abnormal psychology

American  

noun

1. the branch of psychology that deals with modes of behavior, mental phenomena, etc., that deviate markedly from the standards believed to characterize a well-adjusted personality.

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abnormal psychology British  

noun

1. the study of behaviour patterns that diverge widely from generally accepted norms, esp those of a pathological nature

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Etymology

Origin of abnormal psychology

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

If you want to understand his psychology, you need to start by taking a book on abnormal psychology off the shelf and reading it.

From Salon • Jul. 27, 2023

This semester includes an abnormal psychology class, and his training routine is executed alone, often with coach Rafael Arutunian watching on FaceTime … 3,000 miles away in southern California.

From The Guardian • Mar. 29, 2019

The abnormal psychology lecture, delivered by a guest speaker and centered on the biological component of psychiatric illnesses, was Chen’s third class of the day, after calculus and statistics.

From New York Times • Mar. 17, 2019

I started to think of these diagnoses as things that weren’t as cut and dry as I had learned about in abnormal psychology class as an undergraduate.

From The Verge • Feb. 11, 2019

I had bought a few paperbacks on abnormal psychology at the drugstore and compared my symptoms with the symptoms in the books, and sure enough, my symptoms tallied with the most hopeless cases.

From "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath