating from the norm or |( One weakness of the statistical infrequency definition is that it does not classify whether all behaviour is undesirable. The main objection to|

| |average. Statistically infrequent behaviour is regarded as |this approach is that there are many abnormal behaviours that are quite desirable. E.g., very few people have an IQ over 150, yet would not want |

| |abnormal, whereas frequent behaviour is normal. Individual |to suggest that this is undesirable. Equally there are some normal behaviours that are undesirable such as depression is relatively common, yet |

| |characteristics can be measured (e.g., mood, intelligence, etc) |it is undesirable. Therefore using statistical infrequency to define abnormality means that we are unable to distinguish between desirable and |

| |and the distribution of these characteristics within the |undesirable behaviours. In order to identify behaviours that need treatment, there needs to be a means of identifying infrequent and undesirable |

| |population can be graphed. The normal distribution curve shows |behaviours |

| |the majority of people as being in the middle. These people are | |

| |defined as ‘normal’. Relatively few people fall at either end. |( A further weakness of the definition of statistical infrequency is knowing where the cut off point is. How far from the norm do you have to be |

| |However, if they are then they are defined as ‘abnormal’. |classified as being abnormal? For example, we might look at symptoms of depression and decide that any symptoms experienced by 80% of the |

| | |population are normal (e.g., not sleeping well or poor appetite) but those symptoms experienced by only 20% would be classed as normal (e.g., |

| |The spread is measured by standard deviation. 68% of the |thoughts of suicide) |

| |population fall between 1 SD either side of the mean and 95% fall|This suggests that the cut off point is inevitably subjectively determined but is important for deciding who gets treatment. |

| |between 2 SD. Thus, scores outside this range are unusual, | |

| |therefore 2.5% fall below it and 2.5% above it. |( A weakness of the statistical infrequency definition is that it is culturally relative. The reason for this is because one symptom of |

| | |schizophrenia is claiming to hear voices. However, this is regarded as desirable in some cultures. Lee (1969) found that many Zulu women |

| |For example, most “normal” people eat an average of between 1500 |reported screaming to themselves for days or weeks as a response to unhappiness. Such behaviours would be statistically infrequent in the UK, yet|

| |to 3000 calories a day. However, anorexics consume very few |very frequent in Zulu women |

| |calories, and bulimics consume lots – which makes their behaviour|This suggests that it is difficult to apply this definition to all cultures universally. |

| |“abnormal”. | |

| | |( Another weakness is knowing where the draw the line. Another difficulty with the statistical approach is deciding where the cut off point is |

| | |for defining abnormality. There is no agreed point on a scale at which behaviour is classified as abnormal and, in any case, it is unlikely that |

| | |abnormal states can be categorised in such black and white terms. E.g., there are degrees of severity of depression. |

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| |Potential Exam Question: |( Another weakness of the definition is that there are gender differences. The definition is good when a psychological disorder has been |

| | |diagnosed by a psychologist, but not if they have been diagnosed by a non-professional person. For example, females are more likely than males to|

| |1. Describe one definition of abnormality (3 marks) |consult their doctor for anxiety problems, whereas males are more likely to bottle up their anxiety, or try to deal with it in physical terms such|

| |2. Describe the statistical infrequency definition of abnormality|as vigorous sporting activities. It is believed that this is caused by males being socialised to distance themselves from their emotions |

| |(6 marks) |This suggests that the definition cannot be applied universally. |

| |3. Discuss statistical infrequency definition of abnormality and | |

| |their limitations (18 marks) | |

| | |( A final weakness of the statistical infrequency definition is that there is contradictory evidence from Angst. Problems of depression or |

| | |anxiety are classified as psychological disorders because they adversely effect normal functioning. However, in statistical terms this is not |

| | |useful. Angst (1992) for example, has found that one in 20 Americans is severely depressed and that there is a 1 in 10 chance of having a serious|

| | |depressive episode at least once in your life time. Furthermore, 47% in the USA had suffered fromychological disorder. |

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Additional A01 and A02 Material

You can use the following material below as either A01 or Ao2 material. Remember if you use it as A02 you need to jam sandwich it so it has a top and bottom layer of bread.

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ESSAY PLAN: A02

ESSAY PLAN: A01

Describe and evaluate one …

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