Complexities of Normal Behavior

A “normal person” can be considered many different things, depending on the viewpoint of the person. Often times one would consider a “normal person” to be a person without any sort of mental illness. A normal person is someone who adapts to the norms and standards of society.

What is normal? Normal, like the word love, has no true definition and will differ with every person you ask. Defined in the dictionary normal is “to conform to a particular standard” or “desired pattern”. I believe most people will say a normal person is one whom is free from defect, handicap and mental illness. Medicalization is a social process through which a previously normal human condition whether is be behavioral, physiological or emotional, becomes a medical problem in need of treatment. For example, not long ago being a shy person, “being reserved or having or showing nervousness or timidity in the company of other people”, was common and something most people experienced at some points in their lives. However, now shyness

Despite the fact that we like to think we have a free choice in our individuality, normalcy is forced through the constant pressure from society around us. In conforming, we receive advantages such as jobs, money, affection, all of which originate from conforming to the normalities of our society. In conforming, we try to satisfy others but not ourselves in fear of rejection. In our desperate attempts to please others, we often lose a part of ourselves in the process. Being deemed normal in society is a major part of everyone 's lives and the abnormal are usually excluded from the public eye. In this paper I will prove how the forced sense of normalcy is ingrained into our minds even if we believe that we are free.

The question of what it means to be labelled ‘psychologically abnormal’ is examined closely in Rosenhans study of ‘On Being Sane in Insane Places’. This study highlights the usefulness and consequences of being diagnostically labelled.

Abnormal behavior relates to the influence of psychological factors, biological factors as well as the social factors referring to inadequate relationships. In the face of diverse definition, abnormal behavior refers to the deviating from norm, which norm is the typical behavior or characteristic of the population. As such, Jim behavior is abnormal because it violates moral and conventional mores of the society (Violates societal standards), as such causing social discomfort to others. For instance, Jim fails to recognize the social cues in conversation thereby annoying other interlocutors. Jim is this case is behaving in a manner counterproductive to his own well being by

When we say normal, we take in to mind what we see on TV and in magazines. TV plays the biggest part in our country's depiction of normal because pretty much every household has a television. If you asked majority of Americans what their idea of a normal family was, they would probably describe something similar to my family; two married parents, a few children, living in a ranch style house, in a middle class neighborhood. Even though this is our idea of normal, it really doesn't seem that way anymore. TV families are changing, and fewer "normal" families can be seen on today's sitcoms. The divorce rate is always getting higher, more and more families are moving into brand new subdivisions, and getting away from the normal seems to be the thing to do these days. I think that the vision of "normal" is slowly changing, mainly because the middle-class families are changing. To me, middle-class and normal go hand in hand.

The author, Leslie Fiedler writes about the differences in what it means to be normal. She discusses this in a professional manner that opens eyes to what we have disguised and even been ashamed of. “The Tyranny of the Normal,” we learn much about what we perceive as abnormal and what society seems to portray normal as. We discover what we believe is normal and also what has changed through-out the history of this subject. Our minds are opened and exposed to the world of abnormalities and how we see them.

When using this approach to define abnormality you would first have to consider what is normal behaviour for that particular culture otherwise a person could be incorrectly diagnosed as abnormal. Cultural differences are also a problem for the 'Failure to Function Adequately' definition of abnormality. This classification of abnormality involves a person who conforms to their 7 characteristics of the abnormal as having ill mental health. Examples of these characteristics are vividness, unconventionality and observer discomfort.

The term ‘abnormal’ means deviating from the average. Therefore, if we were to adopt a literal approach to defining abnormality, we would conclude that any rare behaviour or ability was abnormal. This, however, is not a useful way of defining abnormality as it doesn’t take into account whether or not the behaviour is desirable. There are three ways of defining abnormality; deviation from

Normality is a word that describes the common behaviour in society. It is always different depending on society and how it depicts its “norm”. In the book “Feed” by M.T Anderson and the film “Wall-E” directed by Andrew Stanton, normality is a vast concept that supports the development of the plot and the characters. Normality is impacted by the internet due to technology and the advertisements the characters see. Furthermore, in both worlds normality is influenced by conformity in their society and since nobody wants to be the “odd one out”, everyone confines to be the same. However, in both worlds, there is no real normal as it is constantly changing depending on the behaviour of society. In both texts, everyone

What constitutes normal and abnormal is not universally agreed upon, but there are certain criteria to consider when evaluating abnormalities, which was pointed out in Rosenhan (1973). However, he questions the standards of sanity in society and the system that diagnoses the abnormal. One of the primary research questions looks at if a psychiatric diagnosis is reflective of the person or the environment. To attempt to answer this, 8 people (pseudopatients) with no history of mental issues checked themselves into a psychiatric hospital under the pretense that they were hearing voices. After they were admitted, they

According to the text, abnormality can be defined by comparing the behavior of the person in question to a set of criteria. This set of

For many years scientists, including doctors, psychologists, and psychiatrists, have been interested in trying to understand human behaviour, in particular behaviour that is described as being ‘abnormal’. It is difficult to define ‘abnormal’ in terms of behaviour because there are many differing descriptions which have radically changed over the years. ‘Abnormal’ behaviour is widely categorised as being persistent and in a serious degree contrary to the continued wellbeing of the individual and/or the surrounding community. Cultural beliefs and expectations determine which behaviour patterns are deemed as being ‘abnormal’.

In all aspects of the lives we live, normal can not ever be defined as a single idea. If normal is such a thing at all, it is a subjective opinion and can only be defined on an individual level. Everything we interpret is relative to our upbringing and our environment. Not one person had the same upbringing or lived in the same environment as another person for even siblings who have lived together their whole lives have different nurturing experiences. The differentiation between normal and abnormal is a topic of much debate. The meaning of normality varies in many ways such as by person, time, place, situation, culture and set of values. Normality is usually seen as good and desirable by society and what society thinks while abnormality may be seen as bad or undesirable (Boundless).

Abnormal behavior was once viewed as an embarrassment to society. Those who suffered from a mental illness or displayed abnormal behavior were locked away and never spoken of. Today abnormal behavior is viewed much differently. With the study of psychology and the help of the medical field, abnormal behavior has become better understood. This essay will discuss the major theories for the cause of abnormal behavior, how abnormal behavior is diagnosed and what type of behavioral issues are related to abnormal behavior.