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Abnormal Behavior

By Nancy Schimelpfening, About.com

Updated January 16, 2004

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Definition: To understand what "abnormal" means, first consider "normal". Normal simply means average. People who behave normally are those who act and behave in an average, typical way. Statistically speaking, normal behavior is that which we would expect from the majority of people. Abnormal, therefore, refers to any behavior that is not typical. In the practice of psychology it has further come to mean mental illness.
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