Individual differences | Methods | Statistics | Clinical |
Educational | Industrial | Professional items | World psychology
| Behavior disorders or behaviour disorders reflect persistant
patterns of behaviour that cause people difficulty in
functioning. They often violate social norms and are associated
with negative social evaluation or they breach internal
standards of conduct which can lead to shame or guilt and may be
labelled as symptoms of mental illness. In societies the
behavior is either regarded as of clinical severity, requiring
treatment, or criminal requiring the application of the law. The
term should be compared with behavior problems, behavior that is
within social norms and which does no seriously impair everyday
functioning. The cultural context of behavior is important here
as behavior that might be normal in one culture may be regarded
as problem behavior in another and a behavior disorder in
another. Certain sexual behaviours for example are viewed
differently in different parts of the wo