Psy 202 Normal vs. Abnormal

PSY/202 Normal Vs. Abnormal

To me, “Normal is just a setting on the washing machine”. Who is to say what is normal or not? Society has taught us that speaking a certain way, looking a certain way and even feeling a certain way is what is acceptable and normal. Thoughts and beliefs have been fed to us for centuries. If I want to put mayonnaise on my hot dog, is that abnormal because society says mustard is what is considered to be normal? Normal is what makes you comfortable within yourself, within the confines of the law.

Abnormal behavior is defined as a deviation from the average, ideal, a sense of personal discomfort, the inability to function effectively, and legal conceptions. Abnormal behaviors are thought to be infrequent. There are not as many murderers and psychopaths out there as we have been led to believe by the media. Abnormal is statistically infrequent. The model for this states that very few people fall in to the extremes of behavior, so anything that is extreme, is therefore abnormal behavior. Two percent of the population have a very high IQ. This would be considered abnormal in the way of statistics. Depression is considered statistically frequent, but not considered to be a normal state of mind. Therefore, the statistical model does not actually give us much guidance in determining what is and isn't "abnormal" or "normal".

Violation of norms is another way to define abnormality. When determining whether behaviors are abnormal or not, we can consider whether it violates social norms or if it makes people observing it, feel anxious or not.

Psychoanalytic perspective argues that psychological disorders stem from childhood conflicts while the behavioral perspective assumes that abnormal behaviors are learned responses. Cognitive perspective assumes that peoples thoughts and beliefs are central to psychological disorders.