Abnormality in Psychology

Abnormality in Psychology
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Abnormality in Psychology
Criteria Defining Abnormality
Sources identify that the most outstanding criterion for abnormality is the violation of social norms and expectations. Such violation mat constitutes doing or engaging in activities that people or the society deems irresponsible and uncalled for (Davis, 2013). However, in this criteria, both age and culture play a crucial role in substantiating it as a criterion for abnormality. For example, when a forty-year-old man strips his clothes and jumps inside a fountain, it is a case of psychological abnormality – but when a seven-or a ten-year-old does the same, it can be understood. Hence, violation of social norms depends on culture and age. The second criteria for defining abnormality is a statistical rarity. Persons with extremely low intellectual quotient levels may possibly be classified with mental retardation. Such people are very rare and do not fit into the larger population of people (Davis, 2013). Personal emotions or distress is gradually emerging as a standard measure of abnormal behavior. For example, by suffering from excessive-compulsive disorders, the abnormal people are likely to engage in very unlike and strange activities to relieve the compulsion or distress.
Advantages and Demerits of Using Various Defining Criteria for Abnormality
The limitation with using the violation of social norms as a measure of abnormality is that…