Eccentricity (behavior) - Wikipedia

Eccentricity (also called quirkiness) is an unusual or odd behavior on the part of an individual. This behavior would typically be perceived as unusual or ... Eccentricity(behavior) FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia Jumptonavigation Jumptosearch Unusualoroddbehavioronthepartofanindividual "Quirky"and"Wacky"redirecthere.Forotheruses,seeQuirky(disambiguation)andWacky(disambiguation). MadamedeMeuron,aSwisseccentric,withhercharacteristiceartrumpetandhat SaparmuratNiyazov,whoruledTurkmenistanfrom1991to2006,wasknownforimposinghispersonaleccentricitiesuponthecountry. Eccentricity(alsocalledquirkiness)isanunusualoroddbehavioronthepartofanindividual.Thisbehaviorwouldtypicallybeperceivedasunusualorunnecessary,withoutbeingdemonstrablymaladaptive.Eccentricityiscontrastedwithnormalbehavior,thenearlyuniversalmeansbywhichindividualsinsocietysolvegivenproblemsandpursuecertainprioritiesineverydaylife.Peoplewhoconsistentlydisplaybenignlyeccentricbehaviorarelabeledas"eccentrics". Contents 1Etymology 2Depictions 3Comparisontoconsiderationsofnormality 3.1Characteristics 4Seealso 5References Etymology[edit] Thissectiondoesnotciteanysources.Pleasehelpimprovethissectionbyaddingcitationstoreliablesources.Unsourcedmaterialmaybechallengedandremoved.(October2022)(Learnhowandwhentoremovethistemplatemessage) FromMedievalLatineccentricus,derivedfromGreekekkentros,"outofthecenter",fromek-,ex-"outof"+kentron,"center".EccentricfirstappearedinEnglishessaysasaneologismin1551asanastronomicaltermmeaning"acircleinwhichtheearth,sun,etc.deviatesfromitscenter."Fiveyearslater,in1556,anadjectiveformofthewordwasused.In1685,thedefinitionevolvedfromtheliteraltothefigurative,andeccentricisnotedtohavebegunbeingusedtodescribeunconventionaloroddbehavior.Anounformoftheword–apersonwhopossessesandexhibitstheseunconventionaloroddqualitiesandbehaviors–appearedby1832. Depictions[edit] Eccentricityisoftenassociatedwithgenius,intellectualgiftedness,orcreativity.Peoplemayperceivetheindividual'seccentricbehaviorastheoutwardexpressionoftheiruniqueintelligenceorcreativeimpulse.[1]Inthisvein,theeccentric'shabitsareincomprehensiblenotbecausetheyareillogicalortheresultofmadness,butbecausetheystemfromamindsooriginalthatitcannotbeconformedtosocietalnorms.EnglishutilitarianthinkerJohnStuartMill(b.1806)wrotethat"theamountofeccentricityinasocietyhasgenerallybeenproportionaltotheamountofgenius,mentalvigour,andmoralcouragewhichitcontained",[2][3]andmournedalackofeccentricityas"thechiefdangerofthetime".[4]EdithSitwell(b.1887)wrotethateccentricityis"oftenakindofinnocentpride",alsosayingthatgeniusesandaristocratsarecalledeccentricsbecause"theyareentirelyunafraidofanduninfluencedbytheopinionsandvagariesofthecrowd".[5]Eccentricityisalsoassociatedwithgreatwealth—whatwouldbeconsideredsignsofinsanityinapoorperson,somemayacceptaseccentricityinwealthypeople.[6] Comparisontoconsiderationsofnormality[edit] Apersonwhoissimplyina"fishoutofwater"situationisnot,bythestrictestdefinition,aneccentricsince(presumably)theymaybeordinarybytheconventionsoftheirnativeenvironment. Eccentricsmayormaynotcomprehendthestandardsfornormalbehaviorintheirculture.Theyaresimplyunconcernedbysociety'sdisapprovaloftheirhabitsorbeliefs.Manyofhistory'smostbrilliantmindshavedisplayedsomeunusualbehaviorsandhabits. Someeccentricsarepejorativelyconsidered"cranks"ratherthangeniuses.Eccentricbehaviorisoftenconsideredwhimsicalorquirky,althoughitcanalsobestrangeanddisturbing.Manyindividualspreviouslyconsideredmerelyeccentric,suchasaviationmagnateHowardHughes,haverecentlybeenretrospectivelydiagnosedasactuallyhavinghadmentaldisorders(obsessive–compulsivedisorderinHughes'case). Otherpeoplemayhaveaneccentrictasteinclothes,oreccentrichobbiesorcollectionstheypursuewithgreatvigor.Theymayhaveapedanticandprecisemannerofspeaking,intermingledwithinventivewordplay.Manyofthesebehaviorssharethecharacteristicsofsomeonewithanautisticspectrumdisorder,suchastheeccentrichobbiesorthepedanticspeech. Manyindividualsmayevenmanifesteccentricitiesconsciouslyanddeliberatelyinanattempttodifferentiatethemselvesfromsocietalnormsorenhanceasenseofinimitableidentity.Giventheoverwhelminglypositivestereotypes(atleastinpopularcultureandespeciallywithfictionalcharacters)oftenassociatedwitheccentricity,asdetailedabove,certainindividualsseektobeassociatedwiththissortofcharactertype.However,thisisnotalwayssuccessfulaseccentricindividualsarenotnecessarilycharismaticandtheindividualinquestionmaysimplybedismissedbyothersasjustseekingattention. Extravaganceisakindofeccentricity,relatedtoabundanceandwastefulness;refertodescriptioninhyperbole. Characteristics[edit] PsychologistDavidWeeksbelievespeoplewithamentalillnesssufferfromtheirbehavior,whileeccentricsarequitehappy.[7][8]Heevenstateseccentricsarelesspronetomentalillnessthaneveryoneelse. AccordingtoWeeks'study,thereareseveraldistinctivecharacteristicsthatoftendifferentiateahealthyeccentricpersonfromaregularpersonorsomeonewhohasamentalillness.ThefirstfivecharacteristicsonWeeks'listarefoundinmostpeopleregardedaseccentric:[7] Nonconforming Creative Stronglymotivatedbycuriosity Happilyobsessedwithoneormorehobbyhorses(usuallyfiveorsix) Awarefromearlychildhoodthattheyaredifferent Intelligent Opinionatedandoutspoken Noncompetitive,notinneedofreassuranceorreinforcementfromsociety Unusualintheireatinghabitsandlivingarrangements Notparticularlyinterestedintheopinionsorcompanyofotherpeople Possessedofamischievoussenseofhumor Seealso[edit] Aspergersyndrome Byronichero CultsofpersonalityinTurkmenistan EightEccentricsofYangzhou FoolishnessforChrist Idiosyncrasy Individualism KeepAustinWeird Obsessive–compulsivedisorder Personalitypsychology Schizotypalpersonalitydisorder Thinkingoutsidethebox References[edit] ^Stares,Justin(2005-11-06)."Einstein,eccentricgenius,smokedbuttspickedupoffstreet".TheDailyTelegraph.London.Archivedfromtheoriginalon2009-02-08.Retrieved2006-09-27. ^"Mill,JohnStuartquote–Eccentricityhasalwaysaboundedwhenandwherestrengthofcharacter".Quotationsbook.com.2007-07-30.Archivedfromtheoriginalon2010-02-01.Retrieved2010-03-12. ^Mill,JohnStuart(1859).OnLiberty(2 ed.).London:JohnW.Parker&Son.pp. 120–121.Retrieved14September2014.editions:HMraC_Owoi8C. ^"FamousJohnStuartMillQuotes".PhilosophyParadise.Archivedfromtheoriginalon2010-04-04.Retrieved2010-03-12. ^"QuotebyEdithSitwell:Eccentricityisnot,assomewouldbelieve..."Goodreads.Retrieved2010-04-19. ^Battaglia,Debbora(1995-02-03)."OnEccentricity".Rhetoricsofself-making.UniversityofCaliforniaPress.pp. 48–49.ISBN 978-0-520-08799-6.Retrieved10November2010. ^abWeeks,DavidandJames,Jamie(1995)Eccentrics:AstudyofSanityandStrangeness,Villiard,ISBN 0-394-56565-7 ^"InterviewwithDavidWeeks–"NutritionHealthReview",Winter,1996".Findarticles.com.2009-06-02.Retrieved2010-03-12. WikiquotehasquotationsrelatedtoEccentricity. vteConformityEnforcementProscription Damnatiomemoriae Dissident Exile Homosacer Nonperson Ostracism Blacklisting Cancelculture Censorship Deplatforming Outcast Outlaw Civildeath Vogelfrei Personanongrata Publicenemy Enemyofthepeople Enemyofthestate Scapegoating Shunning Governmentalpressure Authoritarianism Nationalism Left-wingnationalism Right-wingpopulism Totalitarianism Tyrannyofthemajority Grouppressure Bandwagoneffect Brainwashing Collectivism Consensusreality Dogma Fearofmissingout Groupthink Hazing Herdmentality Indoctrination Inventedtradition Memoryconformity Milieucontrol Mobbing Normalization Normativesocialinfluence Patriotism Peerpressure Pluralisticignorance Propaganda Rally'roundtheflageffect Socialcontagion Behavioral Crime Hysterical Suicide Emotional Socialinfluence Socialization Spiralofsilence Teasing Untouchability Individualpressure Authoritarianpersonality Authoritarianleadershipstyle Right-wingauthoritarianpersonality Controlfreak Obsessive–compulsivepersonalitydisorder Conformity Compliance Communalreinforcement Countersignaling Herdbehavior Internalization Obedience Socialproof Experiments Aschconformityexperiments Breachingexperiment Milgramexperiment Stanfordprisonexperiment Anticonformity Alternativemedia Anti-authoritarianism Anti-socialbehaviour Auto-segregation Civildisobedience Cosmopolitanism Counterculture Culturejamming Deviance Devil'sadvocate Dissent Eccentricity Eclecticism Hermit Idiosyncrasy Individualism Puebloclown Rebellion Redteam Satire Shockvalue Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eccentricity_(behavior)&oldid=1116865025" Categories:HumanbehaviorDeviance(sociology)StereotypesHiddencategories:ArticleswithshortdescriptionShortdescriptionmatchesWikidataArticlesneedingadditionalreferencesfromOctober2022Allarticlesneedingadditionalreferences Navigationmenu Personaltools NotloggedinTalkContributionsCreateaccountLogin Namespaces ArticleTalk English Views ReadEditViewhistory More Search Navigation MainpageContentsCurrenteventsRandomarticleAboutWikipediaContactusDonate Contribute HelpLearntoeditCommunityportalRecentchangesUploadfile Tools WhatlinkshereRelatedchangesUploadfileSpecialpagesPermanentlinkPageinformationCitethispageWikidataitem Print/export DownloadasPDFPrintableversion Languages БългарскиDanskEspañolहिन्दीItalianoעבריתҚазақшаКыргызчаNederlandsPolskiPortuguêsРусскийSimpleEnglishSoomaaligaСрпски/srpskiSrpskohrvatski/српскохрватскиSuomiУкраїнська Editlinks