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Chapter 16
Psychological Disorders
What is abnormal behavior?
Psychologists typically identify abnormal
behavior based on a combination of the
following criteria:
Unusualness
Social deviance
Emotional Distress
Maladaptive Behavior
Dangerousness
Faulty perceptions/interpretations of reality
Unusualness
Behavior that is experienced by only a few
people may be abnormal, but not in all
cases.
Unusualness, by itself, is not enough to be
called abnormal.
Social Deviance
All societies establish social norms that
define socially acceptable behaviors.
Deviation from these norms is often used
as a criterion for labeling behavior as
abnormal.
The same behavior might be considered
abnormal in some contexts but acceptable
in others.
Emotional Distress
States of emotional distress, such as
anxiety or depression are considered
abnormal when:
Inappropriate
Excessive
Prolonged
(relative to the person’s situation)
Maladaptive Behavior
Behavior is maladaptive when:
it causes personal distress
is self-defeating
is associated with significant health or social
problems (alcohol or drug abuse)
Dangerousness
Violent or dangerous behavior
needs to be looked at in context
Faulty perceptions or interpretations
of reality
Hallucinations: distorted perceptions of
reality (seeing or hearing things that are
not real)
Delusions: Fixed but unfounded beliefs are
also distortions of reality (believing people
are plotting against you)
Cultural context must be considered
The cultural context in which behavior
occurs must also be evaluated when
making judgments about whether behavior
is abnormal.
Is this abnormal behavior?