working definition of abnormality.

Abnormality is defined as 'atypicality' or a deviation from the norm (McLeod 2008). Deviation may be viewed in a positive or negative light. In our culture, someone who has a high IQ is viewed as deviant in a positive manner, while someone who is deviant because he or she is bipolar is viewed as deviant in a negative manner. But some modes of deviancy, such as depression, are so common a large percentage of the population suffers from the condition (McLeod 2008). Other forms of abnormality, like seeing visions, are considered highly deviant today in a negative fashion, but were viewed in a positive light as a form of divine insight in ages past, and still are in some cultures.

Defining abnormality merely as violation of social norms can be a poor way to judge a patient, given that homosexuality was once classified as a mental...
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