Abnormality is a subjectively defined characteristic, assigned to those with rare or dysfunctional conditions. Defining who is normal or abnormal is a contentious issue in abnormal psychology. This page is a candidate to be moved to Wiktionary. ... Abnormal psychology studies the nature of psychopathology, its causes, and its treatments. ...

There are several conventional criteria .

One simple criterion is statistical infrequency. This has an obvious flaw — the extremely intelligent, honest, or happy are just as abnormal as their opposites.

A more discerning criterion is distress. A person who is displaying a great deal of depression, anxiety, unhappiness, etc. is defined to be abnormal. Unfortunately, many people are not aware of their own mental state, and while they may benefit from help, they feel no compulsion to receive it. This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

Another criterion is morality. This presents many difficulties, because it would be impossible to agree on a single set of morals for the purposes of diagnosis. Morality is a system of principles and judgments based on cultural, religious, and philosophical concepts and beliefs, by which humans determine whether given actions are right or wrong. ...

One criterion commonly referenced is maladaptivity. If a person is behaving in ways counterproductive to their own well-being, it is considered maladaptive. While tighter than the above criteria, it does have some shortcomings. For example, moral behavior including dissent and abstinence may be considered maladaptive. In psychology, a behavior or trait is adaptive when it helps an individual adjust and function well within their environment. ... For the political magazine, see Dissent Magazine For the G8 protest group, see Dissent (network) Dissent is the sentiment of non-agreement with the majority, or the leader, of a group to which the dissenter is supposed to belong or to obey. ... Abstinence is the act or habit of refraining from some tempting activity, usually sex, but also other activities such as alcohol or food consumption. ...

The standard criteria in psychology and psychiatry is that of mental illness. Determination of abnormality is based upon medical diagnosis. This is often criticized for removing control from the 'patient', and being easily manipulated by political or social goals. Psychiatry is a branch of medicine that studies and treats mental and emotional disorders (see mental illness). ... The Scream, the famous painting commonly thought of as depicting the experience of mental illness. ... Diagnosis (from the Greek words dia = by and gnosis = knowledge) is the process of identifying a disease by its signs, symptoms and results of various diagnostic procedures. ...