Textbook on Abnormal Psychology
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How do we define abnormal behavior? We all become anxious or depressed from time to time. But is this abnormal anxiety and anticipation of an important job interview or a final examination is perfectly normal. It is appropriate to feel depressed when you have lost someone close to you or when you have failed a test or on the job? So where exactly is the line between normal and abnormal behavior? One answer is that emotional states such as anxiety and depression may be considered abnormal when they are not appropriate to the situation. It is normal to feel down when you fail a test, but not when your grades are good or even excellent. It is normal to feel anxious before a college admissions interview, but not normal to panic before entering a department store or boarding a crowded elevator abnormality may also be suggested by the magnitude of the problem, although some anxiety is normal enough before a job interview, feeling that your heart might leap from your chest and consequently canceling your interview is not. Nor is it normal to feel so anxious in this situation that your clothing becomes soaked with perspiration. Next section criteria for determining abnormality. Mental health professionals apply various criteria when making judgments about whether behavior is abnormal. The most commonly used criteria include the following unusual nous behavior that is unusual is often considered abnormal. Only a few of us report seeing or hearing things that are not really. They're seeing things and hearing things are almost always considered abnormal in our culture, but such experiences are sometimes considered normal in certain types of spiritual experiences, Moreover, hearing voices and other forms of hallucinations under some circumstances are not considered unusual in some pre literate societies. However, becoming overcome with feelings of panic when entering department store or when standing in a crowded elevator is uncommon and considered abnormal. It must be said that uncommon behavior is not in itself abnormal. Only one person can hold the record for swimming the fastest 100 m. The record holding athlete differs from the rest of us, but again, is not considered abnormal. Thus rarity or statistical deviation is not a sufficient basis for labeling abnormal behavior.