Read the passage and answer the following questions:
Rajan, a grade XII student, has been aspiring for medicine as a career. He has gone through a lot of challenges on the family- front, like moving into a new house, serious health issues, financial setbacks etc. Suddenly, a week before his entrance examination, he experienced numbness on the left side of his body and within the next few days he was unable to move entirely. He was hospitalized and couldn't appear for the entrance exam. Doctors did not find any physiological anomalies in his medical reports but identified psychological causes of the problem. Later, he recovered and is now pursuing his graduation.
Identify which of the 4D's was not predominantly present in Rajan's condition?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Danger
The four Ds are the common features of most definitions of abnormality: psychological disorders are deviant, distressing, dysfunctional and possibly dangerous. Rajan’s condition is checked against each.
Option (1) Dysfunction — Present (Incorrect). Dysfunction means the disorder interferes with the person’s ability to carry out daily activities. Rajan could not move, was hospitalised and could not appear for his entrance examination.
Option (2) Deviance — Present (Incorrect). Deviant behaviour is different, extreme or unusual. Losing all movement with no physical cause is far from usual.
Option (3) Distress — Present (Incorrect). Distress means the condition is unpleasant and upsetting to the person and to others. Being paralysed and missing the examination he had aimed at for years upset Rajan and his family.
Option (4) Danger — Not predominantly present (Correct). Danger means the behaviour is possibly dangerous to the person or to others. Nothing in the passage shows Rajan harming himself or anyone else, and he later recovered and is pursuing his graduation.
NCERT (2025-26): “Concepts of Abnormality and Psychological Disorders … Although many definitions of abnormality have been used over the years, none has won universal acceptance. Still, most definitions have certain common features, often called the ‘four Ds’: deviance, distress, dysfunction and danger. That is, psychological disorders are deviant (different, extreme, unusual, even bizarre), distressing (unpleasant and upsetting to the person and to others), dysfunctional (interfering with the person’s ability to carry out daily activities in a constructive way), and possibly dangerous (to the person or to others).…” |