Essay on "Personal View of Someone Being Abnormal"

Essay 4 pages (1334 words) Sources: 1

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Abnormality: Personal View

Personal View of Abnormality

An approach to abnormality begins with an exploration of normality. Abnormality can only be defined in opposition to normality. Put differently, the more normality is understood, the easier it becomes to distinguish clearly what is abnormal. In the field of psychology, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV TR) (2000) is an essential reference for considering what behaviors, thoughts, and feelings may be considered abnormal.

What does "normal" mean? It can mean the usual, the socially acceptable, the familiar, the predictable, the healthy, and such. What is important to notice is that all these categories are in general culturally determined. In other words, different cultures may have different assessments of what is usual, familiar, socially adaptive, predictable, and harmless. These norms are often dependent on alternative notions of morality. They are influenced by belief and value systems. In one culture, for example, it might be usual for women to avoid wearing shorts, while in a different culture it might be usual and common for women to practice wearing shorts. Surrounding these two different norms might be constellations of moral and social rules (traditions) that rely on competing worldviews. Normal behavior is socially reinforced. Breaking those rules and traditions can lead to negative punishment for abnormal behavior. In the one case, a woman who wears shorts might be punished, while in the opposite case a woman who does not wear shorts might be censured. The point is that "normal" is culture-specific and value-based much of the time. So any discussion of what is normal ought to be aware of the target culture that is being addressed. This ought to make one wary of applying any universal standard of normality/abnormality that risks being insensitive to cultural and moral nuances.

If we speak of behavior then, normal is behavior that is usual, socially acceptable, familiar, predictable, and harmless. This may be considered the rule. Any behavior that is unusual, socially maladaptive, unfamiliar, unpredictable, and dangerous is potentially abnormal. To judge whether or not someone's actions are abnormal, these criteria can be used with relative confidence. However, they are not failsafe. They are general guidelines that must be applied to a concrete situation cautiously with awareness of the full context. Take smoking cigarettes. While it is unhealthy, it may be usual, familiar, predictable, and socially acceptable. On its own, smoking does not typically fall into the category of abnormal. However, taking a lit cigarette and burning someone else with it may certainly be considered abnormal, even in societies where smoking is acceptable. What makes this behavior abnormal is that it is a violent infraction of the other person's body, provided the person is unwilling to suffer burning and there are no cultural traditions at play (such as a "burning festival" during whose time such normally prohibited behavior becomes specially sanctioned). What constitutes it as abnormal are the social rules about rights to protect one's own body from harm and moral strictures against violence and imposing one's will upon another. Should these rules be different in another culture, then the behavior may be deemed normal rather than abnormal. It is a matter of cultural perspective. It is also situational. In one culture, it may be deemed a form of just punishment to burn someone else for breaking a law. In such a case, the punishing behavior would be considered appropriate. Cultural context is of utmost importance for the determination of normal or abnormal action.

Normal can also mean the frequent. This assumes that how a majority of people in a society act, think, and feel is normal (usual, acceptable, familiar, and healthy). However, statistical evidence for what is normal can be misleading. Statistics do not always reflect changing social norms. For instance, smoking is less acceptable now than fifty years ago in the West. If a behavior falls statistically outside the norm, it is not necessarily abnormal in a psychological sense. Someone may engage in risky behavior more than most of the population,… READ MORE

How to Reference "Personal View of Someone Being Abnormal" Essay in a Bibliography

Related Essays:

Abnormal Psychology: Theories, Issues, Diagnosis Thesis

Abnormal Psychology: Theories, Issues, Diagnosis

Abnormal psychology: Definitions of abnormality

What is abnormal psychology? The concept of abnormal psychology implies a controversial question: what is normalcy? On the face of… read more

Thesis 8 pages (2437 words) Sources: 3 Style: APA Topic: Psychology / Behavior / Psychiatry

---

Abnormal Psychology Psychopathology Term Paper

Abnormal Psychology

Psychopathology

Discuss the criteria for abnormality and the meanings of psychological disorders, psychological dysfunction and "culturally expected" behaviors.

Abnormal psychology is the area devoted to the study of… read more

Term Paper 9 pages (2962 words) Sources: 1+ Topic: Psychology / Behavior / Psychiatry

---

Personal Religious Biography Journal

Personal Religious Biography

Growing up in a religious culture makes it virtually impossible for people to be unaffected by the religion supported in their community. My personal experience with religion… read more

Journal 6 pages (1781 words) Sources: 3 Topic: Religion / God / Theology

---

Abnormal and Film Narcissistic Personality Disorder Term Paper

Abnormal and Film

Narcissistic Personality Disorder in the Company of Men

Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) has been portrayed numerous times in the media. Playing on the image of the Greek… read more

Term Paper 7 pages (2755 words) Sources: 6 Topic: Psychology / Behavior / Psychiatry

---

Kinship and Gender Roles Being Born Term Paper

Kinship and Gender Roles

Being born in the 1920s offers a birds-eye-view of almost an entire century. Living through the Second World War, the Cold War, the Vietnam War, and… read more

Term Paper 4 pages (1233 words) Sources: 0 Topic: Women / Feminism

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>