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Normality (behavior)
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Normality (behavior)
Normality is a behavior that can be normal for an individual (intrapersonal normality) when it is consistent with the most common behavior for that person. Normal is also used to describe individual behavior that conforms to the most common behavior in society (known as conformity). However, normal behavior is often only recognized in contrast to abnormality. In many cases normality is used to make moral judgements, such that normality is seen as good while abnormality is seen as bad, or conversely normality can be seen as boring and uninteresting. Someone being seen as normal or not normal can have social ramifications, such as being included, excluded or stigmatized by wider society.
Many difficulties arise in measuring normal behaviors—biologists come across parallel issues when defining normality. One complication that arises regards whether 'normality' is used correctly in everyday language. People say "this heart is abnormal" if only a portion of it is not working correctly, yet it may be inaccurate to include the entirety of the heart under the description of 'abnormal'. There can be a difference between the normality of a body part's structure and its function. Similarly, a behavioral pattern may not conform to social norms, but still be effective and non-problematic for that individual. Where there is a dichotomy between appearance and function of a behavior, it may be difficult to measure its normality. This is applicable when trying to diagnose a pathology and is addressed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
In general, 'normal' refers to a lack of significant deviation from the average. The word normal is used in a more narrow sense in mathematics, where a normal distribution describes a population whose characteristics center around the average or the norm. When looking at a specific behavior, such as the frequency of lying, a researcher may use a Gaussian bell curve to plot all reactions, and a normal reaction would be within one standard deviation, or the most average 68.3%. However, this mathematical model only holds for one particular trait at a time, since, for example, the probability of a single individual being within one standard deviation for 36 independent variables would be one in a million.
In statistics, normal is often arbitrarily considered anything that falls within about 1.96 standard deviations of the mean, i.e. the most average 95% (1.96). The probability of an individual being within 1.96 standard deviations for 269 independent variables is approximately one in a million. For only 59 independent variables, the probability is just under 5%. Under this definition of normal, it is abnormal to be normal for 59 independent variables.[clarification needed]
In his Rules of the Sociological Method, French sociologist Émile Durkheim indicates that it is necessary for the sociological method to offer parameters in order to distinguish normality from pathology or abnormality. He suggests that behaviors, or social facts, which are present in the majority of cases are normal, and exceptions to that behavior indicate pathology. Durkheim's model of normality further explains that the most frequent or general behaviors, and thus the most normal behaviors, will persist through transition periods in society.
Crime, for instance, should be considered normal because it exists in every society through every time period. There is a two-fold version of normality; behaviors considered normal on a societal level may still be considered pathological on an individual level. On the individual level, people who violate social norms, such as criminals, will invite a punishment from others in the society.
An individual's behaviors are guided by what they perceive to be society's expectations and their peers' norms[citation needed]. People measure the appropriateness of their actions by how far away they are from those social norms[citation needed]. However, what is perceived as the norm may or may not actually be the most common behavior. In some cases of pluralistic ignorance, most people wrongly believe the social norm is one thing, but in fact very few people hold that view.[citation needed]
When people are made more aware of a social norm, particularly a descriptive norm (i.e., a norm describing what is done), their behavior changes to become closer to that norm. The power of these norms can be harnessed by social norms marketing, where the social norm is advertised to people in an attempt to stop extreme behavior, such as binge drinking. However, people at the other extreme (very little alcohol consumption) are equally likely to change their behavior to become closer to the norm, in this case by increasing alcohol consumption.
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Normality (behavior)
Normality is a behavior that can be normal for an individual (intrapersonal normality) when it is consistent with the most common behavior for that person. Normal is also used to describe individual behavior that conforms to the most common behavior in society (known as conformity). However, normal behavior is often only recognized in contrast to abnormality. In many cases normality is used to make moral judgements, such that normality is seen as good while abnormality is seen as bad, or conversely normality can be seen as boring and uninteresting. Someone being seen as normal or not normal can have social ramifications, such as being included, excluded or stigmatized by wider society.
Many difficulties arise in measuring normal behaviors—biologists come across parallel issues when defining normality. One complication that arises regards whether 'normality' is used correctly in everyday language. People say "this heart is abnormal" if only a portion of it is not working correctly, yet it may be inaccurate to include the entirety of the heart under the description of 'abnormal'. There can be a difference between the normality of a body part's structure and its function. Similarly, a behavioral pattern may not conform to social norms, but still be effective and non-problematic for that individual. Where there is a dichotomy between appearance and function of a behavior, it may be difficult to measure its normality. This is applicable when trying to diagnose a pathology and is addressed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
In general, 'normal' refers to a lack of significant deviation from the average. The word normal is used in a more narrow sense in mathematics, where a normal distribution describes a population whose characteristics center around the average or the norm. When looking at a specific behavior, such as the frequency of lying, a researcher may use a Gaussian bell curve to plot all reactions, and a normal reaction would be within one standard deviation, or the most average 68.3%. However, this mathematical model only holds for one particular trait at a time, since, for example, the probability of a single individual being within one standard deviation for 36 independent variables would be one in a million.
In statistics, normal is often arbitrarily considered anything that falls within about 1.96 standard deviations of the mean, i.e. the most average 95% (1.96). The probability of an individual being within 1.96 standard deviations for 269 independent variables is approximately one in a million. For only 59 independent variables, the probability is just under 5%. Under this definition of normal, it is abnormal to be normal for 59 independent variables.[clarification needed]
In his Rules of the Sociological Method, French sociologist Émile Durkheim indicates that it is necessary for the sociological method to offer parameters in order to distinguish normality from pathology or abnormality. He suggests that behaviors, or social facts, which are present in the majority of cases are normal, and exceptions to that behavior indicate pathology. Durkheim's model of normality further explains that the most frequent or general behaviors, and thus the most normal behaviors, will persist through transition periods in society.
Crime, for instance, should be considered normal because it exists in every society through every time period. There is a two-fold version of normality; behaviors considered normal on a societal level may still be considered pathological on an individual level. On the individual level, people who violate social norms, such as criminals, will invite a punishment from others in the society.
An individual's behaviors are guided by what they perceive to be society's expectations and their peers' norms[citation needed]. People measure the appropriateness of their actions by how far away they are from those social norms[citation needed]. However, what is perceived as the norm may or may not actually be the most common behavior. In some cases of pluralistic ignorance, most people wrongly believe the social norm is one thing, but in fact very few people hold that view.[citation needed]
When people are made more aware of a social norm, particularly a descriptive norm (i.e., a norm describing what is done), their behavior changes to become closer to that norm. The power of these norms can be harnessed by social norms marketing, where the social norm is advertised to people in an attempt to stop extreme behavior, such as binge drinking. However, people at the other extreme (very little alcohol consumption) are equally likely to change their behavior to become closer to the norm, in this case by increasing alcohol consumption.