The definition of abnormal behavior is vey subjective and it varies with both time and culture. A behavior is considered abnormal when it deviates from the statistical and social norms. Abnormal behavior may also involve distressing, deviant, dysfunctional, and dangerous behaviors. Maladaptive or dysfunctional behaviors are unproductive behaviors that obstruct human’s everyday activities. A person’s belief that he or she is superior to others can be characterized as maladaptive behavior.
The idea that every person is inferior to you may hinder you from getting along with other people. However, people may view this kind of behavior as normal since they may think that it is innate in that particular person to have superiority complex and may only see it as a bad attitude. Meanwhile, personal experiences especially those that involve suffering may lead to abnormal behavior known as distressing behavior. People who suffered from severe anxiety may have personal distress.
However, there are some experiences that may not lead to distress and may not consider abnormal such as having a baby and being hungry. On the other hand, deviant behavior involves behavior that can be deviated from a particular culture. It also involves behavior that makes people uncomfortable and anxious. Before the invention of cellular phones, people may think that it is abnormal to talk to an object while you are walking along the street. Nowadays, it is very common to see people walking while talking to other person with the use of mobile phones and people no longer see it as abnormal.
Moreover, in some cultures, especially those who are members of tribes, people are used to have tattoos on their body and they do not see it as abnormal. Meanwhile in other cultures, it is beyond their tradition and norm to have tattoos on their body. The last criterion in characterizing abnormal behavior is known dangerous behavior. It involves behaviors or thinking that may cause harm or threat to the person, other people and the society as well.
Most of the time, people associates dangerous behavior as abnormal; however, there are instances that a dangerous act may not consider as abnormal such as being antisocial. Antisocial persons have a tendency to commit crime but it may not necessarily mean that it is dangerous. The main reason why people have the concept of abnormal behavior is not the abnormal behavior itself, but it is rather the profound nonconformist between various cultures as well as human’s evolutionary heritage.