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| The study of abnormal psychology; the study of people who suffer mental, emotional, and often physical pain as a result of some form of psychological or mental disorder |
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| circumstances surrounding a behavior that influence whether a behavior is viewed as abnormal |
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| expectations for the behavior of an individual based on his or her gender |
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| Whether a behavior can be viewed as abnormal or wrong. This often depends on the context. Other standards may be the discomfort caused, the maladaptivness of a behavior, or the presence of mental illness. |
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there are no universal standards or rules for labeling a behavior as abnormal, instead, a behavior can only be abnormal when compared to local cultural norms.
Dangers can arise when societal norms are allowed to dictate what is normal. An example of this is Hitler and the Jews |
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| Behaviors that are unusual or rare are considered abnormal. This depends, in part, on cultural norms. This criterion is also somewhat subjective to diagnose and some rare behaviors can be positive for an individual (ie Gifted). |
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A criterion for abnormality where behaviors are considered abnormal only if the individual suffers discomfort and wants to be rid of the behaviors. However, people are not always aware of the problems the behaviors create for themselves or others.
This has, however, led to the removal of homosexuality from the list of abnormalities. |
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This implies that there is a clear, identifiable physical process that makes people differ from healthy. The abnormality results, in theory, from an illness or disease.
Unfortunately, there is not biological test for mental illnesses, and illnesses are, today, simply a label for a set of symptoms. |
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| This method is used my the majority of clinicians in the field. Feelings that are "maladaptive," cause people to suffer distress and prevent them from functioning in daily life and so are considered abnormal. Additionally, the label "maladaptive" is generally reserved for behaviors and feelings that are highly unusual or deviant. |
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| The 3Ds can be used to remember the components of maladaptiveness. They are dysfunction, distress, and deviance. |
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