NORMAL VS ABNORMAL
DEFINITION:
NORMAL
adjective
1. conforming to a standard; usual, typical, or expected.
2.
noun
1. the usual, average, or typical state or condition.
2.
adjective
1.
conforming to the standard or the common type; usual; not abnormal;regular; natural.
2.
serving to establish a standard.
3.
Psychology.
a. approximately average in any psychological trait, as intelligence,personality, or emotional adjustment.
b. free from any mental disorder; sane.
What Do We Mean by 'Normal'?
It is time to rethink 'normal' and 'abnormal'
Published on November 15, 2011 by Eric R. Maisel, Ph.D. in Rethinking Psychology
It is past time that we rethink what we mean by the words "normal" and "abnormal" as those words apply to the mental and emotional states and behaviors of human beings. Indeed, it is a real question as to whether those words can be sensibly used at all, given their tremendous baggage and built-inbiases and the general confusion they create.
This is not an idle question without real-world consequences. The "treatment" of every single "mental disorder" that mental health professionals "diagnose," from "depression" and "attention deficitdisorder" on through "schizophrenia," flows from how society construes "normal" and "abnormal." This matter affects tens of millions of people annually; and affects everyone, really, since a person's mental model of "what is normal?" is tremendously influenced by how society and its institutions define "normal."
The matter of what is normal can't be and must not be a mere statistical nicety. It can't be and must not be "normal" to be a Christian just because 95% of your community is Christian. It can't be and must not be "normal" to be attracted to someone of the opposite sex just because 90% of the general population is heterosexual. It can't be and must not be "normal" to own slaves just because all the landowners in your state own slaves. "Normal" can't mean and must not mean "what we see all the time" or "what we see the most of." It
NORMAL
adjective
1. conforming to a standard; usual, typical, or expected.
2.
noun
1. the usual, average, or typical state or condition.
2.
adjective
1.
conforming to the standard or the common type; usual; not abnormal;regular; natural.
2.
serving to establish a standard.
3.
Psychology.
a. approximately average in any psychological trait, as intelligence,personality, or emotional adjustment.
b. free from any mental disorder; sane.
What Do We Mean by 'Normal'?
It is time to rethink 'normal' and 'abnormal'
Published on November 15, 2011 by Eric R. Maisel, Ph.D. in Rethinking Psychology
It is past time that we rethink what we mean by the words "normal" and "abnormal" as those words apply to the mental and emotional states and behaviors of human beings. Indeed, it is a real question as to whether those words can be sensibly used at all, given their tremendous baggage and built-inbiases and the general confusion they create.
This is not an idle question without real-world consequences. The "treatment" of every single "mental disorder" that mental health professionals "diagnose," from "depression" and "attention deficitdisorder" on through "schizophrenia," flows from how society construes "normal" and "abnormal." This matter affects tens of millions of people annually; and affects everyone, really, since a person's mental model of "what is normal?" is tremendously influenced by how society and its institutions define "normal."
The matter of what is normal can't be and must not be a mere statistical nicety. It can't be and must not be "normal" to be a Christian just because 95% of your community is Christian. It can't be and must not be "normal" to be attracted to someone of the opposite sex just because 90% of the general population is heterosexual. It can't be and must not be "normal" to own slaves just because all the landowners in your state own slaves. "Normal" can't mean and must not mean "what we see all the time" or "what we see the most of." It