Bizarre Behaviours: Boundaries of Psychiatric Disorder (A Tavistock Book)

Human behaviour, which holds a fascination for most people, can best be viewed as lying on a spectrum - from normality at one end to extreme deviation at the other, with obvious grey areas in-between. Even the most deviant-seeming behaviours appear to have their counterparts in normality, and such behaviours can often be explained (at least in part) when viewed in their socio-cultural and psychological context. In "Bizarre Behaviours" the author examines a selection of such behaviours, the aim being to show their diversity and to offer an introduction to the wide range of departure from normality. In doing so, he considers some of the less well-known psychiatric syndromes, some disorders that are said to be culturally determined, and conditions which cross the boundaries between psychiatric and religious explanation. He also gives particular attention to one extreme form of deviation - vampirism - since in his view it demonstrates very clearly the need for a multi-disciplinary approach to explanation. "Bizarre Behaviours" brings together some of this less readily available literature and synthesizes it, enabling the book to be read on two levels. It may be read by anyone interested in acquiring a general overview of the topic, while the more specialist reader will find the extensive footnotes and references useful for further exploration.