What is the definition of insanity

Insanity is defined as doing the same things over and over again while expecting different results

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Doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results! If you can grasp this concept than perhaps it is not too late for you. Help is at hand! Desire is the first ingredient to change. Sometimes desire is no more than wishful t…

http://activerain.com/blogsview/792570/ARE-YOU-INSANE

Actually, there is no clear definition for it other than a deviation from the normal attitudes of the general public. The problem is defining or measuring the amount of “deviation”. Insanity is really just a legal term for use in …

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Related Questions Answered on Y!Answers

Help me understand the difference between the psychological definition of insanity and the legal term insanity?

Q: I have heard the distinct difference in being labeled “insane” psychologically and having it used as a legal term in court…as in someone pleading insanity.

A: There actually is no psychological definition for “insane.” “Insanity” is not a psychological diagnosis – it’s a label/judgment either used by individuals who are not members of the psychological community, or a legal term. The criteria for the legal state of “insanity” and precisely how whether or not an individual is “insane” (or was “insane” at the time of the crime in question) is determined differs from region to region, but, in general, it is used to indicate that the individual in question was unable to distinguish right from wrong and/or geuinely lacked control over his or her own actions at the time in which the crime was committed (http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/insanity). It is worth noting that the “insanity” defense is rarely used successfully. In psychological and psychiatric diagnosis, however, the DSM IV-TR is used (which is essentially a giant book of symptoms and disorders), and nowhere within the document is a diagnosis of “insanity.” Many people (not psychological professionals) use the terms “psychosis” (which indicates any mental illness, such as schizophrenia, in which there is a break from reality – as opposed to “neurosis”) interchangibly with “insanity” – however, if this is derived from any definition, it is derived from the legal one. In official psychological diagnosis, the term “insane” does not come into play, and there is no technical, official, or working definition within the field of psychology for “insanity.”

What is your definition of insanity?

Q: What is your definition of insanity? And pleas don’t say that doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different reaction, I call that stupidity not insanity.

A: Insanity is a legal term that refers to 1) having a mental illness and 2) because of that mental illness, you are unable to appreciate the wrongfulness of your actions. Only a court can find a person insane. The term is often misused.

If definition of insanity not knowing an action is wrong, would a person be able to get off a pot charge?

Q: Would a person be able to plead insanity if he or she honestly beleives that there is nothing wrong with marijuana because he would legally be insane because he did not “know” it is wrong?

A: Criminal insanity is more like being unable to understand that an action is wrong, not knowing it is wrong. You can believe something shouldn’t be illegal, but that’s not the same as being unable to distinguish right from wrong. Insanity defenses almost never work, and even if it’s successful, you will probably still end up in a mental institution, where you definitely won’t be able to smoke pot.