Abnormality Observations - Psychology Paper Example

Abnormal behaviors go against the generally acceptable norm of behavior of an average individual. Abnormal behaviors are actually deviations from ideal mental health, and they include panic attacks and phobias. Some of the observable behaviors which I consider abnormal include:

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Dunk (dual income, no kids)

Couples living in a DINK household are thought to be in a household which has a higher disposable income because they dont have added expenses the come with children. This situation seems awkward for such a family to spend all their monies on luxury and intentionally avoid the responsibilities that come about with raising kids. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the cost of raising a kid up to the age of 17 is approximately $233,610. Ideally, the cost is expected to increase with years. My feelings toward this idea is based on the cultural norms. Ideally, culture has it that as soon as one marries, what comes next is children and it is illogical for a couple to spend a long period of time such as 10 years in the absence of biological abnormalities and not have children. The U.S. Census Bureau posits that the women aged between 15-44 and who are child-free account for about 47.6 percent of the population (Shapiro, Rebecca, 2017). The societal view is that couples living together and enjoying life children are deemed to be selfish. No matter how personal the matter may be, the general and worldwide view is that parents ought to take up responsibility and continue the generation by siring children failure to which they are considered outcast. I think that this is abnormal as I think that dinks should be left alone to make their own personal decision of whether to have children or not. It is wise to consider ones preference and motive (Hamm, Trent 2010).

Eating abnormalities.

Eating disorders happen to absolutely abnormal given the fact that some of them are completely absurd in various regions of the world. For example, eating insects and rodents is completely absurd in America while many people in China, Japan and parts of the Asian continent consider insects as food. In South Asia and part of the West too, eating insects is considered absolutely nasty. Despite the fact that some of the insects are rick sources of proteins, they are not considered as food (Nasser, Mervat, Katzman and Gordon 134). However, recently, parts of North America have begun adopting the practice of eating insects. In Vietnam, to bestow longevity, strength and virility, snakes are wound around a tree log that is dipped in alcohol after which they are left in the alcohol for couple of days. At a later day, the concoction ferments after which the alcohol is drunk. Consumption of insects and rodents appears to be completely out of normal. Some of the animals and insects are considered poisonous and even though they may be made fit for consumption by eliminating the poison, they still do not fit to be consumed (Hoek, Wijbrand and Hoeken 390). Moreover, some religions such as Muslims may view eating pigs as sinful and an abomination indeed! According to me, consuming eating food such as those obtained from rodents and insects is only a cultural norm and may be prohibited against only on societal and religious backgrounds. Otherwise, eating such insects and animals is not harmful provided they are made fit for consumption. Some of the insects which people fear eating have enormous health benefits when prepared well. When a person eats meat from an insect or a rodent, one may fail to recognize unless they are made away of that fact. There exist well known restaurants in China offering insect and rodent food. They prepare the food nicely and make it delicious such that it become fit for consumption. I believe that only the extreme eating behaviors such as eating or drinking venom from poisonous creatures such as snakes, scorpions or crabs is what is abnormal otherwise when the insect is made fit for consumption and all poisonous or harmful effects from consuming the food are exterminated, the food becomes fit for consumption and hence it ceases to become abnormal. The practice of eating insects can be traced back to the ancient Greeks and Romans and up-to-date, bugs are a staple food for many cultures across Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Cultural abnormalities.

There exist myriad societies and tribes in the various countries in the world. Some of the communities have tribal norms and taboos which appear completely abnormal when viewed from another societys perspective. Some of the abnormal behaviors such as polygamy and polyandry especially as practiced by many African cultures, are ideally considered abnormal by people heralding from tribes where such practices are a taboo. In Swaziland for example, many young girls aged between 13- 25 take part in the Reed Dance every year before the King after which the King selects a bride. Also, other barbaric practices such as female genital mutilation (FGM) are still practiced by certain cultures in the West Africa. NGO organizations however have harshly condemned the practice. In India, marriages are pre-arranged and are a common and normal practice while in the United States, the practice is considered strange. It is common for people of the opposite sex to hold hands in Indian while in the public light but in America, they may be viewed as being gay or lesbian. Acts such as female genital mutilation (FGM) are heinous and unacceptable no matter how much they might be adored by certain tribes. They not only represent degradation of morals but they also against humanity since such actions lead to myriad negative effects such as spread of HIV/AIDS, sterilization, sexual dysfunction, complications during childbirth, and on the extreme, it may lead to death. Extreme cultural norms are ideally misleading and outdated. They hold no basis of justifying why they are committed and they therefore should not be considered. Acts such as FGM, gay and lesbianism are without basis and completely abnormal. Apart from the fact that some of the actions are cultural, they are completely out of place. The reed dance for example, has let many girls to lose interest in education mainly because they can have the opportunity of dancing for the king and may end up becoming a potential bride for the king. In such a case, many of the girls as young as 14 years have been introduced to early marriages an action which is practically abnormal since the young girl is still far away from fully developing to become a mother. On the other hand, acts such as FGM potentially ruin a girls future and many of them are usually withdrawn, have low self-esteem and feel out of place in the society.

Work Cited

Behrendt, Alice, and Steffen Moritz. "Posttraumatic stress disorder and memory problems after female genital mutilation." American Journal of Psychiatry 162.5 (2005): 1000-1002.

Hoek, Hans Wijbrand, and Daphne Van Hoeken. "Review of the prevalence and incidence of eating disorders." International Journal of eating disorders, 34.4 (2003): 383-396.

Nasser, Mervat, Melanie Katzman, and Richard Gordon, eds. Eating disorders and cultures in transition. Routledge, 2003.

Raising A Child In The United States Costs An Estimated $233,610." The Huffington Post. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2017.

Some Thoughts on DINKs (Dual Income, No Kids)." The Simple Dollar. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2017.

Utz-Billing, Isabell, and Heribert Kentenich. "Female genital mutilation: an injury, physical and mental harm." Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology 29.4 (2008): 225-229.