AO1 - Deviation from Social Norms

• Social norms are written or unwritten rules defined by society that govern acceptable behaviour.
• If someone behaves in a way that does not adhere to social norms we may see them as abnormal.
• Abnormality is when a behaviour does not fit within what is socially acceptable.
• Deviation from social norms is dependent on the culture in which the behaviour occurs.
• Social norms are culturally relative.
• Social norms across societies are not the same and therefore what is abnormal in one culture is not defined as abnormal in another.
• The deviant behaviour has to go beyond the eccentric and have a negative impact on the individual's life.
• The abnormal behaviour must be persistently outside the norms.