Deviation From Social Norms

Question 1

Ao1

Answer 1

Standards of acceptable/expected behavior are set by social groups. Anything that deviates from acceptable behavior is considered abnormal as the behavior is unexpected by other group members or causes offense to society

Question 2

Example

Answer 2

In OCD some individuals may refuse to use cutlery at restaurants choosing instead to bring their own due to fear of contamination. Therefore this would be unexpected way of behaving in society and so would be seen as abnormal

Question 3

AO3

Answer 3

One weakness of deviation from social norms as a definition of abnormality is that social norms are created within a culture. It can therefore be argued that deviation from social norms is limited by cultural relativism. Different cultures have different social norms and expectations of behavior. Therefore it may not be appropriate to use DSN to define abnormality outside of a specific culture