One of the most difficult and challenges faced by those in the field of abnormal psychology is to defined abnormal behavior. Consequently, abnormality is usually determined based on the presence of several characteristics of statistical infrequency, violation of norms personal distress, disability or dysfunction, and unexpectedness.
1) Statistical Infrequency:-
The normal curve or bell shaped curve, places majority of people in the middle as far as any characteristic is concerned and a very few people fall at center extremes. According to this curve a person is normal when he does not deviate much from the average in a particular trait or behavior pattern.
2) Violation of norms:-
Another characteristic to consider when determining abnormality is whether the behavior violate social norms or threatens or makes anxious to those observing it. For example:- Anti social behavior of a psychopath.
An obsessive- compulsive person’s complex rituals.
A psychotic patient’s conversation with imaginary voices.
However violation of norms explicitly makes abnormality a relative concept because various forms of unusual behavior can be tolerated depending upon the prevailing cultural norms. Example:- criminal and prostitutes violate social norms but are not studied within the domain of abnormal psychology.
Whereas a highly anxious person who does not violates any social norm but this behavior is bothersome to people who watch him.
3) Personal Distress:
Another characteristic of some forms of abnormality is personal suffering i.e .behavior is abnormal if it creates great distress in the person who is experiencing it.
Example:- people experiencing anxiety disorder and depression truly suffer greatly.
However some disorders do not involve distress. Example:- a psychopath treats other cold heartedly and may continue to violate the law without experiencing any guilt, remorse or anxiety.
4) Disability or Dysfunction:
Disability i.e. whether the individual is impaired in some important area of life. ( Example:- work or personal relationships ) because of the abnormality, it can also be component of abnormal behavior.
Example:-
- Substance abuse disorder ( i.e., poor work performance, serious arguments with spouse causes distress.
- A phobia causes both distress and disability.
5) Unexpectedness:
Not all distress and disability falls into the domain of abnormal psychology. There are considered abnormal only when they are unexpected response to environmental stress. Example:- An anxiety disorder is diagnosed when the anxiety is unexpected and its level is out of proportion to the situation.
Though all these key characteristic to define abnormal behavior does not yield satisfactory definition but together they offer a useful framework for beginning to define abnormality.
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