seen as bad. For example, firefighters risking their lives to save people in a blazing fire may be ‘failing to function’ in the fact that they are risking their lives, and in another context, their actions could be construed as pathological, but within the context of being a firefighter said risks are not at odds with adequate functioning. Deviation from ideal mental health: defines abnormality by determining if the behavior the individual is displaying is affecting their mental well-being. As with the failure to function definition, the boundaries that stipulate what 'ideal mental health' is are not clearly defined. A frequent problem with the definition is that all individuals at some point in their life deviate from ideal mental health, but it does not mean the behavior is abnormal. For example, someone who has lost a relative is distressed and deviates from "ideal mental health" for a time, but their distress is not defined as abnormal, as distress is an expected reaction. A common approach to defining abnormality is a multi-criteria approach, where all definitions of abnormality are used to determine whether an individual's behavior is abnormal. For example, psychologists would be prepared to define an individual's behavior as "abnormal" if the following criteria are met: The individual is engaging in behavior that is preventing them from functioning. The individual is engaging in behavior that breaks a social norm. The individual is engaging in behavior that is statistically infrequent. A good example of an abnormal behavior assessed by a multi-criteria approach is depression: it is commonly seen as a deviation from ideal mental stability, it often stops the individual from 'functioning' in normal life, and, although it is a relatively common mental disorder, it is still statistically infrequent. Most people do not experience significant major depressive disorder in their lifetime. Thus, depression and its associated behaviors would be considered abnormal. See also Anti-social behaviour Deviance Dysfunctional family Eccentricity (behavior) List of abnormal behaviors in animals Norm (social) Normalization (sociology) Psychopathy Social alienation Notes and references Problem behavior Deviance (sociology)