For example, it is common in Southern Europe to stand much closer to strangers than in the UK. Voice pitch and volume, touching, the direction of gaze, and acceptable subjects for discussion have all been found to vary between cultures. Rather than having to choose between our common-sense understanding of people and the ‘scientific’ version, Psychology as a scientific discipline can be seen as complementing and illuminating our ‘everyday’ psychological knowledge. They may be unable to perform the behaviors necessary for day-to-day living, e.g., self-care, holding down a job, interacting meaningfully with others, making themselves understood, etc. degree, control the behavior of other people. In these ways, we can all be thought of as psychologists.

Many people engage in behavior that is maladaptive/harmful or threatening to self, but we don’t class them as abnormal:Observed behavior is likely to have developed because it is adaptive. It has been naturally selected, i.e., individuals who are best adapted to survive and reproduce. behaviors may even be sexually selected, i.e., individuals who are most successful in gaining access to mates leave behind more offspring. The whole movement had evolved from the early philosophers, such as Aristotle and Plato. Today this approach is known as cognitive psychology.

Behaviorism is the scientific study of observable behavior working on the basis that behavior can be reduced to learned S-R (Stimulus-Response) units.Alexandra. " A Psychological Ailment Called 'Hikikomori' is Imprisoning 500,000 Japanese People in Their Homes — and It's More of a Threat than Ever." Business Insider, January 14, 2018. Accessed: September 29, 2019. Improved coverage throughout of work from neuroscience, neuropsychology and evolutionary psychology In some societies, such as the Zulu, for example, hallucinations and screaming in the street are regarded as normal behavior. Different people can behave in the same way, and some will be normal and others abnormal, depending on age and gender (and sometimes other factors). Sarah. "Becoming Disabled by Choice, Not Chance: 'Transabled' People Feel Like Impostors in Their Fully Working Bodies." National Post, June 4, 2015. Accessed: September 30, 2019.