What defines abnormal and Normal behaviour? Society, laws, age groups and religious beliefs are just some factors which determine how people’s behaviour is viewed. For example in the UK it is illegal for girls under 16 years of age to get married; however this is not the case in more than over at least 30 countries worldwide, the UK multicultural residents, attempt to continue to practice their traditions regardless of the law breaking social norms. Underage forced marriages are a still problem in this country as parents and guardians send British residents aboard to continue this practice.
The most comprehensive attempt to distinguish normality from abnormality comes from clinical psychology, in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM). …show more content…
The question of reliability arose during the Rosenhan (1973) study, eight people went to various psychiatric hospitals in the USA claiming to hear voices, and all were admitted and eventually released with a diagnosis of “schizophrenia in remission”. During admissions some normal behaviour such as writing notes on treatments was interpreted as abnormal behaviour by the psychiatric staff. Cooper et al. (1972) suggested that ten times as many people diagnosed as schizophrenic by American psychiatrists as British ones, out of a proportional number presenting.
Validity examines if the tests and diagnosis and if the situation are what they seem, in medical terms a diagnosis of flu can be determined by symptoms, visibly and medically measured. This is not the case for mental illness, for example depression cannot be measured by medical instruments. Heather (1976) states that very few ‘causes’ of mental illness are known, and there is only a 50 cent chance of predicting treatment once diagnosis has been …show more content…
Faked or false symptoms such as the Rosenhan experiment prove that it’s ultimately difficult to diagnosis or determine someone’s mental health, unlike medical illness it is impossible to measure and be exact when dealing with what people tell you there are feeling or thinking. Cultural and ethnic bias by psychiatrists can also play a part when diagnosing illness. In conclusion each factor has its own limitations however without an exact procedure or measurable way of determining mental illness it will always be difficult to diagnosis a patient. The DSM including cultural differences and looking at a clear way of psychiatrists evaluating patients without having their own preconceptions could limit and change the way patients are diagnosis and
The most comprehensive attempt to distinguish normality from abnormality comes from clinical psychology, in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM). …show more content…
The question of reliability arose during the Rosenhan (1973) study, eight people went to various psychiatric hospitals in the USA claiming to hear voices, and all were admitted and eventually released with a diagnosis of “schizophrenia in remission”. During admissions some normal behaviour such as writing notes on treatments was interpreted as abnormal behaviour by the psychiatric staff. Cooper et al. (1972) suggested that ten times as many people diagnosed as schizophrenic by American psychiatrists as British ones, out of a proportional number presenting.
Validity examines if the tests and diagnosis and if the situation are what they seem, in medical terms a diagnosis of flu can be determined by symptoms, visibly and medically measured. This is not the case for mental illness, for example depression cannot be measured by medical instruments. Heather (1976) states that very few ‘causes’ of mental illness are known, and there is only a 50 cent chance of predicting treatment once diagnosis has been …show more content…
Faked or false symptoms such as the Rosenhan experiment prove that it’s ultimately difficult to diagnosis or determine someone’s mental health, unlike medical illness it is impossible to measure and be exact when dealing with what people tell you there are feeling or thinking. Cultural and ethnic bias by psychiatrists can also play a part when diagnosing illness. In conclusion each factor has its own limitations however without an exact procedure or measurable way of determining mental illness it will always be difficult to diagnosis a patient. The DSM including cultural differences and looking at a clear way of psychiatrists evaluating patients without having their own preconceptions could limit and change the way patients are diagnosis and