Abnormal psychology facts for kids

Abnormal psychology is a part of psychology. People who study abnormal psychology are psychologists. They are scientists that investigate the mind using the scientific method. Different cultures tend to have different ideas of how strange (abnormal) any behaviour is considered. This tends to change over time within cultures, so people that live in a country at one time in history might consider abnormal what people who live in the same country consider normal years before before or years later.

Abnormal psychology is often used to understand or to treat people with mental disorders to make life better for them. This is because abnormal behaviour is often defined as when someone is not able to change how they behave to fit different settings. This is often also used to define some mental disorders. When someone cannot change their behaviour to fit the people and situations around them when they need to, it can cause suffering, and the person may be uncomfortable when around people. Their behaviour can be unreasonable and hard to understand. Their behaviour can even be dangerous.

Not everyone with a mental disorder is unable to adjust to their surroundings. People who can change to fit their the environment around them more easily than most people can also have behaviour that is considered abnormal and might also have an easier life with the help of a psychologist.