Abnormal or Not



Ways He is Arguably Abnormal

  • The man is a punk
    • Rebellious compared with others
  • He is cooking a boot and no evidence of a flame
    • Unproductive behaviour
      • Cannot cope with daily tasks
  • He seems not to be wearing anything, or not much
    • Not looking after himself?
      • Cannot cope with daily tasks?
  • There are many medicines and a chart of progress
    • Suggestion of illness
  • This person intends to become a priest?
    • With his appearance this seems incompatible with norms of presentation
  • The book is on the cooking shelf
    • Suggests state of confusion
  • He has a picture of a dog saying email me - is this romantic?
    • Poor relationships perhaps with people (at least)
  • He has two watches showing different times
    • Incoherent character
  • He is a man who makes up like a woman
    • Gender definition unclear in this man
  • He has tattoos on that show hate and love
    • Possible self loathing and expressed within lack of education (spelling)
  • He has scissors in his chest
    • Self-harm and self loathing
  • He has lost his arm
    • Could have cut it off in a massive act of self-harm
  • He has six fingers on his right hand
    • Could have started everything!



Ways He is Arguably Not Abnormal

  • The man is a punk
    • Subcultural fashion statement
  • He is cooking a boot and no evidence of a flame
    • The man is a live artist and magician trying a new routine
      • Artists always have more subcultural leeway
  • He seems not to be wearing anything, or not much
    • It is a warm day
    • Could be a naturist
      • These days not deviant
  • There are many medicines and a chart of progress
    • Many people stock up on medicines
  • This person intends to become a priest? The book is on the cooking shelf
    • It looks like a Hindu priest - could be an esoteric sect and it is on that shelf for convenience
      • These days minor religions are not so deviant
  • He has a picture of a dog saying email me
    • Dogs cannot write, it is possibly a picture from friend who has a dog
  • He has two watches showing different times
    • One of them stopped, a reminder to get a battery
  • He is a man who makes up like a woman
    • More popular these days
      • Not culturally so strange anymore
  • He has tattoos on that show hate and love
    • These are more common now (but perhaps a better design)
  • He has scissors in his chest
    • It is a magic trick being tested
  • He has lost his arm
    • It was an accident
  • He has six fingers on his right hand
    • Not a psychological view of abnormality



In other words, be careful before identifying whether a person is abnormal. After all, who is precisely "normal" anyway. Sociologists say, beware of labelling as some people then perform to the label, as, for example, do deviant youth subcultures. What is seen straight away needs more examination and testing. Here we could be seeing cultural aspects that suggest a need for toleration and ongoing changes in fashion, artistic possibilities, and nothing out of the ordinary regarding medical health.


We need to be more systematic in looking at explanations.



 Methods of Analysing Abnormality Systematic approaches given

 What to do (back) Click here for previous page

 

Adrian Worsfold