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May 1, 2013 · Mental illnesses, or emotional illnesses, are disturbances of behavior and of feeling and thought. They are disorders of function that do not correspond readily to precise physical impairments...
Normal behavior refers to actions and thoughts that are considered typical and expected within a given society or cultural context. It aligns with societal norms, values, and expectations. On the other hand, abnormal behavior deviates from these norms and is considered atypical or unusual.
The phrases “normal” and “abnormal” are used to describe particular behaviours, sets of behaviours, or patterns of behaviours, as well as thoughts feelings and traits that may be biological or psychological. Normality and abnormality are determined by individual perception and societal norms, as well as by factors such as age, gender ...
- Learning aims
- CASE STUDY
- WHAT IS ABNORMAL BEHAVIOUR?
- EVALUATION IN CONTEXT
- MULTICULTURAL PERSPECTIVES
- MEDICAL DEFINITION
- CLASSIFICATION OF ABNORMAL BEHAVIOURS
- Statistical definition of abnormal behaviour
- ADAPTIVE AND MALADAPTIVE BEHAVIOUR
- DYSFUNCTION
- LEGAL DEFINITIONS
- CONCLUSION
- Summary
- Key terms
- Case study in focus
- Personal development
At the end of this chapter you should: Understand the complexity in distinguishing between abnormal and normal behaviour Understand the various definitions of abnormal behaviour Be familiar with the differences between deviance and dysfunction Comprehend the complexities of legal definitions and insanity. INTRODUCTION
Matt is a 42-year-old construction worker. He has been married for 20 years, has two nearly grown children, served four years in the military and has been employed at the same construction company since he left military service. He is described as steady and reliable. Yet, there is one thing that doesn’t seem quite right; he carries small brass bel...
What is abnormal behaviour? How do we define what is abnormal? We can identify behaviour that is ‘weird’ when we see it but how do we ‘define’ it. The majority of us avoid what we define for our-selves as ‘odd’ behaviour, for example we would probably choose not to sit next to someone acting in an odd fashion or dressed in odd clothing on a bus or ...
Abnormal behaviour must be evaluated in its context. All behaviour must be evaluated in terms of its time frame, social norms and rules that govern behaviour. We have expectations of how peo-ple should behave at public places. For example our expectation at a train station is that people should be orderly, fairly well dressed, clean and to wait pat...
Early research supported the idea of a cultural universality that defined abnormal behaviour. In other words, there was a well defined idea of what were normal patterns of behaviour that existed in spite of the differences in culture and these patterns were world wide. For example, if schizophrenia was a universal disorder that appeared in all cult...
A medical classification of abnormal behaviour describes the characterization by the presence of specific symptoms that define abnormality. Certain symptoms are the basis of determining whether an individual is experiencing an underlying disorder. There are two basic variations of the medi-cal definition that can be distinguished as either organica...
Why is it important to classify abnormal behaviour? Without a systematic structure each abnormal behaviour would have to be evaluated as a separate and distinct element, a decision would have to be reached whether or not the behaviour is abnormal and then whether it is problematic. Without a classification system patterns could not be established, ...
A statistical definition of abnormal behaviour is based upon the concept of the relative frequency of behaviours in a population. Abnormality could be defined as those behaviours that are relatively infrequent or are atypical of the population. A statistical definition would provide a definition based on behaviours that are numerically rare. Utiliz...
Another element of social definition and abnormal behaviour is adaptation. Adaptation is defined as a dynamic process between the attributes of an individual and their environment (Horwitz, 2004). Our environments are constantly changing requiring individuals to modify how they respond and react. Two elements that must be kept in balance are our pe...
Abnormal behaviour tends to be dysfunctional; that is, it interferes with daily functioning. It so dis-tracts or confuses people that they cannot care for themselves properly, take part in ordinary social interactions, or work productively. Dysfunction in an individual’s biological, mental and emotional states is often manifested in role performanc...
A legal definition of abnormal behaviour is used by the courts as a basis for their verdicts and is gen-erally of limited use outside of the judicial system. The definition of abnormal behaviour develops out of a need to determine mental disease and whether an individual should be held responsible for an illegal act. The definition of abnormal beha...
If we returned to our case study and applied the various definitions, the statistical definition would certainly place Matt’s behaviour in the abnormal range − it would be fairly uncommon for many middle-aged men to carry around brass bells to ward off evil spirits. In terms of making an evalua-tion from a medical definition Matt would not fit the ...
This chapter focused on defining abnormal behaviour from a variety of perspectives. The discussion involved various elements such as deviance, dangerousness, dysfunction and mala-daptive patterns of behaviour. The norms and rules of society were also discussed in terms of evaluating abnormal behaviour. A broad framework based on the various theoret...
Bell-shaped curve – in probability theory, is a con-tinuous distribution where random variables tend to cluster around a single mean value Conformity – the act of matching attitudes, beliefs and behaviours to a society Cultural relativism – the belief that lifestyles, cul-tural values and world views affect the expression and determination of abnor...
Discuss the various ways we would classify our case study of Matt. How would this be defined statistically? Could we define Matt’s behaviour in social terms? How could Matt’s behaviour be adaptive and therefore functional? What about the elements of deviance vs. dysfunction?
Investigate how society has used the term ‘abnormal’ to label and ostracize groups of individuals throughout history and how this term has been used to the detriment of individuals and our groups.
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Can we adequately define normal behavior? What about abnormal behavior? What aspects are part of the American Psychiatric Association’s definition of abnormal behavior? How costly is mental illness? What is abnormal psychology? What is psychopathology? How do we define mental disorders?
A psychological disorder is an ongoing dysfunctional pattern of thought, emotion, and behaviour that causes significant distress, and that is considered deviant in that person’s culture or society (Butcher, Mineka, & Hooley, 2007). Psychological disorders have much in common with other medical disorders.
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Oct 30, 2023 · ‘Abnormal’ behaviour could be defined as any behaviour which falls outside of accepted social norms e.g. not washing regularly; walking down the middle of the road rather than on the pavement; speaking in ungrammatical, incoherent sentences.
