WHAT IS ABNORMAL BEHAVIOR?

Ask 10 different people for a definition of abnormal

behavior and you may get 10 different answers.

Some of the reasons that abnormal behavior is so

difficult to define are (a) no single descriptive feature

is shared by all forms of abnormal behavior, and

no one criterion for “abnormality” is sufficient; and

(b) no discrete boundary exists between normal

and abnormal behavior. Many myths about abnormal

behavior survive and flourish even in this age of

enlightenment. For example, many individuals still

equate abnormal behavior with (a) bizarre behavior,

(b) dangerous behavior, or (c) shameful behavior.

In this section, we examine in some detail three

proposed definitions of abnormal behavior: (a) statistical

infrequency or violation of social norms, (b)

the experience of subjective distress, and (c) disability,

dysfunction, or impairment. We discuss the

pros and cons of each definition. Although each

of these three definitions highlights an important

part of our understanding of abnormal behavior,

each definition by itself is incomplete.

What Defines Abnormality?

Over time, mental health professionals have put forth a variety of answers to the question
of what makes behavior abnormal. These answers have included criteria such as personal
distress to the individual (as in severe depression or panic disorder), deviance fromcultural
norms (as inmany cases of schizophrenia), statistical infrequency (as in rarer disorders such
as dissociative fugue), and impaired social functioning (as in social phobia and in a more
dangerous way, antisocial personality disorder; e.g., Oltmanns & Emery, 2001).
In the 1990s, Jerome Wakefield, a renowned scholar in the field of abnormal psychology,
offered a theory that put forth a more simplified (in comparison with the multifaceted
criteria above) definition ofmental disorders (Wakefield, 1992, 1999). His theory has
generated enough support to become quite prominent in recent years. Wakefield (1992)
explains his harmful dysfunction theory of mental disorders in the following way:
I argue that a disorder is a harmful dysfunction, wherein harmful is a value term
based on social norms, and dysfunction is a scientific term referring to the failure
of a mental mechanism to perform a natural function for which it was designed
by evolution. Thus, the concept of disorder combines value and scientific
components. (p. 373)
The harmful dysfunction theory proposes that in our efforts to determine what is
abnormal, we consider both scientific (e.g., evolutionary) data and the social values in the
context of which the behavior takes place. As such, it can account for a wide range of behavior
that clinical psychologists have traditionally labeled as psychopathological according to
the multiple criteria listed above.

Who Defines Abnormality?

Wakefield’s definition of abnormality continues to be debated along with other definitions
(e.g., Lilienfeld & Marino, 1999) among academics and researchers in the field. However,
clinical psychologists are certainly not waiting for a resolution of this scholarly debate
before they assign, treat, and study disorders. They use disorders—as defined by the
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), the prevailing diagnostic
guide formental health professionals—every day as they performassessments, offer
therapy, and design and execute research studies.
In the introductory pages of the latest versions of the DSM (DSM-IV and DSM-IV-TR;
American Psychiatric Association, 1994, 2000, respectively), the authors offer a broad
definition of mental disorder. It is not entirely dissimilar to Wakefield’s harmful dysfunction
theory (Spitzer, 1999), yet it also incorporates aspects of the other criteria discussed
above.
In DSM-IV, each of the mental disorders is conceptualized as a clinically significant behavioral
or psychological syndrome or pattern that occurs in an individual and that is associated
with present distress (e.g., a painful symptom) or disability (i.e., impairment in one or more
important areas of functioning) or with a significantly increased risk of suffering death, pain,
disability, or an important loss of freedom. In addition, this syndrome or pattern must not
be merely an expectable and culturally sanctioned response to a particular event, such as the
death of a loved one.Whatever its original cause, itmust currently be considered amanifestation
of a behavioral, psychological, or biological dysfunction in the individual. Neither deviant
128 PART I I : ASSESSMENT
behavior (e.g., political, religious, or
sexual) nor conflicts that are primarily
between the individual and
society aremental disorders unless
the deviance or conflict is a symptomof
a dysfunction in the individual,
as described above (American
Psychiatric Association, 1994,
pp. xxi–xxii).
Who created this definition, as
well as the specific diagnostic categories
that fill the bulk of the current
DSM? Many people played
significant roles, but the most significant
were those on the Task
Force on DSM-IV (American
Psychiatric Association, 1994).
This group consisted largely of
leading researchers in various specialty areas within psychopathology who were selected
for their scholarship and expertise in their respective fields. It is noteworthy that this task
force consisted primarily of psychiatrists, and a relatively small number of psychologists
and other mental health professionals were included. Moreover, the DSM-IV and all previous
editions of the DSM have been published by the American Psychiatric Association (as
opposed to the American Psychological Association). Thus, although the DSM has been used
extensively by clinical psychologists and a wide range of other nonmedical mental health
professionals (social workers, counselors, etc.), the authors who have had the most significant
impact on its contents are medical doctors. So it should come as no surprise that the
DSM reflects a medical model of psychopathology in which each disorder is an entity
defined categorically and features a list of specific symptoms. (We discuss these aspects of
DSM disorders in more detail later in this chapter.)
Besides their profession, what else do we know about the primary authors of the
DSM? The first edition of the DSM, published in 1952, was created by the foremost mental
health experts of the time, who were almost exclusively white, male, trained in psychiatry,
at least middle age, and at least middle class. Especially with the most recent
revisions of the DSM, deliberate efforts have been made to include more diversity
among the contributors. In spite of this forward progress, some have remained critical:
“The designers of the DSM-III and DSM-III-R (and to a lesser extent the fourth edition and
the text revision) were still predominantly senior White male psychiatrists who embedded
the document with their biases” (Malik & Beutler, 2002, pp. 5–6). As we will explore
later in this chapter, the culture and values of those who define mental disorders can
play an influential role in the definitions they produce.

mental disorder A syndrome (cluster of abnormal

behaviors) occurring within an individual that
is associated with distress, disability, or increased
risk of problems.
mental illness A large class of frequently observed
syndromes that comprise certain abnormal behaviors
or features.

Difference Between Mental Illness and Mental Disorder

Labeling a mental condition as a disorder or illness is quite controversial and tricky since both the
terms can be used interchangeably. However, some people suggest the cause of that particular
condition to differentiate mental illness and mental disorder.

Cause
Mental Illness: mental illness occurs as a result of an abnormal or disturbed chemicals in the
brain, like neurotransmitters.
Mental Disorder: Mental disorders occur due to an abnormality in the normal functioning of the
brain.
However, in summary, defining a mental illness over a mental disorder is quite tricky since they
are used as general terms for all the conditions which involve abnormalities in the brain, resulting
in changes in feelings, emotions, personality and behavior.

Axis I The diagnostic axis of the DSM-IV-TR that

identifies all of the clinical disorders that are
present, except for the personality disorders and
mental retardation.
Axis II The diagnostic axis of the DSM-IV-TR
that indicates the presence of personality disorders
or mental retardation.
Axis III The diagnostic axis of the DSM-IV-TR
that identifies current medical conditions that may
be relevant to the conceptualization or treatment
of the disorders diagnosed on Axes I and II.
Axis IV The diagnostic axis of the DSM-IV-TR
that specifies any psychosocial or environmental
problems relevant to diagnosis, treatment, and
prognosis.
Axis V The diagnostic axis of the DSM-IV-TR
that provides a numerical index of the individual’s
overall level of functioning.

What is the difference between an employee

and a worker?

Employee or Worker?
This checklist explains the significance of the distinction between an employee, a worker and a self-
employed contractor and also highlights the legal status of volunteers.

Employee status
An employee is an individual who has entered into or works (or worked) under the terms of a
contract of employment. The contract can be expressly agreed (in writing or orally) or implied by the
nature of the relationship. To have employee status:

 An individual must be obliged to do the work personally (rather than being able to send a
substitute).
 The employer needs to be obliged to provide the work and the employee is obliged to accept
the work.
 The employer needs to have some control over the way the employee carries out the work.
Worker status
Worker status is sometimes seen as a “half-way house” between employee and self-employed
status. Workers are entitled to fewer statutory rights than employees, but do have some key legal
rights, including:

 Protection from discrimination.

  Protection against unlawful deduction from wages.
 Entitlement to the national minimum wage.
 Self-employed status
 The self-employed enjoy no statutory employment rights (although they may be protected by
discrimination law).
What is the significance of the distinction?
Legal protections
Some core legal protections only apply to employees, for example the right:

 Not to be unfairly dismissed.

 To receive a statutory redundancy payment.
Health and safety
Employers owe employees statutory health and safety protection. Self-employed contractors may
not be covered under these duties, although they will be covered under an employer’s occupier’s
liability.

TUPE transfers
Only employees will be automatically transferred to any purchaser of the employer’s business under
a TUPE transfer.

Tax
An employer is responsible for deducting tax and national insurance at source (PAYE) from the
salary paid to employees. Self-employed individuals are responsible for paying their own tax and
national insurance under self-assessment.

Insurance
An employer must take out employer’s liability insurance to cover the risk of employees injuring
themselves at work. Self-employed contractors are unlikely to be covered by this type of insurance.

Liability
An employer is liable for acts done by an employee in the course of their employment. This type of
liability is unlikely to extend to self-employed contractors.

Legal status of volunteers

The legal status of volunteers is not clear cut, as there is a vast range of different types of
relationships, from the purely voluntary to those that are clearly contractual and those in between,
which are difficult to define. This ambiguity makes it difficult for organisations taking on volunteers to
appreciate any legal obligations that they may owe them.

Practical tips for reducing the risk of a legally binding contract

Organisations can reduce the risk of creating a legally binding contract with volunteers by:

 Avoiding making payments to volunteers that could be construed as wages. Payments to cover
actual expenses should be clearly identified as such and ideally reimbursed against receipts.
 Removing, or at least minimising, any perks that could be could be regarded as remuneration.
 Reducing obligations on the part of the volunteer (for example, give the volunteer the ability to
refuse tasks and choose when to work).
 Avoiding using language that makes the arrangement sound contractual and adopting flexible
language, such as “usual” and “suggested”.
 Treating volunteers fairly. Having clear procedures for dealing with problems and grievances
should help reduce the likelihood of disputes with volunteers.
What is the difference between wages and salary?
You should be aware that some people use the
terms wages and salary interchangeably. I and many others make the
following distinction.

Wages is best associated with employee compensation based on the

number of hours worked multiplied by an hourly rate of pay. For
example, an employee working in an assembly plant might work 40
hours during the work week. If the person's hourly rate of pay is $15, the
employee will receive a paycheck showing gross wages of $600 (40 x
$15). If the employee had worked only 30 hours during that week, her or
his paycheck will show gross wages of $450 (30 x $15). Because the
paycheck needs to be computed based on the actual hours worked, the
employee earning wageswill likely receive her or his paycheck five days
after the work period.

Salary is best associated with employee compensation quoted on an

annual basis. For example, the manager of the assembly plan might earn
a salary of $120,000 per year. If the salaried manager is paid semi-
monthly (perhaps on the 15th and last day of each month), her or his
paycheck will show gross salary of $5,000 for the half-month. Since the
salary is the same amount for each pay period, the salaried employee's
paycheck will likely cover the work period through the date of the
paycheck.

Generally, the hourly-paid employees will earn wages at the rate of time
and one-half for the hours in excess of 40 per week.
The salaried employees in high pay positions are not likely to receive
additional pay for the hours in excess of 40 per week. However,
employees with low salaries are entitled to overtime pay. (In the U.S. see
your state's laws and the federal wage and hour laws.)
Management prerogative
19 October 2016

Management

The law recognizes the employer’s highly discretionary right to manage all aspects of
employment. Management prerogative is that wide freedom of the management “to
regulate, according to its own discretion and judgment, all aspects of employment, including
hiring, work assignments, working methods, time, place and manner of work, processes to
be followed, supervision of workers, working regulations, transfer of employees, work
supervision, lay off of workers and discipline, dismissal and recall of workers.”[1]
This right is tempered only by these limitations: that it must be exercised in good faith and
with due regard to the rights of the employees.[2] So long as the latter two are observed,
the employer has the right to regulate every aspect of employment.
Management prerogative is generally exercised by managers. Managerial employees are
those “vested with the powers or prerogatives to lay down and execute management
policies and/or to hire, transfer, suspend, lay-off, recall, discharge, assign or discipline
employees.”[3]
To be considered managers by law, the managerial employees have to meet all of the
following conditions:[4]

 Their primary duty consists of the management of the establishment in which they
are employed or of a department or subdivision thereof;
 They customarily and regularly direct the work of two or more employees therein;
and
 They have the authority to hire or fire other employees of lower rank; or their
suggestions and recommendations as to hiring and firing and as to the promotion or
any other change of status of other employees are given particular weight

Management prerogative may be exercised by the employer and his representatives,

including managerial employees.
*Comment or feedback: info@jdpconsulting.ph

1987 Constitutional Provisions on Labor

POSTED BY ATTY. ARNEL D. MATEO ⋅ MAY 1, 2013

FILED UNDER 1987 CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS ON LABOR

The 1987 Philippine Constitution, the supreme law of the land, mandates the protection of labor and the
promotion of their welfare. It provides the fundamental labor standards and labor relations rights of the
employees. The constitutional provisions on labor are provided under Articles II, III, IX-B, and XIII as
follows:

Article II, DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES AND STATE POLICIES

Section 9. The State shall promote a just and dynamic social order that will ensure the prosperity and
independence of the nation and free the people from poverty through policies that provide adequate
social services, promote full employment, a rising standard of living, and an improved quality of life for
all.

Section 10. The State shall promote social justice in all phases of national development.

Section 18. The State affirms labor as a primary social economic force. It shall protect the rights of
workers and promote their welfare.

Section 20. The State recognizes the indispensable role of the private sector, encourages private
enterprise, and provides incentives to needed investments.

ARTICLE III, BILL OF RIGHTS

Section 1. No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor shall
any person be denied the equal protection of the laws.

Section 8. The right of the people, including those employed in the public and private sectors, to form
unions, associations, or societies for purposes not contrary to law shall not be abridged.

Article IX-B, THE CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION

Section 2.

3. No officer or employee of the civil service shall be removed or suspended except for cause provided by
law.

5. The right to self-organization shall not be denied to government employees.

6. Temporary employees of the Government shall be given such protection as may be provided by law.

ARTICLE XIII, SOCIAL JUSTICE AND HUMAN RIGHTS

Section 3. The State shall afford full protection to labor, local and overseas, organized and unorganized,
and promote full employment and equality of employment opportunities for all.

It shall guarantee the rights of all workers to self-organization, collective bargaining and negotiations,
and peaceful concerted activities, including the right to strike in accordance with law. They shall be
entitled tosecurity of tenure, humane conditions of work, and a living wage. They shall also participate
in policy and decision-making processes affecting their rights and benefits as may be provided by law.

The State shall promote the principle of shared responsibility between workers and employers and the
preferential use of voluntary modes in settling disputes, including conciliation, and shall enforce their
mutual compliance therewith to foster industrial peace.
The State shall regulate the relations between workers and employers, recognizing the right of labor to its
just share in the fruits of production and the right of enterprises to reasonable returns to investments,
and to expansion and growth.

Section 14. The State shall protect working women by providing safe and healthful working conditions,
taking into account their maternal functions, and such facilities and opportunities that will enhance their
welfare and enable them to realize their full potential in the service of the nation.

DEFINITION of 'Independent Contractor'

An independent contractor is a self-employed taxpayer who controls his own
employment circumstances, including when and how work is done. Independent
contractors are not considered employees, and they must pay their own Social
Security and Medicare taxes. It is up to the payer to correctly classify each payee as
either an independent contractor or an employee.

When is there labor-only contracting? Article 106 of the Labor Code of the Philippines defines
“labor-only” contracting as follows:

There is “labor-only” contracting where the person supplying workers to an employer does not have
substantial capital or investment in the form of tools, equipment, machineries, work premises, among others,
and the workers recruited and placed by such person are performing activities which are directly related to
the principal business of such employer. In such cases, the person or intermediary shall be considered merely
as an agent of the employer who shall be responsible to the workers in the same manner and extent as if the
latter were directly employed by him.
Labor Standards and Labor Relations
19 October 2016

Benefits, Work Conditions

Labor laws are primarily governed by the Labor Code of the Philippines (P.D. 442) and
subsequently reinforced by the 1987 Philippine Constitution. In addition thereto, there are
special laws, implementing rules, regulations, and jurisprudence, which likewise serve as
the legal framework for all incidents of employment.[1]
In general, labor laws are divided into two main categories: (a) labor standards and (b) labor
relations.[2]
Labor standards refer to the legally prescribed minimum requirements concerning terms
and conditions of employment, wages, monetary and welfare benefits, as well as
occupational, safetery, and health standards.[3]
Labor relations pertain to the legal framework governing the individual and collective
bargaining or interaction between employers and employees, including their attendant rights
and duties.[4]

A labor standard is the amount of labor time that is expected for the completion of a task. It is
sometimes referred to as the standard labor rate. The labor standard concept is used when
planning how many employees to assign to a task, which is part of the budgeting and planning
processes. For example, a company may conclude that, given the amount of a labor standard, it
must maintain production through three shifts to ensure that a sufficient number of units are
produced to meet the requirements of the sales forecast.

Also, a labor standard can be used to judge the performance of employees, which may be linked
to bonus and retention plans. For example, if an employee can produce more than 10 units per
hour, she will receive a bonus. Conversely, someone who cannot reliably produce at least eight
units per hour after a suitable training period will be let go or be required to take additional
training.

A profit margin can be added to a labor standard to arrive at a billing rate that is charged to a
customer. For example, a print shop could apply a standard hourly rate to a job to arrive at a
quote for a customer order.

A labor standard can be based on a theoretical standard, which is the absolute best efficiency
level that can possibly be achieved. However, real-world results are nearly always worse than
 the theoretical standard, so this approach is not usually recommended. A better alternative is to
derive a labor standard that incorporates a modest stretch goal that can reasonably be attained
with some targeted process improvements.

Labor standards are frequently used to develop labor variances. In particular, the amount of
time stated in a standard is compared to the amount of actual labor experienced, which results in
a labor efficiency variance. Or, the standard cost associated with a labor standard is compared
to the actual labor cost incurred, which results in a labor rate variance.

The quantity assigned to a labor standard can be difficult to derive, since it involves
assumptions regarding the work environment, employee training levels and experience, the
repetitiveness of production, and other factors. This analysis is usually made by an industrial
engineer as the result of an on-site review of the current process. Because of the many factors
involved, actual performance against labor standards can result in quite substantial variances.

A labor standard for a complex process may include a number of individual labor standards that
are compiled into a comprehensive labor routing. The labor routing itemizes the stages of work
involved in the process, and the labor required for each stage. This information can be used for
a variety of purposes, including:

 Labor hiring plans

 Cost accounting for the value of ending inventory and the cost of goods sold
 Manufacturing process flow planning
 Labor performance analysis

The cost of a labor standard includes not just the labor rate per hour of the labor classification
assumed to be involved in the work, but also the employer-paid portion of payroll taxes and any
related employee benefits.

A strong case can be made against the use of labor standards, since they tend to focus
employees on working faster, rather than producing error-free work at somewhat lower unit
production volumes.