Social Norm Of Abnormality

Have you ever wondered why we hold the doors for those behind us? How about the reason we use utensils when we eat? What about why we always stand facing the doors in the elevator? These are all examples of what are known as social norms. According to Dr. Ward social norms are “basic rules of society that help people know what is and is not appropriate to do in any situation.” These basic rules of society are usually unwritten and unspoken and many of us pick up on them over time. Although, some social norms are very common throughout many cultures, there is a lot of them that vary depending on which culture you are apart of. For example, here in America, a major social norm that we have is when eating, the polite thing to do is to use spoons and forks, instead of digging in with your hands. For instance, we would not eat spaghetti with our hands but we would use a fork. In some Thiland cultures it is considered rude to put most foods in your mouth with a fork. Then there is also some cultures such as Chile in which it is impolite to use your hands for anything, even foods such as french fries, they use forks while eating.

Self-pity and pessimistic attitudes remain a topic of discussion with a mentally ill patient, however the more valuable picture revolves around the stigma that the public holds towards those with a mental illness. Unrun Ozer, member of International Committee of National Journal Editors, acknowledges that, “Stigmatization is described as attributing someone in a way that would decrease the person’s reputation because the individual strays away from the general norms of the society” ( 225). Ozer clarifies that a stigma is an unfavorable viewpoint that society has on someone that is perceived as different. Those with a mental illness are susceptible to vulnerability because they are at a small disadvantage than the normal person. Negative connotations, such as adverse viewpoints and perplexing labels, affect the care and treatment process of those suffering because their compliance to treatment decreases. Society is too quick to judge and be ignorant if someone isn’t in perfect form, and Ozer reports, “ It has been reported that individuals with mental illnesses are seen by the society as dangerous, frightening, unstable, irresponsible, unpredictable, and having communication problems” (Ozer 225). Ozer declares that these labels are degrading to an individual with a mental illness, and cause feelings of introversion, decreased self-confidence, worthlessness, shame and despair. If we want happiness to be achievable for all, then criticizing individuals is a step in the wrong

The most challenging aspect of this clinical situation was that the client always wants to run away from us as soon as he believes he is doing fine and does not need to be with the nurses. It was hard to deal with a client who loves to seek attention, as soon as he gets a hold of the nurse and gets what he wants, he just wanted to run away from the nurse. Working with a client with such behaviours, I would wonder if I, as a nurse was taking too long to provide the care that he receives every day from other nurses. I wanted to make sure that the client’s condition is stable, as Canadian Nurses Association (2008) stated one of the nursing values and ethical responsibilities is that “[n]urses work with people to enable them to attain their highest possible level of health and well-being” (p. 10). It was my responsibility to make sure my client’s

Within the last few weeks I decided to take part and violate a social norm. Recently I decided to switch out the hard drive in my iMac so the performance would improve on it. I invited my close friend over to keep my company and if he wanted to help he could. He is not too computer savvy as I am, which lead to numerous questions. As he opened the flood gate and started firing questions at me I start to stand close to him. After his third question I moved from one spot and move a lot closer to him. I not sure how far we were from each other, but I started to feel uncomfortable myself as I am sure he was wondering what in the world was going on. He reacted by leaning backwards in the opposite direction and then just flat out told me that I was

I will violate a social norm of attire by wearing formal attire to school, a place where casual clothing is worn. I will violate the norm by wearing a blouse, a big fancy skirt and heels to school. The clothes I will wear will be different from my usual attire. The norm acts as a mechanism of social control, because it will be unpredictable and unexpected. In my school people typically wear clothing like jeans, leggings and casual dresses so I will be going against social norms. Normally people do not wear the clothing that I will be wearing.

) Before I violated this norm, I felt perfectly fine riding elevators because I knew what was acceptable and appropriate. While I was violating the norm, I felt extremely uncomfortable and embarrassed because I knew better, but this was my assignment and I had to do it. After I violated this norm, I understood more about folkways because I experienced them first hand. It was extremely difficult for me to violate the fourth Way in front of strangers, but simple in front of my friends because that is my personality.

I was feeling a little more confident so I immediately stood about two-and-a-half feet away from him. He glanced at me at first, but did not say anything. Another customer and asked, “Do you mind if I just reach across you to grab that?” It was clear that the customer assumed we were together. When the other customer walked away, the subject stepped about a foot away from me. I casually stepped closer to him, as if I were following him. He then asked me, “Did you need to get over here?” I replied, “No, I’m OK” and continued to browse the section. He seemed very intimidated by my presence, though he had a very strong outward appearance, and spoke with firm, assertive tone. He finally grabbed his item, and then gave me a quick head nod and grimace goodbye. I followed him to the checkout line. When we approached the line, I was standing less than two feet behind him. He looked back and said, “It’s OK, you can go ahead of me.” As soon as I stepped in front, he moved approximately 4 feet away from me.

Unfortunately the stigma that has been placed on person with mental illnesses, serves as the barrier force for what keeps the patients from ever seeking help to correct or alleviate their disease. In their article, The Power of Language and Labels: “The Mentally Ill” Versus “People With Mental Illnesses,” Darcy Haag Granello and Todd A. Gibbs found that, “28% of the U.S. adult population has a diagnosable mental condition, only about 8% of these people actually seek treatment.” Granello and Gibbs identify this low turnout of people as a direct result of Americans low level of tolerance towards mental illnesses, as well as Americans general discomfort with people struck by mental illness, which ends up demonstrating Americans revulsion towards mental illnesses. Humans, being primarily social creatures, depend on social interactions and feelings of connectedness in order to properly assimilate into society. In order to properly assimilate into society, it is imperative that human beings are able to read social cues and establish a sense of social values, when a person discovers that mental illnesses results in negative social cues that person will naturally strive to ensure they are free of mental illnesses – fearing that if someone discovers that they have a mental illness, they too, will

In a matter of time, women will eventually attain the same status as men in terms of social deviance and criminality. It can be broken down into positive and negative context based on society and people's perception. For example, as the world becomes progressive women will try to retain more power or will seek more power. But it will make them to violate social norms which will label women as criminal. History shows us that time to time our powerful women figure did violet laws in their timeperiod to prove a point. For example one hand Margaret Sanger was seen as a criminal during her time since she initatited the idea of birth control. Other hand there was Razor gang leader Matilda Devine from Austrilia who had over 79 convictions. She begin

Sociologists study human's social lives, interactions, processes, and organizations within their daily contact with social, political, and economic influences. Through numerous amount of theories they observe how social influences affect particular groups or individuals. This can and has created public controversy called a social problem. This is a condition that undermines the well-being of some or all members of society. Usually, these problems are a result of social norms that assume a standard behavior and quota for 7.4 billion people to acknowledge and abide by. For example, the source of deviance is found within the social structure. Society plays a major role in creating and sustaining deviance by labeling those viewed as abnormal.

Worldwide, mental health challenges are the leading cause of Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) and account for 37% of healthy life years lost from Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) (WHO, 2011a). Among the 43 million individuals living with a mental health challenge in the U.S., an average of 40-60% do not receive adequate mental health care, if any at all (SAMHSA, 2015). Research has shown and continues to reveal that the stigma of mental health remains one of, if not the most significant barrier to mental health treatment (Corrigan et al., 2014). The purpose of this paper will be to discuss the philosophical framework missing from mental health education, while shedding light upon how this approach could significantly impact mental health care attitudes, beliefs, access and treatment. This is an important topic because stigma not only affects how providers treat their clients, but it also impacts greater occupational, cultural and societal views on mental health challenges, and in turn, the individual suffering from mental health challenges. Additionally, continuing to neglect this issue perpetuates a façade among mental health educators and practitioners, of a unidimensional high-ground, dismissive of the fact that mental health providers are erroneous humans.

Norms are found everywhere in our society, whether we know it or not. In sociology, norms are social expectations that guide behavior. Norms explain why people do what they do in given situations. For example, in the classroom, students are expected to sit in their desk and participate in a class discussion or pay attention to the lesson at hand. Violating these norms is considered deviant or in other words, rude or unusual.

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).

The sociocultural model suggests that abnormal behavior is the result of broad forces influencing an individual (Comer, 2015). By using this approach, the therapist is equipped to help Sara understand her irrational thoughts, atypical behaviors, and overall degree of abnormal functioning. Whilst, emphasizing the family-social and multicultural perspectives; a main tenet in facilitating individual experiences in sociocultural therapy. Taking into account, Sara’s traditional Japanese customs and values, coupled with cultural sensitivities and the norm within her respective society (Comer, 2015). Thus, in understanding Sara, the therapist should first focus on her awareness of familial hardships or stress since moving to the United States, helping Sara to identify and express any degree of unhappiness or discomfort.

I really enjoyed your response because you covered many important aspects of this model, while briefly discussing others, as well. Although I also think that no model can completely and only explain abnormality, I too believe that the sociocultural model is an excellent and logical model to explain how seemingly abnormal behaviors, thoughts, and feelings are developed, and what causes them. This model attributes mostly environmental and situational factors as being the leading cause of these behaviors that defy average expectations and standards of normal behavior, or like you mentioned, lack of these forces. This model also seems to incorporate the humanistic model that attributes parenting as another leading force. I really enjoy your example