| abnormality definition | "abnormal" implies something is undesirable and requiring change |
| statistical infrequencies | .under this definition, a person's trait, thinking or behaviour is classified as abnormal if it's rare
e.g. fear of buttons - abnormal, a fear of heights - normal |
| real life applications | The definition can provide an objective way, based on data, to define abnormality if an agreed cut-off point can be identified |
| cultural relativism | The definition is limited because some behaviours are rare in some cultures but not others.
E.g. sleeping in the afternoon is common in many cultures, but is seen as unusual in British culture |
| subjective boundaries | It can be difficult to know where to draw the line between behaviour that is frequent enough to be normal and rare enough to be abnormal
This makes the definition highly subjective |
