Being Normal: Is it Normal?

Jyoji Mijares, Honey Biel V. Cabrera1,2,, Ladylyn Pilapil1,2,, Allen Sta. Ana1,2,and Virginia C. Cole1,2,3,

1
College of Arts and Sciences; Department of Psychology
2
Our Lady of Fatima University

3
Research Adviser
Being Normal: Is it Normal?

1.0. Introduction

Nowadays, the issue in the standards of normalcy does not have received any attention. Probably,
one of the reasons is the difficulty in questioning about it due to the rapidly changing of culture. In
this case, it needs further studies in order to know what does really the base of the people in terms of
normal behaviour.
However, defining what is "normal" and "abnormal" is a subject of much debate. The definitions
of normality vary widely by person, time, place, culture, and situation. The problems encountered in
this are the easy judgment in labelling normal and abnormal behaviour because "Normal" is, after all,
a subjective perception, and also an amorphous one and it is often easier to describe what is not
normal than what is normal, discrimination when not conforming because of the definition of the term
Normal used to describe individual behaviour that conforms to the most common behaviour in
society, not developing individuality and the effects of cultural stereotype in the perspective of an
individual like in simple terms of society often perceives or labels "normal" as "good," and
"abnormal" as "bad" and being labelled as "normal" or "abnormal" can therefore have profound
ramifications for an individual, such as exclusion or stigmatization by society.
According to the researches, these problems and factors does give impact on the
conceptualization of the people towards normality. So among the variables of stereotyping,
conformity, and cultural norms, which of these immensely influence on mental conceptualization on
the boundary between normal and abnormal behaviours?

1.1 Background of the Study

Based on the available research, normal has traditionally been defined in terms of the abnormal.
In other words, each term is used as a benchmark to describe the other, without which neither term
could be defined on its own. This raises questions in the psychological community about the
legitimacy of those definitions. In order to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of these
concerns, a literature review was conducted, examining how the field of psychology has attempted to
address this problem. According to the previous research, the term "normal" can have no set
definition because its meaning is unstable over time due to such factors as consensus, social
legitimacy in classification, trait conformability, and negativity bias. The results of this study imply
the need for further research into the consequences that may result from an inability to allow
flexibility in the definition of “normal”, as it suggests that a better understanding of how it is defined
may help the psychological field avoid the misdiagnosis of abnormal behaviours in the future. More
importantly, this research suggests that everyday people, and not just psychologists, should be

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Being Normal: Is it Normal?

encouraged to look beyond the symptoms and consider other factors that could contribute to
misdiagnosis.

1.2 Objectives of the Study

This study entitled “Being Normal: Is it Normal?” aims to adjudicate which of the following
variables: Stereotyping, Conformity and Cultural Norms immensely affect the mental conceptualization
of Filipino people of what really is a normal behavior.

1.3 Significance of the Study

The researchers aim to predict what variable has high impact on the mental concept of normalcy.
Due to these variables, there is a problem resulting from it which causes people labeled other individual
normal and abnormal behavior.

This study concentrates on the subjective perceptions of the subjects determining what cause
people to label normal and not normal and to determine whether these variables have a relationship and a
difference when they are grouped according to their demographic profile. Also, it gives emphasis on
understanding the reason of the respondents behind to it.

The findings of the study can contribute to the society specifically to the social environment. Due
to the local studies like this, people will be gain knowledge and prepared in handling these kinds of
situations. Researches that are related to Social Psychology can also use this as a basis for their studies.

1.4 Scope and Delimitation of the Study

The primary focus of the study is to determine only which of the variables has high impact on the
respondents and also if they have relationship between when grouped according to demographic profile.
The limitations are the place in which the researchers will conduct the study, specifically any person as
long it is residence in the Philippines. The researchers have chosen any person regardless of age and
gender. The data will be gathered by questions prepared by the researchers to be answered by them.

1.5 Definition of Terms

Abnormality - in the vivid sense of something deviating from the normal or differing from the typical
(such as an aberration), is a subjectively defined behavioural characteristic, assigned to those with rare or
dysfunctional conditions (wikipedia.org) It is one of the variables that will be measured in this study.

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Being Normal: Is it Normal?

Behaviour - It is the range of actions and mannerisms made by individuals, organisms, systems, or
artificial entities in conjunction with themselves or their environment, which includes the other systems or
organisms around as well as the (inanimate) physical environment. (wikipedia.org)

Concept – It is an abstract idea representing the fundamental characteristics of what it represents. ... In
informal use the word concept often just means any idea, but formally it involves the abstraction
component (psychologytoday.com) It is one of the variables that will be measured in this study.

Conformity - Is a type of social influence involving a change in belief or behavior in order to fit in with a
group. This change is in response to real (involving the physical presence of others) or imagined
(involving the pressure of social norms / expectations) group pressure. (simplypsychology.com) It is one
of the sub-variables that will determine the output of the study.

Culture - Culture is the systems of knowledge shared by a relatively large group of people. Some of its
symbols include a group's skills, knowledge, attitudes, values, and motives. (tamu.edu)

Normal - Behaviour can be normal for an individual (intrapersonal normality) when it is consistent with
the most common behaviour for that person. Normal is also used to describe individual behaviour that
conforms to the most common behaviour in society (known as conformity). (wikipedia.org) It is the main
variable that was being measured in this study.

Social Norm - A social norm is the accepted behavior that an individual is expected to conform to in a
particular group, community, or culture. These norms often serve a useful purpose and create the
foundation of correct behaviours (study.com) It is one of the sub-variables that will determine the output
of the study.

Stereotype - a simplified and standardized conception or image invested with special meaning and held in
common by members of a group. (psychologytoday.com)

2.0. Subject of the Case Study

The study used the stratified random sampling. In this sampling technique, the researchers
obtained random samples in a population that was composed of Fourth Year Psychology Students from
Our Lady of Fatima University-Quezon City Campus.

2.1 Review of Related Study

According to Avdikos, Evangelos (2013) in his studies entitled Vampire Stories in Greece and the
Reinforcementof Socio-Cultural Norms it investigates the relationship of humans with the supernatural

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Being Normal: Is it Normal?

and the function of the latter as a normalizing factor in social organization. The focus is on traditional
Greek stories about vampires and the aim is to study the relationship between vampires and the ‘cultural
capital’ of the local community, on the one hand, and, on the other, beliefs about the progress of the soul
after its departure from the body upon death. The Greek vampire (vrikolakas) is examined in relation to
both the concept of faith in Orthodox Christianity and traditional death rituals, some of them pagan
survivals.

Cultural norms indicate that obesity reflects increased wealth and prosperity. Yet obesity is linked
to serious medical illnesses. The purpose of this study was to determine if Ghanaian women would
change their body image if it meant a healthier life. In the study made by Duda, Rosemary B.; Jumah,
Naana Afua; Hill, Allan G.; Seffah, Joseph; Biritwum, Richard.(2006). They prepare a questionnaire and
was administered to 305 Ghanaian women waiting for clinic appointments at Korle Bu Teaching
Hospital, Accra Ghana. This survey included questions on current health, selection of figural stimuli,
decision making on health and social determinants and 5 questions on self-perception of health from SF-
36. Anthropometric measures were taken and body mass index calculated. Women were also provided
with health related information at the conclusion of the interview. As the result of this study researchers
found out that majority of all women surveyed would reduce their current body image if it meant that they
would have an overall healthier life and reduce the risks of obesity-linked illnesses and complications.
Currently obese women were significantly more likely than non-obese women to reduce their body image
to reduce the risk of hypertension; cardiovascular accident; diabetes ; myocardial infarction; if requested
by a spouse; and to improve overall health. There was no association with current body image and
responses to SF-36. The decision to select a new body image was not influenced by education, income,
marital status or parity. Age 50 years old and less was significantly associated with the body image size
reduction to reduce the risk of hypertension, diabetes, and a cardiovascular accident. So that the
researchers concluded that this information on ideal body size is important not only for promoting a
healthy BMI for an individual woman, but also in establishing acceptable health policies for women's
health in general. No longer can the excuse be made against weight reduction programs to reduce
hypertension and diabetes risk that the women prefer to be of a large size. With this information as
ammunition, plans can go forward to initiate diet and exercise programs to reduce the risks of obesity and
obesity-linked illnesses. Particularly in resource limited countries, an adherence to a healthy lifestyle is
less expensive than life-long medication or complications as a result of obesity-linked illnesses. It appears
that the ideal group of women to target initially are women age 50 years and younger for health
improvement strategies. An educational program that explains the association between obesity and heart
disease and diabetes would be of benefit to women of all age groups.

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Because of its fundamental relevance to scientific innovation, artistic expression, and human
ingenuity, creativity has long been the subject of systematic psychological investigation. Concomitantly,
the far-reaching effects of stereotypes on various cognitive and social processes have been widely
researched. Bridging these two literatures, researchers show in a series of two studies that stereotypes
related to creativity can both enhance and diminish individuals’ performance on a divergent thinking task.
Specifically, Study 1 demonstrated that participants asked to take on a stereotypically uninhibited
perspective performed significantly better on a divergent thinking task than those participants who took
on a stereotypically inhibited perspective, and a control group. Relatedly, Study 2 showed that the same
effect is found within-subjects, with divergent thinking significantly improving when participants invoke
an uninhibited stereotype. Moreover, researchers demonstrate the efficacy of Latent Semantic Analysis as
an objective measure of the originality of ideas, and discuss implications of our findings for the nature of
creativity. Namely, that creativity may not be best described as a stable individual trait, but as a malleable
product of context and perspective. Denis Dumas, Kevin N. Dunbar (2016). Across two studies,
researchers have shown that divergent thinking, a key indicator of creative potential, can be significantly
attenuated or enhanced depending on the type of stereotype invoked while performing the task. Also they
have demonstrated that the effect occurs irrespective of the item on the UOT. These studies are the first to
use stereotypes to both diminish and improve divergent thinking performance both within and across
individuals. Three principal implications can be drawn from these studies: (a) that divergent thinking,
including both fluency and originality, is highly malleable rather than a fixed trait, (b) that stereotypes can
be used to diminish or enhance creative output from diverse groups of participants, and (c) that stereotype
manipulation is an effective way of altering divergent thinking that can be applied across different
contexts.

According to Pavlova, Weber, Simoes , Sokolov(2014) gender affects performance on a variety

of cognitive tasks, and this impact may stem from socio-cultural factors such as gender stereotyping.
Systematically researchers manipulated gender stereotype messages on a social cognition task on which
no initial gender gap has been documented. The outcome reveals: (i) Stereotyping affects both females
and males, with a more pronounced impact on females. Yet an explicit negative message for males elicits
a striking paradoxical deterioration in performance of females. (ii) Irrespective of gender and directness
of message, valence of stereotype message affects performance: negative messages have stronger
influence than positive ones. (iii) Directness of stereotype message differentially impacts performance of
females and males: females tend to be stronger affected by implicit than explicit negative messages,
whereas in males this relationship is opposite. The data are discussed in the light of neural networks
underlying gender stereotyping. The findings provide novel insights into the sources of gender related
fluctuations in cognition and behavior. They conclude that the present findings indicate that gender

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Being Normal: Is it Normal?

stereotype messages affect performance of both females and males albeit in a differential way. For the
first time, gender stereotype susceptibility was systematically studied on a task with no initial gender gap.
Most important, gender-specific stereotype information can elicit pronounced gender differences in
performance. The outcome reveals: (i) Gender stereotype messages affect both females and males, with a
more pronounced impact on females. (ii) Irrespective of gender and directness of message, valence of
message affects performance: negative messages stronger affect performance than do positive messages.
(iii) Directness of messages differentially impacts performance of females and males: females tend to be
stronger affected by implicit negative messages, whereas in males this relationship is opposite. Overall,
the study provides novel insights into the possible sources of gender related fluctuations in cognition and
behavior.

According to the study of Anh Ly and Lynden Crowshoe in their study they examines the views
of undergraduate medical students regarding Canadian Aboriginal stereotypes and how they potentially
affect Aboriginal people’s health. The goal of the study was to gain insight into how medical learners
perceive issues related to racism, discrimination and social stereotypes and to draw attention to gaps in
Aboriginal health curricula. The study involved a convenience sample of medical learners drawn from
one undergraduate medical programme in western Canada. Using a semi-structured interview guide, they
conducted a total of seven focus group interviews with 38 first- and second-year undergraduate medical
students. Data were analysed using a thematic content analysis approach. As a result of the data gathering
they found out that Medical students recognise that stereotypes are closely related to processes of racism
and discrimination. However, they generally feel that stereotypes of Aboriginal people are rooted in
reality. Students also identified medical school as one of the environments in which they are commonly
exposed to negative views of Aboriginal people. Student responses suggest they see the cultural gap
between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people as being both a cause and a consequence of
discrimination against Aboriginal people. The results of the study suggest that teaching medical students
about the realities and impacts of stereotypes on Aboriginal peoples is a good starting point from which to
address issues of racism and health inequities affecting the health of Aboriginal people.

Based on the study of Yali Dong, Cong Li, Yi Tao , Boyu Zhang (2015) people often deviate
from their individual Nash equilibrium strategy in game experiments based on the prisoner’s dilemma
(PD) game and the public goods game (PGG), whereas conditional cooperation, or conformity, is
supported by the data from these experiments. In a complicated environment with no obvious “dominant”
strategy, conformists who choose the average strategy of the other players in their group could be able to
avoid risk by guaranteeing their income will be close to the group average. In this study the repeated PD
game and the repeated m-person PGG, where individuals’ strategies are restricted to the set of

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Being Normal: Is it Normal?

conforming strategies. They define a conforming strategy by two parameters, initial action in the game
and the influence of the other players’ choices in the previous round. Researchers are particularly
interested in the tit-for-tat (TFT) strategy, which is the well-known conforming strategy in theoretical and
empirical studies. In both the PD game and the PGG, TFT can prevent the invasion of non-cooperative
strategy if the expected number of rounds exceeds a critical value. The stability analysis of adaptive
dynamics shows that conformity in general promotes the evolution of cooperation, and that a regime of
cooperation can be established in an AllD population through TFT-like strategies. These results provide
insight into the emergence of cooperation in social dilemma games.

3.0. Research Questions

3.0.1 What are the demographic profiles of the respondents in terms of?

3.0.1.1 Age

3.0.1.2 Gender

3.0.2 Which of the following has immensely impact on the mental concept of the people between
abnormal and normal behaviour?

3.0.2.1 Conformity

3.0.2.2 Cultural Norms

3.0.2.3 Stereotyping

3.0.3 Is there a relationship between the variables when grouped according to their demographic
profile?

3.1 Setting

The study took place within the vicinity of Our Lady of Fatima University-Quezon City.

3.2 Population

The study required fifty (50) respondents as the sample population of the Fourth Year Psychology
Students of Our Lady of Fatima University.

3.3 Research Design

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Being Normal: Is it Normal?

The study has a Qualitative research design. This means that it is primarily an exploratory
research. It is used to gain an understanding of underlying reasons, opinions, and motivations. It provides
insights into the problem or helps to develop ideas or hypotheses for potential quantitative research
(Wyse, 2011)

3.4 Interview Instrument and Protocol

The researchers used the written type of interview. There are three (3) sets of questions per
domain (Cultural Norms, Stereotyping, and Conformity), making it nine (9) questions overall. The test
itself is self-made and it was not validated.

3.5 Data Gathering Procedure

Respondents were randomly chosen and given a paper to answer with. They were given 10-15
minutes to answer the questions written. They have no limits set in their answers, making their answers
free-flowing and unrestricted.

4.0 Participants

4.1 Data Analysis Strategy

5.0 Summary of Findings

5.1Conclusions

5.2Recommendations

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