INTRODUCTION

Defining Abnormal Behaviour

As we launch out on this our investigation of Somatoform Disorders, it must be deemed important to have some idea regarding what psychologists see a 'disorder' and why. Even before this, however, we must grasp the concept of abnormal behaviour as it leads to the diagnosis, treatment, and cure of a disorder.
There have been so many definitions offered regarding abnormal behaviour that they have been classified as follows:
a) The Conceptual Definitions: These define abnormal behaviour as, "A deviation from what is considered normal or most prevalent in the sociocultural context" (Sue, Sue, and Sue 1997). Here, the basis of the diagnosis of normality or abnormality is found by the use of statistical data, which will highlight the most common behaviour patterns (labeling them as 'normal'), and isolating the least common ones (referring to those as 'abnormal'). It is said that these statistics form the basis for diagnosing a mental......

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Title: Disorders
Approximate Word Count: 1827
Approximate Pages: 8 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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