In behavior, normal refers to a lack of significant deviation from the average. The phrase "not normal" is often applied in a negative sense (asserting that someone or some situation is improper, sick, etc.). Abnormality varies greatly in how pleasant or unpleasant this is for other people; somebody may half-jokingly be called "pleasantly disturbed". This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Abnormality is a subjectively defined characteristic, assigned to those with rare or dysfunctional conditions. ...

The Oxford English Dictionary defines "normal" as 'conforming to a standard'. This, although almost right, is not entirely correct. "A normal" is someone who conforms to the ideals of society and refuses to be individual (also described as a 'sheep'). This can be for any number of reasons, such as fear of humiliation, rejection, or being thought mad.

From the Latin Normalis (f).

For example, the French sociologist Emile Durkheim indicated in his Rules of Sociological Method that the most common behavior in a society is considered normal. People who do not go along are violating social norms and will invite a negative reaction from others in the society. For example, if most drivers speed five or ten MPH over the speed limit, and one is observing the speed limit, the legal driver is not behaving normally, and is likely to get sanctioned with headlights, the horn, or aggressive driving. However, non-conforming behavior is inevitable, and is punished in proportion to the offense the behavior generates in other people in society. Therefore, a range of social sanctions can be employed, from ill feelings and a negative assessment in response to violations of folkways (lowest-level rules), to anger and violence in response to violations of mores (mid-level rules), and formal fines, imprisonment, or execution for violations of laws (the most significant rules).

Issues dealing with normality and the lack thereof are discussed, in part, in the following articles:

Presence of normality

• Mainstream
• Temperance (virtue)
• Vanilla sex
• Equilibrium
• Stability
• Reality
• Peace
• Health
• Middle way

Absence of normality Look up mainstream in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Temperance is the practice of moderation. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... In sociology, a system is said to be social equilibrium when there is a dynamic working balance among its interdependent parts (Davis & Newstrom, 1985). ... Look up stability in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Reality, in everyday usage, means the state of things as they actually exist. ... A peace dove, widely known as a symbol for peace, featuring an olive branch in the doves beak. ... The Middle Way or Middle Path (Sanskrit Madhyama Marga, Pali Majjhima Magga) is the Buddhist philosophy expounded by Gautama Buddha. ...

• Eccentricity (behavior)
• Perversion
• Paraphilia
• Homosexual
• Intersexual
• Disease
• Disability
• Mental illness
• Addiction
• War
• Crime
• Fantasy
• Dream
• Hallucination
• Illusion
• Individualism

Some terms could fit in both lists; for example, "boredom". Too much "normality" can be boring, but boredom is a kind of suffering, which can be considered "not normal". In popular usage, eccentricity refers to unusual or odd behavior on the part of an individual. ... Perversion is a term and concept describing those types of people like renee kellerhuman behavior that are perceived to be a deviation from what is considered to be orthodox or normal. ... Paraphilia (in Greek para παρά = besides and -philia φιλία = friendship)—in psychology and sexology, is a term that describes a family of persistent, intense fantasies, urges, or behaviors involving sexual arousal to nonhuman objects, pain or humiliation experienced by oneself or ones partner, or children or other nonconsenting individuals. ... Since its coinage, the word homosexuality has acquired multiple meanings. ... An intersexual or intersex person (or animal of any unisexual species) is one who is born with genitalia and/or secondary sexual characteristics of indeterminate sex, or which combine features of both sexes. ... The term disease refers to an abnormal condition of an organism that impairs function. ... Look up disability in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A mental illness or mental disorder refers to one of many mental health conditions characterized by distress, impaired cognitive functioning, atypical behavior, emotional dysregulation, and/or maladaptive behavior. ... An addiction is a recurring compulsion by an individual to engage in some specific activity. ... Look up war in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... See fantasy for an account of the literary genre involving the development of common or popular fantasies. ... “Dreams” redirects here. ... A hallucination is a sensory perception experienced in the absence of an external stimulus, as distinct from an illusion, which is a misperception of an external stimulus. ... An illusion is a distortion of a sensory perception, revealing how the brain normally organizes and interprets sensory stimulation. ... Individualism is a term used to describe a moral, political, or social outlook that stresses human independence and the importance of individual self-reliance and liberty. ... // Boredom has been defined by Fisher in terms of its central psychological processes: “an unpleasant, transient affective state in which the individual feels a pervasive lack of interest in and difficulty concentrating on the current activity” [1]. Leary and others define boredom similarly, and somewhat more succinctly, as “an affective...

Quote: It is dangerous to be right on a subject on which the established authorities are wrong. - Voltaire. (It is dangerous not to be "normal" even if you are right).

Quote: That kid Kate is more normal than you Robert! (i.e. an assertion that Kate acts in a such a way that bears little variance from social averages, in comparison with Robert, who possesses individual traits that cast him aside from the stereotyped social identity of his context).

Quote: Keep it Real! (Stop being fixated by dreams of unachievable things, focus on the reality of the present situation.)

Quote: "What we commonly mean by a 'normal person' is actually an ideal person whose happy blend of character is a rare occurrence" (Jung, 1966:par. 80). There is a contradiction between normal in the sense of being like the majority of people, and normal in the psychological sense of having a balanced attitude.

For the sport horse, see Voltaire (horse). ... This page includes English translations of several Latin phrases and abbreviations such as . ... Carl Jungs partially autobiographical work Memories, Dreams, Reflections, Fontana edition Carl Gustav Jung (IPA: ) (July 26, 1875, Kesswil – June 6, 1961, Küsnacht) was a Swiss psychiatrist, influential thinker, and founder of analytical psychology. ... Attitude is a hypothetical construct that represents an individuals like or dislike for an item. ...

See also

• Deviant behavior
• Neurotypical
• Norm (sociology)
• Normal for Norfolk

Deviant redirects here. ... Neurotypical (or NT) is a term used to describe a person whose neurological development and state are typical, conforming to what most people would perceive as normal. ... It has been suggested that Convention (norm) be merged into this article or section. ... Normal for Norfolk (or NFN) is a slang term used in some parts of England for something that is peculiar, or odd. ...

References

• Jung, C.G. (1966). The Problem of the Attitude-Type, in Two Essays on Analytical Psychology, Collected Works, Volume 7 Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-01782-4.

• Durkheim, Emile. (1895, trans. 1982, first American edition). Rules of Sociological Method. New York: The Free Press. ISBN 978-0029079409.

External links

• Is It Normal? An online experiment to determine what is normal via unscientific surveys