Lesson 2: Failure To Function Adequately

Question 1

What is failure to function adequately?

Answer 1

• Abnormal behaviour is that which causes an inability to cope with everyday life. A person’s behaviour may disrupt their ability to work or conduct satisfying interpersonal relationships.
• Rosenhan and Seligman (1989) suggest personal dysfunction has seven features. The more features an individual has the more abnormal they are considered to be.

Question 2

Rosenhan and Seligman (1989)

Answer 2

1. Personal distress - feeling sad, anxious, worried or scared
2. Maladaptive behaviour - behaviour stopping individuals from attaining life goals
3. Unpredictability - displaying unexpected behaviours characterised by the loss of control.
4. Irrationality - displaying behaviours which cannot be explained in a logical way
5. Observer discomfort - displaying behaviour which causes discomfort in others
6. Violation of moral standards - displaying behaviour which violates society’s ethical standards
7. Unconventionality - displaying behaviour which does not conform to what is generally done in a certain situation

Question 3

Strength of failure to function adequately

Answer 3

+ This definition of abnormality recognises the patient’s perspective (e.g. personal distress)

Question 4

Weakness of failure to function adequately (Harold)

Answer 4

• Abnormality is not always accompanied by a failure to function. Psychopaths can commit murders while still appearing normal. Harold Shipman, the English doctor who murdered 215 patients over 23 years, maintained the outward appearance of a respectable member of his profession, and had a family, the entire time he was committing the murders. None of his family, friends or colleagues were aware he was a serial killer.

Question 5

Strength of FFA (GAF)

Answer 5

• FFA can be measured objectively through the GAF (general assessment of functioning scale) and allows for the extent of the failure to function to be measured.

Question 6

Weakness of FFA (cultural relativism)

Answer 6

-definition is culturally relative in terms of what is not functioning adequately in one culture may be adequate in another culture e.g. sleeping during the day for example in some countries they go through a siesta period in the summer months where they sleep during the day - this would not be really acceptable in countries like the UK and could be a sign of depression

Question 7

Weakness of FFA (who judges)

Answer 7

• who is the person who decides if someone is failing to function adequately as this is related to the subjective experience of the individual, who then has the right to judge if a particular individual is abnormal - for example a person may not eat for 2 days do we have the right to assume if they are anorexic? Therefore this definition may result in making incorrect judgements about individuals which is not fair